Assessment of the whale shark as a key shark species [EB WP 04] Joel Rice and Shelton Harley

By: Contributor(s): Material type: ArticleArticlePublication details: [Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia] Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) 2012Description: 9 p. 30 cm. illSubject(s): DDC classification:
  • 639.27783
Online resources: Summary: "The whale shark (Rhincodon typus) has been the focus of considerable discussion within the WCPF Commission in recent years and two separate proposals relating to reducing fishery impacts on whale sharks were considered at WCPFC8 in March 2012. During this meeting the development of a stock assessment for whale sharks was suggested, but it was concluded that the adoption of a criteria for the determination of key shark species, provided the best procedure to assess the risks to whale sharks and its importance relative to other shark species taken in WCPO fisheries. In this paper we have summarized some basic scientific understanding of whale sharks and evaluated it against the criteria adopted by the Commission at WCPFC8. Whilst there is a paucity of biological studies on whale sharks, it is likely that this species is very long lived and has a late age at maturity which would make the species vulnerable to fishing‐related mortality. Observer records clearly demonstrate impacts by WCPFC tuna fisheries, but it is also likely that there are other tuna‐fishery related interactions for which we currently do not have observer records. An important consideration for whale shark is the significant non‐tuna related fishing mortality that is likely to have occurred historically , particularly in the coastal waters of the northwest Pacific Ocean. Given the very high levels of observer coverage in the tropical purse seine fishery, and the ease of identification of whale sharks, it should be feasible to estimate CPUE which may reflect the abundance for a significant component of the stock. Therefore, we conclude that it meets the criteria for consideration as a key shark species and recommend that the Scientific Committee consider this, and the relatively importance of further work on this species relative to other already defined key shark species."
Item type: Meeting Paper
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Holdings
Current library Call number Status Date due Barcode
SPC Special Collections SPC 639.277 83 WES 2012 Available

"WCPFC-SC8-2012/EB-WP-04"

Not published by the SPC

Includes bibliographical references

"The whale shark (Rhincodon typus) has been the focus of considerable discussion within the WCPF Commission in recent years and two separate proposals relating to reducing fishery impacts on whale sharks were considered at WCPFC8 in March 2012. During this meeting the development of a stock assessment for whale sharks was suggested, but it was concluded that the adoption of a criteria for the determination of key shark species, provided the best procedure to assess the risks to whale sharks and its importance relative to other shark species taken in WCPO fisheries. In this paper we have summarized some basic scientific understanding of whale sharks and evaluated it against the criteria adopted by the Commission at WCPFC8. Whilst there is a paucity of biological studies on whale sharks, it is likely that this species is very long lived and has a late age at maturity which would make the species vulnerable to fishing‐related mortality. Observer records clearly demonstrate impacts by WCPFC tuna fisheries, but it is also likely that there are other tuna‐fishery related interactions for which we currently do not have observer records. An important consideration for whale shark is the significant non‐tuna related fishing mortality that is likely to have occurred historically , particularly in the coastal waters of the northwest Pacific Ocean. Given the very high levels of observer coverage in the tropical purse seine fishery, and the ease of identification of whale sharks, it should be feasible to estimate CPUE which may reflect the abundance for a significant component of the stock. Therefore, we conclude that it meets the criteria for consideration as a key shark species and recommend that the Scientific Committee consider this, and the relatively importance of further work on this species relative to other already defined key shark species."