An update on shark bycatch of tuna gillnet fisheries of Pakistan

The working paper presents an update on the shark by-catch of tuna gillnet fisheries of Pakistan. This includes the landing data of sharks collected by observers from the period of June 2012 – May 2013. The most common shark species in the gillnet operations identified through the landing data are Short-fin mako ((Isurus oxyrinchus), Big-eye thresher (Alopias superciliosus) and Silky shark (Carcharhinus falciformis). All of the 3 species are of international concern whereas short-fin mako is expected to be species of interest for international scale – stock assessments in the foreseeable future. Nominal catches of elasmobranchs were reported from 1999 – 2007 indicating a decline in the apex predators (Shahid and Khan, 2012). The data presented herein, summarizes the by catch of elasmobranch from tuna gillnet operations data.