FACTSHEET

NOVEMBER 2021

SAVING MAKO SHARKS

HOW TO HELP THE FASTEST
SHARKS ESCAPE EXTINCTION
 SAVING MAKO SHARKS: how to help the fastest sharks escape extinction Factsheet

The problem
Like many oceanic sharks, shortfin
mako (Isurus oxyrinchus) is a cos-
mopolitan, migratory shark and a top
predator, playing a key role in the
Lack of management meas-
ures to regulate fishing effort SPECIES ID
balance and productivity of ma- and control bycatch has result-
rine ecosystems. The scarcity of ed in overfishing and population
target species such as swordfish and declines in almost all oceans.
tunas, and the demand for its prod- In the last decade globally, there
SCIENTIFIC NAME COMMON NAME

64%
ucts (meat, liver, etc.) leads to short- was a reduction by 64% of shortfin
en - shortfin mako
fin makos being nearly always
retained on board in High Sea
mako landings. S ustainable harvest
rates are approximately three to four
Isurus oxyrinchus pt – anequim, Rinquim
commercial fisheries. Moreover, times higher than sustainable levels1. es - marrajo dientuso
REDUCTION IN their strength and behaviour make it In the Atlantic Ocean, it is consid- fr - taupe bleue
SHORTFIN MAKO one of the most desirable big game fish ered one of the shark species at
GLOBAL LANDINGS IN in the world for recreational anglers. greatest risk of extinction due to
THE LAST DECADE overexploitation, especially the
sub-population of the North At-
lantic, with population declines SIMILAR SPECIES
of up to 79% over three genera- Isurus paucus
tions2. To reverse this trend, an am-
bitious and effective rebuilding plan MAX WEIGHT
needs to be implemented among IC-
CAT (International Commission for
505.8 kg
the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas)
country members, specially the ones
MAX LENGTH
with higher catches, such as Spain
445 cm REPRODUCTION
and Portugal. & GESTATION
internal development of the
embryo and embryos may
feed on other embryos; 15-18
FEEDING months gestation and 3-year
Shortfin Mako HABITS & PREY reproductive cycle
Isurus oxyrinchus
LIFE SPAN ambush predator,
28–32 years mainly cephalopods
Longfin Mako
and bony fishes
Isurus paucus

MATURITY AGE,
SIZE AND WEIGHT
7-9 years/
LITTER SIZE 166–204 cm/ 64 kg ;
SIZE AT BIRTH
1 CITES. 2019. Supplementary Information on CITES COP
18 Proposal 42: Confirming that Shortfin and Longfin Mako
4–25 pups 18-21 years /
(mostly 10–18) 60–70 cm
Sharks fully meet the criteria for inclusion on CITES Appendix

265–312 cm / 275 kg
II. Eighteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties Geneva
(Switzerland), 17–28 June 2019.

2 ICCAT. 2017. Report of the 2017 ICCAT Shortfin Mako

Assessment Meeting. Madrid, Spain 12-16 June 2017.

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 SAVING MAKO SHARKS: how to help the fastest sharks escape extinction Factsheet

Probability surfaces of
the spatial distribution of Possible
shortfin makos tagged in the important
Northwest Atlantic
habitats:
North Atlantic
- shelf and
slope waters
in southern
Portugal and
North Africa;
South Atlantic
- waters off
Shortfin makos move southern Brazil
to areas where the Gulf and Uruguay2:
Stream and the Labrador
Current converge, having a
significant spatial overlap Greenland
(~60%) with oceanic
longline vessels1. Is one of
the most important fishing
Iceland
Norwegian
Current
ground in the world.
Labrador East Greenland
Current Current
United
Kingdom

France
North Atlantic
Drift Spain
United States Gulf Stream Portugal

Florida Current
North Morocco
Atlantic Canaries
Ocean Current
Habitat &
Mexico
Western
Sahara

Distribution Antilles Current

Mauritania

widespread in
temperate and
tropical waters
of all oceans North Equatorial Current
Warm Current
Cold Current

THREATS 1 Queiroz, N. et al.

Overfishing and opaque Trade
Shortfin makos high-quality meat
is utilized fresh, dried or salted,
2019. Global spatial risk
assessment of sharks
under the footprint of
fisheries. Nature: 572
(7770)

Smaller sharks (110–140 cm) Larger sharks smoked and frozen for human 2 Santos et al. 2021.

and medium-sized sharks (176–220 cm) consumption, and in some cas- Movements, Habitat Use,
and Diving Behavior
(141–175 cm) oceanic waters es for fish meal and animal feed of Shortfin Mako in the
Atlantic Ocean. Front. Mar.
- most within shelf/slope areas across the globe. Sci. 8:686343.

