The abundance of the blue shark,Prionace glauca,in the western English Channel

Synopsis Since 1952, a sport fishery for the blue shark,Prionace glauca, has existed off the south coast of Cornwall in England. Annual catches from this fishery have ranged from < 200 to>6000 sharks. The fishery was based on a previously unexploited stock in the 1950s. The abundance of the species in the English Channel declined in the early 1960s and again in the mid-1970s. The declining abundance was investigated in relation to sea surface temperature (SST), prey abundance, and fishing pressure. Short-term fluctuations in SST were found to be responsible for changes in the distribution of the population, but not for changes in abundance. The abundance of prey species in the Channel was observed to be inversely related to the abundance of blue sharks. The reduced abundance of blue sharks lowered the level of effective predation on the prey populations, allowing their abundance to increase. It was concluded that the nature of the fishing practice off the Cornish coast was responsible for a significant part of the decrease in shark abundance. By killing large numbers of sub-adult females, the reproductive capacity of the population was lowered. Continued fishing pressure prevented the population from recovering; and as of 1987, the abundance of the species in the Channel is still declining. Various conservation measures have been proposed.