Abstract
Limited information is available on artisanal and subsistence shark fisheries across the Pacific. The aim of this study was to investigate Fiji’s inshore fisheries which catch sharks. In January and February 2013, 253 semi-directive interviews were conducted in 117 villages and at local harbours on Viti Levu, Vanua Levu, Taveuni, Ovalau and a number of islands of the Mamanuca and Yasawa archipelagos. Of the 253 interviewees, 81.4% reported to presently catch sharks, and 17.4% declared that they did not presently catch any sharks. Of the 206 fishers that reported to catch sharks, 18.4% targeted sharks and 81.6% caught sharks as bycatch. When targeted, primary use of sharks was for consumption or for sale. Sharks caught as bycatch were frequently released (69.6%), consumed (64.9%) or shared amongst the community (26.8%). Fishers’ identification based on an identification poster and DNA barcoding revealed that at least 12 species of elasmobranchs, 11 shark and one ray species (Rhynchobatus australiae) were caught. This study, which is the first focused exploration of the shark catch in Fiji’s inshore fisheries, suggests that the country’s artisanal shark fisheries are small but have the potential to develop into larger and possibly more targeted fisheries.
Highlights
Limited information is available on artisanal and subsistence shark fisheries across the Pacific
In stark contrast to industrial fisheries, they are small-scale, typically subsistence in nature, and fishing effort is often unmonitored by regional fishery authorities due to a shortage of trained personnel and/or equipment or more generally, a lack of resources[6,7,8]
Sharks are mainly used for personal consumption, but there is some anecdotal evidence which suggests that the international shark fin trade is possibly exerting an increasing amount of pressure on local reef shark stocks
Summary
Limited information is available on artisanal and subsistence shark fisheries across the Pacific. Limited data on artisanal shark fisheries are available, at least for certain areas and specific fisheries, for the Saudi Arabian Red Sea[20], the United Arab Emirates[21], Mexico[22,23,24], Indonesia[11,25], Madagascar[26,27,28] and Oman[29,30] These studies highlight the importance of sharks and their products to these artisanal fisheries as well as the general lack of accurate catch and size composition data from these fisheries. If such data are not available, population declines are likely to go undetected and local authorities will have inadequate information for drafting management plans and implementing them in a timely manner
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