URI_Research _Magazine_Momentum_Spring_2020_Melissa-McCarthy

Wetherbee adds that as many as 70 million sharks get caught every year for their fins alone. Sport fishermen go after mako and thresher sharks because of the challenging fight and because they are good to eat. Charlie Donilon, captain of The Snappa charter out of Point Judith, a boat Professor Wetherbee uses to conduct his research off the coast of Rhode Island, witnessed the cruel treatment of sharks during trophy fishing. He since vowed not to book such charters in the future, even though the decision decreased his business. The overfishing, regardless of the purpose, carries an enormous toll due to the slow reproduction of the species. Similar to whales and turtles, explains Wetherbee, shark populations get knocked down and struggle mightily to rebound. Of the nearly 500 species of sharks, he says some are caught by the millions, with a heavy impact on their populations. Others are not encountered as frequently, and, thus, don’t experience as much of a threat. “Most shark fisheries around the world have shown a pattern of boom and bust,” Wetherbee says. “The population can’t sustain heavy fishing and declines rapidly. Then, they stop because it’s not economically feasible to do anymore. It is now essential that these populations around the world be managed sustainably.

Bradley Wetherbee Assistant Professor Biology Sciences

Assistant Professor Bradley Wetherbee tags a mako shark with a satellite transmitter in waters off the Yucatan, Mexico. The tags provide daily locations of sharks for up to two years.

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