Better shark and ray bycatch management for South Africa’s bottom-trawl hake fishery
South Africa is a shark and ray biodiversity global hotspot and home to about 200 species, but nearly half of these are threatened with extinction. Overfishing is largely driving these declines and the take as bycatch from commercial fisheries is an especially urgent threat. Nina is developing and testing a shark and ray monitoring protocol to be carried out by onboard observers in South Africa’s hake bottom-trawl commercial fishery – the country’s most valuable fishery that also catches several shark and ray species as unmanaged bycatch. Improved monitoring is a crucial step towards improved shark and ray bycatch management across the fishery.
Nina Faure Beaulieu
I can’t pinpoint the exact moment I formed a connection with the ocean; it feels like it has always been there. My earliest ocean memories include being carried out to sea on my mum’s back before I could swim, discovering underwater life by scuba-diving at the age of 11 and being transfixed by the sight of white sharks breaching in slow motion in the first Planet Earth series.
The ocean has always meant home, and while working for my undergraduate degree in biology I decided it would also become my office. One day, a lecturer was telling us...
Improving elasmobranch monitoring protocols across the South African bottom trawl hake fishery
This project aims to develop and test a shark and ray monitoring protocol to be carried out by onboard observers in South Africa’s hake bottom-trawl commercial fishery. This is a crucial step towards improving shark and ray bycatch management across the fishery.
The bottom-trawl hake fishery is South Africa’s most valuable fishery, but it also takes sharks and rays, of various species, as bycatch. Most of these sharks and rays are unrecorded and discarded at sea. Without catch information, it is difficult to develop management measures such as catch limits or closed areas for bycatch hotspots. This project will develop a dedicated elasmobranch monitoring protocol, carried out by onboard observers, to help support conservation and a more sustainable fishery.
A global hotspot for shark and ray biodiversity, South Africa is home to about 200 species, nearly half of which are at risk of extinction. Overfishing is the primary driver of the population declines, and sharks and rays are especially vulnerable when caught as bycatch in commercial fisheries.
The bottom-trawl hake fishery employs more than 13,000 people and supplies both local and European markets. Certified by the Marine Stewardship Council since 2004, it has a track record of sustainability improvements. However, sharks and rays are one of the more poorly understood parts of the catch. There are currently no shark and ray species-specific management requirements, even though certain species, such as the soupfin shark and smooth-hound shark, are retained and sold.
A major reason for there being no management measures is the lack of data. Sharks and rays are frequently discarded and are not recorded in skippers’ logbooks. Even when they are not discarded, they are not individually recorded, but are often lumped together with other species caught during the trip. Thus, critical details about where and when they were caught are lost. The observer programme, which has operated since 2005, is invaluable to develop sustainable bycatch measures across the fishery. This is because observers independently collect data about what is caught, often at a fine taxonomic scale, which results in a better understanding of the exact species caught. However, so far the fishery has not had a dedicated shark and ray protocol, which means that these species have been under-represented in bycatch management across the fishery.
This project aims to change that. By working directly with observers and crew, we will design, test and refine a protocol that ensures sharks and rays are consistently recorded. This will prepare the fishery for stricter Marine Stewardship Council standards, improve national stock assessments and provide managers with the evidence needed to reduce the impact of bycatch.
- To work with observers to develop a shark and ray monitoring protocol tailored to different vessel types and the logistical realities of catches being processed onboard.
- To pilot the protocol across inshore and offshore trawl vessels.
- To raise awareness among crew and observers about the importance of sharks and rays.
- To share results with fisheries managers, industry and NGOs to inform future management.
- To provide the foundation for catch limits, bycatch reduction measures and stronger Marine Stewardship Council certification.