Quantifying Catch Rates, Shark Abundance and Depredation Rate at a Spearfishing Competition on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia

ABSTRACT:

Simple Summary

Catch-per-unit-effort at a spearfishing competition in North Queensland, Australia was 1.25 fish per hour. Citizen scientists reported 358 sharks comprising of 10 species/groups, with 3.11 sharks observed per hour. Twelve percent of all sharks sighted in this study were regarded as potentially dangerous to humans. This is the first scientific study of shark depredation for spearfishing. C. amblyrhynchos were primarily responsible for depredation, with 5.9% of speared fish taken. Sixty percent of interviewees perceived that shark numbers have increased in the past 10 years.

Abstract

We developed and applied a method to quantify spearfisher effort and catch, shark interactions and shark depredation in a boat-based recreational spearfishing competition in the

SUBMITTER: Smith A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9598298 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature