Characterizing a Century of Shark Depredation in US Atlantic Recreational Fisheries

Fisheries scientists recently released a report on shark depredation, or the consumption of a hooked fish by a shark before an angler can successfully land it, in the ICES Journal of Marine Science. Notably, the report highlighted that there are more anglers than ever before, shark populations are rebuilding following three decades of management, and many target fishery species are recovering from overfishing. Thus, overlap between these three groups is likely at an all-time high. The authors also recommended that fisheries managers work directly with anglers and state agencies to further research opportunities to reduce human-shark interactions on the water, which is in line with ASA’s call for Congress to pass the SHARKED Act.