Great white shark catches on the rise in Sea of Cortez

The capture last week of a gigantic great white shark in Mexico's Sea of Cortez was major news because of the size of the predator -- nearly 20 feet long and weighing at least 2,000 pounds -- but also because catches of adult white sharks in the gulf are considered rare.

Sadly, however, such catches appear to be increasingly common.

This week I was contacted by Erik Cutter, who supplied the top image showing two Mexican fishermen posing with a massive set of jaws extracted two weeks ago from a very large white shark near Loreto.

Loreto is on the Baja California side of the Sea of Cortez. The other catch reportedly was made off the mainland coast near Guaymas.

Cutter, publisher of Baja Life magazine and co-founder of the green-energy group EnviroIngenuity, has a home in Loreto and is acquainted with many locals and some commercial fishermen. The photograph, he said, was of a print photograph the fishermen had shared. They allowed Cutter to photograph the print if he promised to crop their faces.

Cutter was told that white sharks are being increasingly targeted for their jaws and fins, and that 13 large sharks have been killed during the past few weeks alone. Shark jaws are sold locally for about $1,500 per set, then re-sold by more entrepreneurial types for much steeper prices. A set of jaws like the one shown above might garner $10,000 or more.

This is alarming because white sharks are embattled and highly-protected in Mexico -- as in the U.S. -- and because portions of the Sea of Cortez are now recognized as important nursery areas for the species.

The capture off Guaymas (see photo at right) was by fishermen who claimed to have accidentally caught the behemoth in their nets.

Cutter said that fishermen north of Loreto use baited hooks beneath air-filled barrels, and that hooked white sharks eventually tire and drown before they're taken ashore.

In a news release Cutter stated, "Commercial fishing has become so difficult in the Sea of Cortez that several of the few remaining commercial fisherman are so desperate that they are now targeting the ocean’s greatest predator, the Great White Shark.

"According to a very reliable source, at least thirteen mature Great Whites between 16 and 22 feet long, some estimated to weigh more than 2,200 pounds, [were] slaughtered for their fins and their jaws."

Much of the fishing is said to occur off Isla Ildefonso, an increasingly popular dive spot about 40 miles north of Loreto.

"The economic reasons are obvious, but certainly, they don’t justify the indiscriminate and illegal killing of these amazing sharks," Cutter said. "I am very upset by this because I have worked for many years to educate local fisherman to protect their fishery, one that Jacques Cousteau once called, 'The Aquarium of the World. ’"

The fishermen, obviously, know of no other way to make a living, and because of the remoteness of the area there is little enforcement. But if white sharks truly are being massacred at this alarming rate, at risk to the marine ecosystem, perhaps the Mexican authorities should investigate--and soon.

-- Pete Thomas

Comments

[Tracy torres]

How can we stop the fishing in this area to protect the birthing of more sharks? Obviously they come here and people are killing them before they have a chance!

[Matt]

@ Kurt

By your logic, we should eradicate all animals that have killed humans, including bears, lions, crocodiles, tigers, etc. Oh, yeah-- and snakes, wasps, hippopotamus, and elephants, too. Let’s throw in jellyfish, while we’re at it. That we should also destroy all domestic dogs goes without saying, since they kill far more than 5 persons “a rear” [sic].

Because your understanding of ecosystems is especially juvenile, you should check out this illustration that shows what happened to Yellowstone when their top predator -- the wolf -- was reintroduced after 70 years:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2010/03/wolf-wars/wolf-illustration
The effects of losing an apex predator are profound and far-reaching, even over a short period of time, trickling down to flora growth and habitat change. Can you really imagine an ocean without sharks?

[Kurt]

Who cares about the sharks.... It always shocks me that people care about these fish that kill people from time to time, I don't care if it's 5 times a rear or a thousand, if I can stop 5 deaths by killing sharks, then you are damn right I will do it.

And don't even get me started on the ecosystem needing these fish to continue the balance, trust me it will be fine. Kill them all.... It will make me very happy, so next time I'm south of the boarder I might pay a bounty for any great white fish killed.

