A study conducted by William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science professor Rob Latour and associates published this month in published in the journal “Fish and Fisheries” found that populations found in the Southeast region of the United States, including the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, for six of the seven species investigated have begun to increase from historic lows found in the 1980s.
The study, which looked at data collected between 1976 and 2014, found population increases in bonnetheads, blacktips, spinners, tiger, sandbar and Atlantic sharpnose sharks.
“We’ve shown that after two decades of management measures, coastal shark populations are finally starting to recover and reclaim their position as top predators, or regulators of their ecosystem,” the study’s lead scientist Cassidy Peterson said. “Our research suggests we can begin to shift away from the era of ‘doom and gloom’ regarding shark status in the United States.”