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 SAVING MAKO SHARKS: how to help the fastest sharks escape extinction Factsheet

NOT DD LEAST NT VULNERABLE CRITICALLY EW EXTINCT

EVALUATED CONCERN ENDANGERED
DATA NEAR <ENDANGERED> EXTINCT
NE DEFICIENT LC THREATENED VU CR IN THE WILD NE
EN

CONSERVATION STATUS ZERO CATCHES

53% PROBABILITY OF
IUCN

2045
REBUILDING STOCK BY
Global (2019): Endangered
Europe (2015): Data Deficient
Mediterranean (2016): Critically
Endangered
In the North Atlantic, shortfin
CURRENT CATCHES
NORTH ATLANTIC STOCK LIMIT (500 TONS) mako is a common bycatch of oce-
-ICCAT 2017 ASSESSMENT 52% PROBABILITY OF anic longline and gillnet fisher-
The stock is overfished and experienc- ies that primarily target sword-

2070
REBUILDING STOCK BY
ing overfishing. Even if zero catches fish and tuna.
are adopted now it will still continue
to decline until 2035 before any bio- In recreational fisheries they are tar-
mass increases. Depending on the fish- geted and caught in rod & reel fishing
ing levels: gears.
© NATUREPL.COM / TODD PUSSER / WWF

Since 1990, more than 100 thou-

sand tonnes of shortfin mako
from the North Atlan- 50%
tic were reported to be
captured and landed
by ICCAT-regulated 30%
fisheries, fleets from
Spain, Portugal,
Canada, USA, Mo-
rocco and Japan.
Spain and Por-
tugal represent
~70% of the re-
ported shortfin
mako captures
in the North
Atlantic.

20%

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 SAVING MAKO SHARKS: how to help the fastest sharks escape extinction Factsheet

1543t | 1%
Shortfin mako is landed by the
Portuguese fleet in different
SUCCESS STORY

3755t | 3%
6409
Other countries and only 30% of the vol-

Shark diving in the

717 ume in weight goes to national har-

t|6
canada 0t |

%
7% bours (5636 t). Mainland harbours

Azores - a sustainable
Japan land more shortfin mako (56% in Se-
12983t | simbra, 33% in Peniche, 4% in Olhão)
Marocco
12%
56241t | 53% than archipelagic ones (4% in Pon-
USA

Portugal
8%
ta Delgada, <1% in Funchal). Shortfin
mako landings by the Portuguese fleet alternative?
in other countries (13248 t) like Spain
|1
84t

© JACOB DEGEE WWF-HONG KONG

Spain and Uruguay are more than double of
188

those in national harbours.

©NATUREPL.COM / JEFF ROTMAN / WWF

• The majority of shortfin caught
in longliners are males and im-
mature individuals, mainly caught
between May and June.

• During swordfish’s low season

30%
(Winter/Spring), many long-
liners purposefully use steel
wires instead of nylon monofil-
OF SHORTFIN MAKO ament to increase shark catches,
LANDINGS BY THE creating a truly sharks-tar-
PORTUGUESE geted fishery.
FLEET TAKE PLACE
• After being fished, more than ⅓
IN PORTUGUESE
HARBOURS
66%
MALES
86%
IMMATURE
(36%) is already dead when
INDIVIDUALS brought on-board, but larger Shark diving is a relatively recent ac-
specimens have a better chance of tivity in the Azores archipelago (start-
MAY AND JUNE surviving after being hooked1. ed in 2011), with the blue shark Pri-
onace glauca and mako shark Isurus
• For the ones that survive, if they oxyrinchus as the main attractions.
are carefully released back into Dives last about 90 minutes in waters
the ocean the chances of sur- with high visibility and up to 200 me- arrives, and cling to 10 m long cables.
vival are 75% in commer- ters deep, where a reasonable number This industry has been grow-
cial longlines and 90% in big of sharks (sometimes 5-6) is usually ing significantly and generated reve-
game fishing2. seen. To attract sharks, operators use nues of around two million euros in
chum (bait) buckets, and divers en- 2014 alone. Given the recent increase
DECEMBER ter the water one by one when a shark in tourist visits in the region, that
amount has likely been exceeded. All
1 Coelho, R. et al. 2012. An overview of the hooking mortality of would be willing to pay more for the
elasmobranchs caught in a swordfish pelagic longline fishery in
X 1000
the Atlantic Ocean. Aquatic Living Resources, 25(4), 311–319. privilege of enjoying this activity and
2 ICCAT 2019. Report of the 2019 shortfin mako shark stock
would like to see that payment direct-
assessment ICCAT update meeting. SMA SHK SA Intersessional ed to species protection.
meeting - Madrid.

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 SAVING MAKO SHARKS: how to help the fastest sharks escape extinction Factsheet
© BRIAN J. SKERRY / NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC STOCK / WWF

Despite the recent increase in pro-

tections and efforts to reduce fishing
pressure, since 2014, Portugal’s
landings have increased every
6000 year on average 11% and jumped
18% from 2019 to 2020. Even
with the trading ban in 2021, shortfin

5000

Total Landings
4000 mako landings were higher in most SINCE 2014,
Landings (tonnes)

months in 2021 than the average for PORTUGAL’S

these same months between 1986 and LANDINGS HAVE
20201. Portuguese authorities pro- INCREASED EVERY
3000
hibited the landing of shortfin mako

11%
YEAR ON AVERAGE
from national waters from September
2021 until the end of the year.
2000

