Great Barrier Reef Shark Populations Collapsing - Mongabay

[hatrack]

Coral reef shark populations are declining rapidly due to fishing according to research published in the December 5th issue of the journal Current Biology. The paper says that "no-take zones" -- areas where fishing is prohibited -- can be effective in protecting sharks but only when the no-take regulations are strictly enforced. Examining two common species of sharks on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the researchers found that both populations are in the midst of a rapid population decline -- 7% per year for white tip sharks and 17% per year for gray reef sharks, showing that current shark conservation strategies are not effective.

"These findings indicate that current management of no-take areas is inadequate for protecting reef sharks, even in one of the world’s most-well-managed reef ecosystems. Further steps are urgently required for protecting this critical functional group from ecological extinction," wrote the team of researchers led by Dr. William D. Robbins of the School of Marine and Tropical Biology at James Cook University in Townsville, Australia.

The researchers say that because sharks are "apex predators" that play an important role in "maintaining healthy reef ecosystems", their decline threatens the overall welfare of the reef ecosystem. As an example, the authors cite overfishing of sharks as a possible contributing factor to the collapse of Caribbean coral-reef ecosystems.

Robbins and colleagues say that immediate action is needed to stem shark population decline on the Great Barrier Reef. "The apparent failure of no-take zones to protect sharks makes it clear that the mere legal prohibition of fishing in marine protected areas is inadequate; such prohibitions must be part of statutory or community-based enforcement regimes that achieve nearly universal compliance from reef users", the write. "Our data suggest that for coral-reef sharks, immediate and substantial reductions in shark fishing will be required for their ongoing collapse to be reversed."

EDIT

http://news.mongabay.com/2006/1204-shark.html

[msongs]

1. make the whole reef a no fishing zone. people don't need to eat fish to live. nt