How big a young shark grows up to be, and how fast it grows, may depend on where it feeds. Researchers observed a population of juvenile sharks in a nursery that contained both a high-risk habitat (open seagrass beds) and a low-risk one (protected mangroves). Sharks that preferred to feed in the mangroves were generally smaller and grew […]
Tag: sharks
Marine protected areas need expansion to prevent shark, ray and chimera extinction 
Marine protected areas (MPAs) are established all over the world to help preserve imperiled species. But the process of identifying these areas doesn’t always prioritize species most at risk of extinction. A new study focuses specifically on the endangered chondrichthyans (such as sharks, rays and chimeras) and their representation in the existing MPA network. Results […]
Overlapping fishing zones could be placing strain on oceanic sharks
Overlap in the ranges of sharks and fishing vessels is placing oceanic shark species at risk from overfishing say researchers. By monitoring the ranges of eight species of oceanic sharks by satellite, and tracking two fleets of longline fishing vessels over several years, researchers found about 80 per cent of the range of oceanic sharks […]
