Abstract

Many shark populations are threatened with extinction, mostly due to targeted fisheries and incidental catches. The extraction rate often exceeds their ability to repopulate because of long gestation periods, few offspring and late maturity. Sharks are diverse and abundant in the waters around Trinidad due to the highly productive, tropical marine ecosystems fuelled by large, rivers such as the Orinoco and Amazon, which provide nutrients that support diverse and abundant assemblage of prey species. However, fishing regulations in Trinidad are outdated (implemented in 1916 with very few amendments since) and as a result, sharks are not as prolific as they once were because of the open access fishery, no quotas or size limits, and minimal enforcement of the few pertinent gear regulations that do exist. Large numbers of juveniles and small species of shark are caught in gillnets, while larger sharks are targeted with longlines. The meat from these sharks is consumed locally, typically in the dish “bake and shark”, while the fins are exported or used by residents in shark fin soup. Data are also limited because the Fisheries Division only collects catch data at broad taxonomic levels, e.g., “sharks” or “hammerheads”. Only one historical, directed shark survey was done in the mid-1980s (Castro 1987), which is what we will compare with our recent surveys.

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