Abstract

Shark Habitat Influences Vulnerability to Commercial Fisheries
Track: Ocean and Maritime
Authors: Hannah Calich

Great hammerhead, tiger, and bull sharks are threatened globally due to interactions with fisheries. ArcGIS was used to analyze data from 117 satellite-tagged sharks throughout the Western Atlantic Ocean. Shark movements were compared to gear-restricted areas to determine where sharks are vulnerable to interacting with commercial fisheries. This study has implications to the management of highly migratory species (both terrestrial and aquatic) as well as species that inhabit remote locations.