Recreational Fishing for Pelagic Sharks Worldwide

While government fisheries agencies have not documented the recreational fisheries for pelagic sharks in most countries, information exists in the records of fishing clubs, cooperative tagging programs, and the International Game Fish Association. Countries with signifi- cant pelagic shark recreational fisheries include Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Some recreational pelagic shark fishing also occurs in Ireland, Italy, the Azores, Mauritius, South Africa, the Caribbean, and Mexico. Most pelagic shark game fishing is now catch-and-release, and the total mortality caused by recreational fisheries has been declining since the 1980s. The most commonly caught pelagic sharks are blue (Prionace glauca), shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus), porbeagle (Lamna nasus), and thresher sharks (Alopias spp.).