Fishers and Depredation

In a recent study by the University of Massachusetts Amherst, researchers looked at a timely topic, shark depredation and fishers’ attitudes towards such encounters. The study actually goes so far as to quantify the emotional and behavioral responses recreational fishers have to shark depredation incidences. In summary, the study found that salt-water anglers, including recreational fishing guides, who experienced shark depredation on their catch, are more likely to have negative feelings towards sharks in general. Even more important, the study alarmingly found that those who experienced depredation were more likely to target sharks for additional harvesting in response.

So, what is depredation? Depredation is plainly defined as, “the act of preying upon or plundering; robbery; ravage.” To apply it to salt-water fishing, imagine you hook your catch and then boom! a shark snags it off the line. That is depredation. It seems natural, doesn’t it? A shark senses their prey struggling as you reel it in, they have evolved to listen to this phenomon as a dinner bell. This has been a hot topic lately due to increased depredation encounters on the East Coast for two reasons: conservation efforts are working and populations are recovering, and salt-water recreational fishing is becoming increasingly more popular, thus more run-ins with predators. In other words, “with more sharks in the water and more people reeling in fish, there is a greater chance of conflict.”

According to Grace Casselberry, the lead author of the study, “If depredation is helping to drive the perception that sharks are a threat, then we run the risk of stressing shark populations through retaliatory actions that include overharvesting. This study reflects what anglers are concerned about, and where we as researchers and managers need to start thinking to address this conservation issue, for both the sharks and the fish being depredated."

The study surveyed 541 salt-water anglers and guides in North America. They found that over 77% of respondents experienced depredation by a shark in the last 5 years. Over half of this group has seen upwards of 20 depredations of this kind, and 72% of them even laid their eyes on the shark taking their catch. What is the most concerning part of this study is the fact that guides, who experience depredation more frequently than anglers, have far more anger and negative emotions towards sharks after encounters. As stated before, overwhelmingly, such guides are willing to target sharks for harvest in response. This is clearly an issue that needs to be addressed to further help conservation efforts. To learn more about this issue, please read
How Many Sharks is Too Many? in Guy Harvey Magazine in the following blog.