18%
AND JUMPED
1 ICNF & APECE, 2021

PT landings (all harbours)

1000
PT landings (national harbours) FROM 2019
TO 2020

0
1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018

2019
Portugal Sets the
annual catch and
bycatch limits in the
fishing territory of
2007 2017 the Azores
ICCAT countries ICCAT stock assessed 2019 2021
to reduce fishing
mortality on North
2010 as overfished and in CITES Inclusion European Union
Definition of Shortfin
Memorandum of overfishing in Annex II
Atlantic stocks Mako TAC:
Understanding
1999 2003 Conservation of 2014 288 tonnes
FAO IPOA for European Commission Migratory Sharks - 2013 Portugal retention 2018 2020
Conservation and Finning regulation Annex I European Commission ban for recreational Portugal Prohibition
Portugal Negative NDF:
Management of 2008 prohibition of finning fishing of the use of steel
Trade ban for specimens
1990 Sharks & Rays Convention on wires in pelagic
from international waters
2021
UN Agreement on Conservation of longliners in the Portugal Prohibition
Azores Sea from 31st december of fishing in national
the Conservation and Migratory Species - 2020 onwards
Management of Straddling Annex II waters
Fish Stocks and Highly
Migratory Fish Stocks
(UNFSA)

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 SAVING MAKO SHARKS: how to help the fastest sharks escape extinction Factsheet

POLICY FUTURE RESEARCH SHOULD

RECOMMENDATIONS CONTRIBUTE TO:
• Develop and implement, at the • Raise independent observer • Develop and share approaches • Reduce fishing mortality to achieve
ICCAT level, a rebuilding plan coverage (human and/or elec- and data across tuna RFMOs to zero retention in the short term. 
for the shortfin mako from the tronic) to, at least: 20% from 2022 evaluate the implementation and
North Atlantic stock and adopt in high risk fisheries for oceanic effectiveness of conservation and • Improve fishing gear selectivity, 
an holistic approach for manage- sharks; 100% in all industrial ves- recovering measures, including in collaboration with the fishing
ment of the South Atlantic stock. sels by 2030 and for other fishing better harmonization among na- sector.
vessels to 10% by 2024 and 15% by tional and international sharks
• Establish a temporary sicentif- 2026. and rays landings databases and • Increase knowledge on shortfin
ic TAC, consistent with scientif- increasing the reporting of live and mako reproductive behaviour and
ic projections of stock rebuilding, • Apply management measures and dead discards per fishing event. population dynamics.
in the shortest term and highest robust monitoring, effective con-
probability of recover, and mon- trol and surveillance to the genus • Require tuna RFMOs to conduct • Update IUCN conservation status
itor bycatch considering all mor- Isurus, including both shortfin regional CITES NDFs for the areas in Europe.
talities, aiming at gradually and longfin makos to avoid IUU within their jurisdiction and spe-
achieve a zero-retention pol- fishing. cies listed on CITES App. II and • Identify mako sharks critical are-
icy, while at the same time in- agreeing protocols on authoriz- as in terms of locations, time and
troducing mechanisms to im- • Maintain the international wa- ing or not national CITES exports size, by using scientific and local
prove data collection.  ters trade ban for the North Atlan- based on these NDFs. ecological knowledge.
tic stock and territorial waters of
• Test, implement and monitor coastal states, issued by the Envi- • Determine effectiveness of man-
technical measures on fishing ronmental authorities, while re- agement measures on a regular
gears and practices for safe inforcing monitoring, control and basis (yearly) to check progress.
handling and release of live surveillance measures.
specimens. As a priority, replace © NATUREPL.COM / RICHARD ROBINSON / WWF

steel wires with monofilament ones • Develop and implement, at Coast-

in the longline fleet.
• Support the development and ef-
fective implementation of area/
time management zones, cou-
pled with real time manage-
ment measures by the national
fleets, and fully protected areas.
al States level, National Plans of
Action for sharks and rays, with
the stakeholders involvement and
binding recovery measures for pri-
ority species as mako sharks.

12 13
 CONCLUSIONS
Shortfin mako sharks in the Atlantic are in sharp decline
and this trend needs to be reversed. Fishing mortality
needs to be reduced to levels that allow its populations
to recover and measures to achieve this should be part of
an effective stock rebuilding plan at the RFMO level. At
the national level, the stock rebuilding plan needs to be
complemented with National Plans of Action as required
by the FAO, particularly in Portugal and Spain. Otherwise
even the fastest sharks will not escape extinction.

Authors Daniel Nunes & Ana Henriques Contributors João Correia & Simone
Niedermueller Revisions Rita Sá, Rita Rodrigues & Catarina Grilo
Design Marco Neves Ferreira Support Oceano Azul Foundation

©️ Text 2021 ANP. All rights reserved.

©️ 1986 Panda Symbol WWF - World Wide
Fund For Nature (formerly World Wildlife
Fund) Any question about this report should
be addressed to ANP, in association with
WWF: Audax Labs, Rua Adriano Correia de
Oliveira, 4 A - Lab H3, 1600 - 312 Lisbon -
anp@natureza-portugal.org
This report was prepared with the support of