[Paul]

The Great White Shark is almost permanently extinct ALREADY; "Thanks alot for your help in doing so permanently you idiot Mexican fishermen with zero brains.....but "You dont care...right....as LONG AS YOU MAKE A QUICK BUCK $$$$......SCREW EVERYONE ELSE AND OUR WHOLE WORLDS OCEAN ECOSYSTEMS WITHOUT NATURES NUMBER ONE APEX PREDITOR, "The Great White Shark".....right???? A quick buck, money in yourr pockets for a few days or few weeks is MORE IMPORTANT.....RIGHT"????!!!!!! The Mexican government MUST learn to tighten up their belts via their police system and coast gaurds and start putting the REAL PREDITORS AWAY....in jail for a LONG TIME to think over long and hard, WHY they feel its much more important to have a few quick bucks in their pockets rather then a proper functioning ocean and ocean ecosystem, so real fishmen can fish properly and within the law to feed their families, since there would then be fish to catch, with a proper, well balanced ocean ecosystem functioning the way its supoposed to, within the laws of nature, so everyone can enjoy the ocean for all the GREAT THINGS the oceans of the world are ENJOYED!!!!!

[Matt]

@ drudown

You’re right. I’ve never seen a great white give birth. Nor have I actually seen a great white, but I do believe they exist. For that matter, I have never seen the Earth as round from space. Nor something as small as an atom. Nonetheless, I am capable of reading intelligent scientific and popular articles written by experts who publish in peer-reviewed journals. And, beyond the fact that the Sea of Cortez is a known habitat for juvenile great whites, many have speculated that the unfortunate 20’ female great white was gravid. For a similar story, see the article following the shark “Amy” (http://www.marinecsi.org/news-events/) and where scientists speculated she gave birth... and where they speculated she met her demise.

Of course, nursery or birthing ground -- or not -- doesn’t change the fact that 13 large great whites have allegedly been hunted in a very short span of time. That’s a call to action, regardless of the semantics we employ in contending where they were born.

[drudown]

@ Matt

If nobody has ever seen a White shark birth, how can you credibly contend that "the Sea of Cortez is a known birthing area for great whites"?

To the contrary, the Sea of Cortez is known habitat for Blue, Minke, Humpback, Fin, Gray and even Sperm whales. These large White sharks are more likely to be in search of whale carrion in the Sea of Cortez than to give birth. White sharks more likely give birth in the open ocean at or around the mysterious "White shark cafes"...

[Vin Sootarsing]

With each one of the top predators gone, the species slips closer to extinction.

Surely these fisherman would be better off arranging to take people out to see the sharks, thus enabling them to earn an income, whilst preserving these harks?

By preserving the sharks, the fishermen will have an income and the sharks survive. A win win situation for man and shark!!

[Matt]

Thank you for this story, which is terrifying but not surprising.

It seems likely that the 20-footer recently killed was either pregnant or had just given birth, since the Sea of Cortez is a known birthing area for great whites. Therefore, these accidental "catches" seem highly suspicious, and if the statement is true -- that "13 large sharks have been killed during the past few weeks alone" -- then this could be absolutely devastating to the Pacific Coast great white population. I repeat, devastating.

Clearly, as the photos suggest, these sharks are being targeted for their jaws -- I suspected as much when the fisherman's wife offered to contact the shark's Monterey Bay-based tag only when she thought there might be a reward -- and it's a shame that there's no enforcement to investigate these catches, nor perform an obligatory necropsy (which would help settle the pregnancy issue).

Mexico must provide fishermen more options than harvesting sharks; likewise, the authorities should prosecute any killing of these majestic animals, accidental or not. Moreover, these jaws should be confiscated, thus taking away any financial incentive for these "accidental" catches.

Shame on these fishermen for targeting these apex predators, which are almost irreplaceable due to their slow growth to breeding age: this is the quickest path to destroying the already shaky food chain on which their livelihood relies upon. One killing a travesty. Thirteen is ineffable.

What can an average American do to combat these injustices and to raise awareness?

Deeply troubled,

Matt
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