Language selection

Search

Atlantic Fisheries Research Document 1996/024

Observations on porbeagle shark (Lamna nasus) in the North Atlantic

By R.N. O'Boyle; G.M. Fowler; P.C.F. Hurley; M.A. Showell; W.T. Stobo; C. Jones

Abstract

There was a Norwegian-directed fishery for porbeagle in the Northwest Atlantic during 1961-66, which severely reduced the resource. Interest in porbeagle has recently grown again, with landings since 1991 being in excess of 1,000 t. In 1994 and 1995, the fishery was prosecuted almost solely by Canadian interests, with 1,615 t and 1,309 t being reported respectively. While a precautionary catch level of 1,500 t was established under a Shark Management Plan, the main components of the plan were not implemented until 1996. Information of the resource is very limited and thus a number of sources, both historical and recent, were used to develop an evaluation of the population. The fishery appeared sustainable during the 1970s and 1980s when landings averaged 250 t annually. Porbeagle is shown to have relatively low pup production rate and slow growth and is consequently very sensitive to over-exploitation. Given the uncertainty in the information base, and the sensitivity of the resource to overexploitation, it was recommended that the 1995 catch be used as a harvest ceiling and that the 1995 level of effort not be exceeded for several years.

Accessibility Notice

This document is available in PDF format. If the document is not accessible to you, please contact the Secretariat to obtain another appropriate format, such as regular print, large print, Braille or audio version.

Date modified: