Sharks…will they survive us?

A new report has just been released by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) about the status of North American sharks and their relatives, the skates, rays and chimaeras. The outlook is grim…which is not only bad for these species, but for us as well.
Sharks and their relatives play very important roles in keeping our oceans healthy. Whether being key top predators, plentiful bottom dwellers or nutrient cycling filter feeders, they are crucial to ensuring everything stays in the balance, including the things we eat and rely on. We have around 30 species of sharks in Canadian waters and over half of them have been listed by the IUCN as being at some level of risk of extinction. This is not acceptable…not for the species and not for us.

(C) Brendal Davis, WWF-Canada

Now more than ever we need to ensure that our shark populations are being taken care of. In particular, we need to reduce the bycatch of sharks as much as we can in our commercial fisheries and ensure that sharks which are caught and are to be released are not unduly injured, and that they’ll live when put back in the water. This is why WWF has initiated a program to work with fishermen to help them fish responsibly and reduce their impact on these species, as well as many others.
One of our recent initiatives was to work with commercial and recreational fishermen to develop best catch, handling and release practices. One of the many myths about sharks is that they are tough and virtually indestructible. I mean just look at them, don’t they look like some kind of tough machine? In reality, they are not, especially when they’re taken out of the water. Sharks are fish that do not have skeletons but rather a thinner and flimsier cartilage frame. This means that their organs are not as protected and that they can get severely harmed if they are squeezed too tightly or hang too long on a hook.
In collaboration with Art Gaetan, a recreational shark fisherman with 20 years shark fishing experience, we have developed practices which outline the appropriate way to catch a shark and how to handle it to ensure they will not be harmed. Throughout the month of August, WWF species staff will be attending shark fishing tournaments throughout Nova Scotia to train fishing captains on how to best handle sharks. The ultimate goal is to ensure that released sharks survive when they’re put back in the water.
We can and need to do better to protect these magnificent and vitally important species. The fate of our oceans partially rests on ensuring species such as sharks are there to help it maintain its balance and function.
To learn more about what we do to help protect sharks, visit, click here.
To help us continue our work with sharks, please consider donating, here.