Most sharks in UK waters survive catch-and-release fishing when angling best practices are followed, according to a new study.
University of Exeter researchers, working with partners, tagged almost 70 blue, porbeagle and tope sharks caught in recreational fishing in the British Isles, to track their behaviour and survival afterwards.
Fewer than 5% - three sharks, one from each species - died.
"Our results suggest survival rates are high when sharks are caught and released within current best-practice guidelines," said Francesco Garzon, from the University of Exeter.
Commenting on the sharks that died, Garzon added: "These deaths can't be definitively attributed to any one aspect of being caught, as the sharks had no external wounds and were energetic when released.
"However, two of them - a porbeagle and a tope shark - were deep hooked and released with hooks in place, to avoid any further injury."
The data-gathering tags attached to sharks stayed in place for up to 45 days before detaching and transmitting a location, confirming that the shark was alive.
Sixteen of these tags were recovered, allowing much more detailed investigations into the depth and movement of the sharks after they were released.
"Right after release, all three species swam quickly down to deep water - probably to escape and to re-oxygenate their gills," Garzon said.
"Behaviour after that varied between the different species, but they tended to stay deeper than usual.
"Most individuals appeared to have recovered by 24 hours, although some sharks - especially porbeagles - sometimes took longer."
Modern shark fishing in the British Isles, as in most of Europe, is almost exclusively a catch-and-release activity, but practices vary. This study provides further evidence of the importance of following best practice handling guidelines when angling.
Despite the popularity of catch-and-release, post-release survival has not been assessed in this way before in European waters and our previous research shows that survival rates are dependent on species and geography.
In Europe, porbeagle sharks are considered "critically endangered" by the IUCN, tope sharks are "vulnerable", and blue sharks were most recently assessed as "near threatened".
The sharks in the study were caught during fishing trips from ports in England, Scotland, and the Channel Islands.
The research team included Edinburgh Napier University and the Government of Jersey, with assistance from fishers and skippers, Shark Hub UK, and Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, with guidance from the Shark Trust.
Funding came from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, Marine Fund Scotland, and Francesco Garzon's PhD is funded by the NERC GW4+ DTP scheme.
The paper, published in the ICES Journal of Marine Science, is entitled: "Survival and recovery of three shark species in North-East Atlantic recreational fisheries."
Find out current handling best practice guidelines at:
