Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Science 17 January 2003:
Vol. 299. no. 5605, pp. 389 - 392
DOI: 10.1126/science.1079777
Prev | Table of Contents | Next

Reports

Collapse and Conservation of Shark Populations in the Northwest Atlantic

Julia K. Baum,* Ransom A. Myers, Daniel G. Kehler, Boris Worm, Shelton J. Harley, Penny A. Doherty

Overexploitation threatens the future of many large vertebrates. In the ocean, tunas and sea turtles are current conservation concerns because of this intense pressure. The status of most shark species, in contrast, remains uncertain. Using the largest data set in the Northwest Atlantic, we show rapid large declines in large coastal and oceanic shark populations. Scalloped hammerhead, white, and thresher sharks are each estimated to have declined by over 75% in the past 15 years. Closed-area models highlight priority areas for shark conservation, and the need to consider effort reallocation and site selection if marine reserves are to benefit multiple threatened species.

Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada B3H 4J1.
*   To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: baum{at}mscs.dal.ca

Read the Full Text


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Philopatry and migration of Pacific white sharks.
S. J. Jorgensen, C. A. Reeb, T. K. Chapple, S. Anderson, C. Perle, S. R. Van Sommeran, C. Fritz-Cope, A. C. Brown, A. P. Klimley, and B. A. Block (2009)
Proc R Soc B
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Sexual segregation of pelagic sharks and the potential threat from fisheries.
G. R Mucientes, N. Queiroz, L. L Sousa, P. Tarroso, and D. W Sims (2009)
Biol Lett 5, 156-159
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Hierarchical Bayesian approach for population dynamics modelling of fish complexes without species-specific data.
Y. Jiao, C. Hayes, and E. Cortes (2009)
ICES J. Mar. Sci. 66, 367-377
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Colloquium Paper: Ecological extinction and evolution in the brave new ocean.
J. B. C. Jackson (2008)
PNAS 105, 11458-11465
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Global patterns in marine dispersal estimates: the influence of geography, taxonomic category and life history.
I. R Bradbury, B. Laurel, P. V.R Snelgrove, P. Bentzen, and S. E Campana (2008)
Proc R Soc B 275, 1803-1809
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
School-based indicators of tuna population status.
J. T. Dell and A. J. Hobday (2008)
ICES J. Mar. Sci. 65, 612-622
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Acoustic and stiffness properties of gillnets as they relate to small cetacean bycatch.
T. A. Mooney, W. W. L. Au, P. E. Nachtigall, and E. A. Trippel (2007)
ICES J. Mar. Sci. 64, 1324-1332
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Quantitative diet assessment of wobbegong sharks (genus Orectolobus) in New South Wales, Australia.
C. Huveneers, N. M. Otway, S. E. Gibbs, and R. G. Harcourt (2007)
ICES J. Mar. Sci. 64, 1272-1281
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Response to Comments on "Impacts of Biodiversity Loss on Ocean Ecosystem Services".
B. Worm, E. B. Barbier, N. Beaumont, J. E. Duffy, C. Folke, B. S. Halpern, J. B. C. Jackson, H. K. Lotze, F. Micheli, S. R. Palumbi, et al. (2007)
Science 316, 1285d
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Cascading Effects of the Loss of Apex Predatory Sharks from a Coastal Ocean.
R. A. Myers, J. K. Baum, T. D. Shepherd, S. P. Powers, and C. H. Peterson (2007)
Science 315, 1846-1850
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Widespread Utility of Highly Informative AFLP Molecular Markers across Divergent Shark Species.
K. R. Zenger, A. J. Stow, V. Peddemors, D. A. Briscoe, and R. G. Harcourt (2006)
J. Hered.
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Sexual segregation of seasonal foraging habitats in a non-migratory marine mammal.
G. A Breed, W.D Bowen, J.I McMillan, and M.L Leonard (2006)
Proc R Soc B 273, 2319-2326
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Isolation and genetic diversity of endangered grey nurse shark (Carcharias taurus) populations.
A. Stow, K. Zenger, D. Briscoe, M. Gillings, V. Peddemors, N. Otway, and R. Harcourt (2006)
Biol Lett 2, 308-311
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
The absence of sharks from abyssal regions of the world's oceans.
I. G Priede, R. Froese, D. M Bailey, O. A. Bergstad, M. A Collins, J. E. Dyb, C. Henriques, E. G Jones, and N. King (2006)
Proc R Soc B 273, 1435-1441
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Fishing through marine food webs.
T. E. Essington, A. H. Beaudreau, and J. Wiedenmann (2006)
PNAS 103, 3171-3175
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Interpreting catch per unit effort data to assess the status of individual stocks and communities.
M. N. Maunder, J. R. Sibert, A. Fonteneau, J. Hampton, P. Kleiber, and S. J. Harley (2006)
ICES J. Mar. Sci. 63, 1373-1385
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Rapidly shifting environmental baselines among fishers of the Gulf of California.
A. Saenz-Arroyo, C. Roberts, J. Torre, M. Carino-Olvera, and R. Enriquez-Andrade (2005)
Proc R Soc B 272, 1957-1962
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Global Patterns of Predator Diversity in the Open Oceans.
B. Worm, M. Sandow, A. Oschlies, H. K. Lotze, and R. A. Myers (2005)
Science 309, 1365-1369
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
The 2010 challenge: data availability, information needs and extraterrestrial insights.
A. Balmford, P. Crane, A. Dobson, R. E Green, and G. M Mace (2005)
Phil Trans R Soc B 360, 221-228
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Measuring marine fish biodiversity: temporal changes in abundance, life history and demography.
J. A Hutchings and J. K Baum (2005)
Phil Trans R Soc B 360, 315-338
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Shark Cartilage, Cancer and the Growing Threat of Pseudoscience.
G. K. Ostrander, K. C. Cheng, J. C. Wolf, and M. J. Wolfe (2004)
Cancer Res. 64, 8485-8491
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
The worldwide costs of marine protected areas.
A. Balmford, P. Gravestock, N. Hockley, C. J. McClean, and C. M. Roberts (2004)
PNAS 101, 9694-9697
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Predator diversity hotspots in the blue ocean.
B. Worm, H. K. Lotze, and R. A. Myers (2003)
PNAS 100, 9884-9888
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Whales Before Whaling in the North Atlantic.
J. Roman and S. R. Palumbi (2003)
Science 301, 508-510
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


To Advertise     Find Products

Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)