Sharks in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef in ‘quite rapid’ decline

September 28 (AFP) – Academics from James Cook University in Queensland on Wednesday said there was mounting evidence of widespread and substantial declines in shark populations around the world, with some species now listed as threatened. [Population Growth Rates of Reef Sharks with and without Fishing on the Great Barrier Reef: Robust Estimation with Multiple Models] Professor Sean Connolly said assessing the numbers of sharks was difficult — not least because many were caught accidentally while intending to catch other fish and some killed for their fins. […] The researchers found that the results using all the various methods of assessing shark populations were in close agreement and that sharks were declining due to fishing. “Shark declines are quite rapid,” Connolly said. “Our consensus estimates are around six percent per year decline for whitetip reef sharks and nine percent for grey reef sharks.” Given the range of uncertainty around the estimates, the decline could potentially be even greater, he added. […] “Shark populations in other countries with significant coral reefs in our region are going to be in much worse shape even than ours are — and ours are not in good shape,” Connolly said. […]

Sharks in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef in decline