Megalofonou et al Incidental catch and estimated discards of pelagic sharks in the Mediterranean Sea 



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6.2% in number and 13.5% in biomass of the catch 

 sampled in swordfish and tuna fisheries. Sharks were 

 rarely discarded from vessels and the rare instances 

 were recorded only from areas off Greece. Out of 78 

 shark specimens caught by the Greek longline fishing 

 vessels only seven blue sharks, killed onboard before 

 they were unhooked, were thrown back to the sea. No 



shark discarding at sea was reported by the skippers of 

 the fishing boats, nor by the fishermen interviewed at 

 landing sites (Table 2). Fishermen usually do not discard 

 their shark catch because there is a market demand for 

 sharks in the Mediterranean countries. Twelve shark 

 species were identified — blue shark (Prionace glauca), 

 being the most common in all areas and gears studied. 



