Analysis of stock status and related indicators for key shark species of the Western Central Pacific Fisheries Commission

In this report we present, for seven of the fourteen key shark species, information on the geographic range of catches; temporal trends in catch composition and catch rates; and key biological indicators of fishing pressure such as mean size and sex ratio. Whale sharks are assessed separately due to the unique nature of their interactions with WCPO fisheries. The analysis generally follows the framework first developed and described in the Shark Research Plan (Clarke and Harley, 2010). This analysis provides indicative trends for silky shark, oceanic whitetip, mako shark, blue shark, whale sharks and porbeagle sharks, but more limited inferences are possible for hammerhead and thresher shark species complexes, largely due to lack of data. These species are not commonly caught in the primary fisheries in the WCPO, and are historically not well reported. Where possible we have included observer data for 2014, but note that these data are incomplete and certain inferences from these data should be made with caution.