Empowering fishers for Great White Shark stewardship: Reply to Madigan et al. 2021

Abstract

Madigan et al. (2021) recently reported a supposedly illegal fishery targeting white sharks in the Gulf of California (GC), Mexico. While we are strongly against illegal fishing and recognize the need to enhance enforcement to pro-This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Inferring habitat use of the Pacific White Shark using vertebral chemistry

“…The GC is a highly productive ecosystem that can provide White Sharks with abundant demersal and pelagic prey throughout ontogeny (Lluch-Cota et al, 2007), and possibly support a local White Shark population. However, some of their prey are targeted by local artisanal and industrial fisheries, which explains by-catch of White Sharks by local fisheries inside the GC (Galvań-Magaña et al, 2010;Madigan et al, 2021;Malpica-Cruz et al, 2021). Further, thirteen California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) colonies are found in the GC mainly in the central and northern reaches which might serve as an important food source for adult White Sharks (Masper et al, 2019;Pelayo-Gonzaĺez et al, 2021).…”

“…Verification of a local White Shark population within the GC would indicate that the regional northeastern Pacific population has a more complex population structure than previously thought (Oñate-Gonzaĺez et al, 2017) and present important considerations for conservation efforts. Although the White Shark is a protected species by Mexican regulations, a true commitment to working collaboratively with fishers and stakeholders in addition to further enforcement efforts inside the GC are needed to assure its conservation (Malpica-Cruz et al, 2021).…”

An exploration of the population characteristics and behaviours of the white shark in Guadalupe Island, Mexico (2014–2019): Observational data from cage diving vessels

“…Bilateral efforts between Mexico and the USA to further white shark conservation should also include collaboration among the research communities of both countries. The observed increase in juvenile white sharks will require joint management and research initiatives, which will allow for strategies that meet regional needs to be developed (Malpica-Cruz et al, 2021). Similarly, this increase could imply changes in population structure and in the recruitment of individuals to the adult population, indicating that population estimates must be updated using data from both Mexico and the USA (Burgess et al, 2014;Becerril-García et al, 2020c;Kanive et al, 2021).…”