Reef sharks population in steep decline

Reef sharks, which are often killed for their fins or caught in fishing nets, have declined to 10 percent of historic levels near populated islands in the Pacific Ocean, US scientists said on Friday. The survey by the University of Hawaii showed that the numbers were drastically lower near populated islands in Hawaii, the Mariana Archipelago and American Samoa, compared to more pristine, remote areas in the ocean. "We estimate that reef shark numbers have dropped substantially around populated islands, generally by more than 90 percent compared to those at the most untouched reefs," said Marc Nadon, lead author of the study in the journal Conservation Biology. "In short, people and sharks don't mix," added Nadon, a scientist at the university's Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research. Researchers believe the shark numbers began to decline about three decades ago, but counting the sharks - which tend to move around quickly and are particularly mobile at night - has proven difficult. The latest research was based on a method called "towed-diver surveys," in which paired SCUBA divers record shark sightings while being towed behind a small boat. "Towed-diver surveys are key to our effort to quantify reef shark abundance," said Ivor Williams, head of the team responsible for the surveys. "Unlike other underwater census methods, which are typically at an insufficient spatial scale to properly count large, mobile species, these surveys allowed our scientists to quickly record shark numbers over large areas of reef." Researchers analysed data from over 1,600 towed-diver surveys taken from 2004-2010, in combination with information on human population growth and reef area, as well as satellite-data on sea surface temperature and ocean traits. "Around each of the heavily populated areas we surveyed - in the main Hawaiian Islands, the Mariana Archipelago, and American Samoa - reef shark numbers were greatly depressed compared to reefs in the same regions that were simply further away from humans," Nadon said.