Shark Research - Saudi Arabian Shark Fisheries not sustainable

A recent article published in Fisheries Research sheds light on our knowledge of shark fisheries in Saudi Arabia and indicates that these Red Sea fisheries are unsustainable.

The researchers, from King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST) and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, spent 2 years collecting samples from the Jeddah Fish Market (JFM) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). During this time the team collected 2,724 individual samples across 37 species of elasmobranch. Seventy three per cent of the entire sample was made up of only 5 species: the spottail shark (Carcharhinus sorrah), the grey reef shark (C. amblyrhynchos), the silky shark (C. falciformis), the black tip shark (C. limbatus) and the milk shark (Rhizoprionodon acutus). Of these 5 species, 4 are classified as Near Threatened in the IUCN Red List.

Sharks for sale at the Jeddah Fish Market. Image from the daaamnblog

Perhaps most worryingly, the researchers discovered that a very large percentage (c. 81%) of the males caught had not yet reached sexual maturity. This is a cause for concern as if too many juveniles of a species are removed from a fish stock then the stock itself will be unable to replenish itself and will risk collapse.

The sharks were landed whole and whilst the fins were removed, this was done when the shark was back on land and the meat was then sold; however, the team noted that the cost of shark meat, compared to other fish, appeared to be very cheap in the KSA.

Whilst in many countries sharks may be considered more valuable alive than dead, owing to a boom in the eco tourism industry, the distinct lack of tourism in the KSA has not incentivised the government to implement and enforce policies regarding shark protection, despite the fact that the resources to carry out adequate shark management should not be unobtainable for the KSA.