Sharks have learned to follow fishing boats instead of hunting, and that’s bad news

ANIMALS – A change in behavior seems to be taking place among sharks. As keen hunters, they seem to increasingly appreciate easy prey, previously captured by humans. Also called depredation, this behavior refers to the gradual abandonment by sharks of hunting in favor of easier and more accessible prey.

This phenomenon has been seen in the Gulf of Mexico. It is also there that National Geographic made his documentary Shark Beach with Anthony Mackie, broadcast this Sunday, June 30, and available the next day on Disney+ and Hulu. As explained for Live Science Shark scientist Marcus Drymon at Mississippi State University said reports of shark depredation in the region have increased significantly over the past decade.

This phenomenon has reached such proportions that researchers believe that sharks have learned to associate boats with easy food. According to specialists, such an evolution comes from the sharks’ need to adapt to humans.

From hunter to scavenger

In fact, explains marine biologist Jasmin Graham, this evolution finds its origins in competition between sharks and humans. “We fish in the same place as sharks,” she explains in the documentary.

Now these animals are intelligent, and adapt very quickly. “They learn that engine means food”explains the biologist, adding that then “They start coming directly for the boats. Now we’re in direct competition with them for the same fish, and that’s when you get the depredation.”

This phenomenon is particularly marked in the Gulf of Mexico, but it is present everywhere in the world. We thus see conflicts between sharks and fishermen more or less regularly in the United States and Australia. This depredation is not only due to intensive fishing, but also to recreational fishing, estimates a report published last December by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council. In response, many fishermen, both recreational and commercial, operate further offshore.

Threatened sharks

In an effort to resolve the problem, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is evaluating depredation data in the two species most implicated in this phenomenon, bull sharks and sand sharks. . The objective is to find solutions such as shark deterrent technologies to protect fishermen’s catches but also and above all sharks.

This situation is unlikely to improve the fate of sharks, the vast majority of whose species are now threatened with extinction. In a report published on January 11 in the journal Sciencescientists have claimed that between 2012 and 2019, the number of sharks killed by fishing increased from around 76 million per year to more than 80 million. The main reason is the demand for fins and bycatch (accidental catch).

Although the situation is dramatic today for these animals, which are essential to the balance of ocean ecosystems, there are effective protection measures such as regional fishing bans or shark retention. There are even places where the shark population has increased. This is the case in Alabama where the bull shark population increased fivefold between 2003 and 2020, an increase also made possible by warming waters there.

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