Millions of sharks die every year as bycatch and more and more shark species are now endangered. To turn the tide, researchers from the English company Fishtek Marine have developed a new device: SharkGuard. Will this save the shark?
Longline fishing – aimed at tuna, for example – is one of the greatest dangers for sharks in the open ocean. They fall prey to the hooks not meant for them, and die as bycatch. English researchers from the company hope with a simple-looking gadget Fishtek Marine to keep these sharks alive.
The operation of Shark Guard is targeted and relatively harmless. It is a small device that you attach to the fishing line. It then produces a pulsating electrical signal, creating an electrical field around the hook. Only sharks and rays have electroreceptors, which are extremely sensitive to these kinds of signals, and only they will stay away from the hook.
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Early stage
“The most important thing is that commercial fishing can continue, but that it does not necessarily lead to the massive bycatch of sharks and rays,” says Robert Eneverscientific head of the organization, in a press release.
SharkGuard is still in an early production phase, but initial results look promising. The researchers cast more than 18,000 hooks and saw a reduction of up to 91 percent in bycatch of blue sharks and stingrays. “This could halt the worldwide decline of sharks,” says Enever.
The goal of the organization is to further test and roll out this product on a larger scale, to save shark and ray species, a quarter of which are now officially endangered. A full set of devices, good for 2,000 hooks, is expected to cost around $25,000 and last about four years.
Hooks and eyes
But will the product really save all sharks? Probably not, says Jurgen Batsleer. He is a fisheries researcher at Wageningen University & Research and is not involved in the research. ‘I want to say that it’s good that they are looking for new methods,’ he says, ‘but there are some ifs and buts.’
‘As far as I’m concerned, they should substantiate their story more, in terms of costs and benefits, for example. This is where things go wrong more often: research into selective fishing does not pay enough attention to the economic losses for the fishermen. Suppose you miss out on a large part of your catch and therefore income with this method, then as a fisherman you will really not be very eager to hook up.’
According to Batsleer, if the product is successful, it will not be used on a global scale: ‘In the North Sea we are dealing with a completely different type of fishery, for example with nets for sole and plaice. You can’t just use the same system for that.’ According to him, they are also not waiting for SharkGuard in Asia. ‘There they have a real interest in shark bycatch, just think of shark fin soup.’
executable
In addition, the devices work on batteries, which must be replaced regularly. Batsleer also sees this as a problem. ‘Especially because batteries are quite corrosive. You don’t really want that in a system at sea.’ The researchers have indicated that they want to solve this one way or another.
But all in all Batsleer calls the idea ‘simple and doable’. ‘If it proves to be really effective, it can also be included in the regulations for fisheries. Then I hope it really leads to less bycatch.’