Are Sharks Really Endangered? Anglers Reported More Encounters With Them

The population of sharks has been declining, with many being considered endangered. However, according to anglers, they experience more encounters with them.

Anglers Reported More Encounters With Sharks

Prestige Fishing, run by Mat Hubbard, provides fine dining establishments in southeast Queensland with fish species like coral trout and red emperor. He previously owned and operated a fishing charter out of Brisbane.

He only uses a line to fish. However, according to him, he has been losing hooked fish to sharks. He even considered sharks the biggest threat to his livelihood right now.

In one of his recent expeditions, he lost 125 fish to sharks. According to him, he moves and looks for a new spot when he notices a shark where he fishes, but they are present in every reef, making it more difficult for him to fish.

The technical term for Hubbard's problem is called depredation, when sharks attack the hooked fish before they can be caught, ABC Net reported. It's a hassle for recreational anglers and terrible for business for commercial fishermen.

Anglers have limitations on the number of fish they can take based on species, which throws a wrench in fisheries management. However, it's common for fish caught by sharks to be unidentifiable and not count toward bag restrictions.

Hubbard is not the only person who believes things are worsening and that the shark population is increasing. According to Nigel Webster, who hosted and produced "The Fishing Show" on 7Mate, he noticed more sharks now than in the past.

He remembered them filming at Swains Reef [GBR] on a mother ship about a month ago. According to him, there were days when they got no fish back. At one point, they went through 75 hooks in three days, and sharks just took everything.

Aside from the population, Webster said he noticed a change in the sharks' behavior. He witnessed more and more sharks eating the smaller ones, which wasn't the case a decade ago, according to him.

Are Sharks Endangered or Are Their Population Increasing?

Marine biologist Colin Simpfendorfer has been studying sharks for the past 30 years. According to him, approximately half of all species living in shallow waters across continental shelves are in danger of extinction.

However, it's a different case in Australia. Fisheries are very tightly controlled the majority of the species are thriving.

However, it wasn't always the case because some species are still struggling. For instance, the grey nurse population on the east coast is in grave danger due to fishing pressure and unfounded accusations that it has attacked humans.

Due to previous fishing pressure, great whites are still captured in shark nets and drum lines, making them vulnerable.

Professor Simpfendorfer claims that the pressure from commercial fishing also contributed to the fall of certain smaller species. However, some have since recovered.

A sizable foreign fishing fleet was operating legally in northern Australian waters until around 1986. Some species, like black-tip sharks, are unquestionably linked to predation. Due to overfishing, those species saw quite a drastic fall in their population.

WWF also stated that shark populations are rapidly declining all around the planet. Sharks mature over a long period of time, develop relatively slowly, and have few offspring. Because of these traits, sharks, like this porbeagle, are particularly susceptible to overfishing.

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