Executive Summary

• Main Author: Wildlife Service
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: Antarctic; Indian; Pacific; Antarc*; Lamna nasus; North Atlantic; Northeast Atlantic; Northwest Atlantic; Porbeagle
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.366.4664; http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/petitions/porbeagle_shark_petition2010.pdf

The Porbeagle Shark (Lamna nasus) is a remarkable fast, large shark that has adapted to cold waters in the northern and southern hemisphere through heat exchangers that keep its body warmer than surrounding waters. Its extensive range includes the North Atlantic, South Atlantic, South Pacific, South Indian, and Antarctic Oceans. Like other sharks, it is part of an ancient lineage stretching back more than 200 million years. Its evolutionary fine-tuning hasn’t protected it, however, from a literal feeding frenzy – by humans on sharks. The Porbeagle has suffered staggering declines as a result of fishing. In the Northeast Atlantic, European fishing fleets decimated this shark’s populations within a few decades, starting in the 1930s. But what happened in the Northwest Atlantic was the eyeopener. Norwegian fishing vessels then turned their sights to the west in 1961. Within just six years the Porbeagle Shark stock in the Northwest Atlantic was destroyed. After the stock started to rebound a few decades later, the Canadians thought they would try their luck, focusing on Porbeagle starting in the 1990s. The same thing happened, but worse this time: the population plummeted to record lows. Scientists estimate it may take