From Decline to Recovery: The Future of Sharks Depends on Us

The authors report a 71% decline in global shark and ray populations due to overfishing and bycatch, noting that slow reproductive rates hinder recovery. While some U.S. regions like Florida and Hawai’i show signs of recovery, this has led to increased 'depredation'—sharks taking fish from fishers' lines. The authors criticize the SHARKED Act (S. 2314/ H.R. 207) for potentially allowing shark culls as a mitigation strategy and for excluding Indigenous and tribal communities from its task force. They advocate for collaborative, non-lethal strategies, such as reassessing fishing practices and locations, to ensure coexistence between sharks and the fishing industry.

• Global populations of sharks and rays have decreased by approximately 71% in recent decades, primarily caused by bycatch and overfishing. The ability of these populations to recover is limited by their slow reproductive rates, which increases extinction risks and may disrupt marine ecosystems.
• Shark population recovery in certain U.S. regions, including California, Hawai’i, Florida, and North Carolina, has contributed to 'depredation,' where sharks remove or damage fish hooked by fishers. This creates conflict as both sharks and fishers compete for scarce food resources, though the authors note that current shark presence remains below historical levels due to 'shifting baselines.'
• The SHARKED Act (S. 2314/ H.R. 207) seeks to create a task force to study shark behavior, but the authors argue it frames sharks as a problem to be mitigated rather than a resource to protect. They specifically highlight that the bill does not forbid the task force from recommending mass shark killings or culls and excludes Indigenous, tribal, and native communities from the task force despite the ancestral significance of sharks to these groups.

APA

Cáceres, D. C., Schüll, D. V., & Butler, K. (2025). From Decline to Recovery: The Future of Sharks Depends on Us. GreenLatinos. https://www.greenlatinos.org/from-decline-to-recovery-the-future-of-sharks-depends-on-us/

Chicago

Cáceres, Dr. Camila, Dr. Val Schüll, and Kristin Butler. From Decline to Recovery: The Future of Sharks Depends on Us. GreenLatinos, 2025. https://www.greenlatinos.org/from-decline-to-recovery-the-future-of-sharks-depends-on-us/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Cáceres |first1=Dr. Camila |last2=Schüll |first2=Dr. Val |last3=Butler |first3=Kristin |title=From Decline to Recovery: The Future of Sharks Depends on Us |publisher=GreenLatinos |date=29 October 2025 |url=https://www.greenlatinos.org/from-decline-to-recovery-the-future-of-sharks-depends-on-us/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{cceres2025from, author = {Cáceres, Dr. Camila and Schüll, Dr. Val and Butler, Kristin}, title = {{From Decline to Recovery: The Future of Sharks Depends on Us}}, publisher = {GreenLatinos}, year = {2025}, month = oct, url = {https://www.greenlatinos.org/from-decline-to-recovery-the-future-of-sharks-depends-on-us/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }