Shark (Elasmobranchs) Fisheries Trend in Pakistan: Species Composition of Catch and their Conservation Status
Shark (Elasmobranchs) Fisheries Trend in Pakistan: Species Composition of Catch and their Conservation Status
Amir Javed1, Seema Shafique1, Shabir Ali Amir2 and Pirzada J.A. Siddiqui1,3*
ABSTRACT
Sharks are important group of marine and estuarine cartilaginous fishes and hold ecological and commercial importance. Studies on the diversity, life-history and species distribution in South-East Asian countries are limited. Here, we studied the number of sharks in landings, species composition, and status of shark fishery in four fish landing sites in Pakistan including Karachi Fish Harbor, Korangi Fish Harbor, Sonmiani Fish Harbor and Gawadar Fish Harborduring 2017-2018. A total of 1.99 million sharks belonging to 11 families and 41 species were recorded from these landing sites. Significantly, higher number of sharks landed at Karachi Fish Harbor (KFH) (86.9% of the total). Ninety-six percent of the sharks fall in three families (Carcharhinidae 45%, Triakidae 35%, Hemiscylliidae 16%). Species in Lamnidae had 2% contribution whereas each of the remaining families showed <2% representation. Carcharhinidae was the most species-rich family (23 spp.), all other families were represented by 1-3 species. Two peak periods of high catches were recorded during the months of March-April and September-October, the lowest catch was recorded in the summer. Size-range data suggests that juvenile and immature individuals of all shark species are being caught as a by-catch of other targeted fishery. Twenty-six years landing data of elasmobranchs in Pakistan during the period from 1993 to 2019 revealed decreasing trend in the catch, the highest being in 1999 (54,959 metric tonnes) and the lowest during 2019 (5,793 metric tons). Majority of the shark species (85% of total) in the landing are listed as CR, EN, NT or VU, and two species categorized as LC in the IUCN Red Data List. Similarly, nine species of sharks are listed in CITES Appendix II and of these 9 species, 8 species are also listed in CMS Appendix II. On the basis of our findings, it may be concluded that sharks inhabiting the North Arabian Sea are under considerable threats of overexploitation and fisheries by-catch.
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