These Raleigh youngsters want to know more 

 about sharks from Lundie Spence. 



Shark specimens displayed at 

 Crabtree Valley Mall attract tenative touches. 



Capt. Dave Beresoff shows 

 a shark caught during this study. 



spinner, blacknose and, less frequently, the 

 blacktip and scalloped hammerhead sharks. 



This has special implications for fishery 

 management, since overharvesting of 

 juveniles and females of reproductive age 

 can rapidly deplete a species. 



MIGRATION PATTERNS 



Also of concern are migration patterns 

 of different species. Roger Rulifson, 

 professor of biology at East Carolina 

 University, works with commercial fishers 

 T. Edward Newman Jr. and Chris Hickman 

 on separate FRG projects looking at 

 migratory and biological aspects of the spiny 

 dogfish. 



According to a report by Rulifson, 

 commercial fishers "are concerned that . . . 

 the spiny dogfish may not be able to sustain 

 heavy fishing pressure in this region." 



Supply simply cannot keep up with 

 demand. Rulifson says that one market for 

 the spiny dogfish is the fish and chips 

 industry in Great Britain. 



Thorpe, who is from southern England, 

 says the English know the spiny dogfish as 

 rock salmon or grey fish. She says with a 

 smile, "Sounds a lot better, doesn't it?" 



Whatever its name, the spiny dogfish 



ends up far from home. Some spiny dogfish 

 tagged off the North Carolina coast in 

 Rulifson 's studies had tags returned from as 

 far away as Germany and Italy. Strange 

 migration patterns? No, says Rulifson. The 

 spiny dogfish didn't swim there: They were 

 imported, and the tags were returned by 

 food processors. 



Chris Hickman, one of Rulifson' s co- 

 researchers, says there may be a stock of 

 spiny dogfish off the North Carolina coast 

 separate from that of New England. If 

 proved true, management plans should 

 reflect this. 



Management should encompass more 

 than regulations on commercial fishers, 

 Hickman adds. He blames over-develop- 

 ment and alteration of wetlands as having 

 adverse effects on water quality, which also 

 contributes to depletion of fish stocks. 



Hickman agrees that we "need basic 

 management in all species," but wants to 

 see more scientists and fishers working 

 together in regulatory matters. 



Glenn Hopkins is busy fishing for 

 large coastal sharks like sandbars, blacktips 

 and bulls in federal waters beyond the 

 three-mile state limit. He says he is satisfied 

 that management plans can be and, in some 



cases, are effective. His FRG study focuses 

 on shark bycatch in the Spanish mackerel 

 and king mackerel sinknet fishery. 



Hopkins shares the idea that manage- 

 ment must be based "strictly on science." In 

 the large coastal shark fishery, he says, "the 

 United States is doing a good job." Since a 

 management plan went into effect in 1993, 

 he reports seeing a steady increase in the 

 availability of large coastal sharks. 



Closer to shore, Beresoff and Thorpe 

 finish up the day's shark expedition. When 

 "Captain Dave," aka "the shark guy" brings 

 the Yankee Dave in to dock, he is met by a 

 small but curious crowd. 



Basking in local fame, Beresoff 

 welcomes the chance to share his research, 

 which he hopes will bring an understanding 

 of commercial fishing to the public and 

 contribute to the data that guide fishery 

 management. 



"A lot of us live in tune with the 

 ocean," he says, "and we're not going to 

 exploit it." □ 



For more information on the Fishery 

 Resource Grant Program, check the Web at 

 www.ncsu.edu/seagrant or call North 

 Carolina Sea Grant at 919/515-2454. 



22 AUTUMN 2000 



