Silky shark
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Silky shark ( Carcharhinus falciformis ) |
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| Carcharhinus falciformis | ||||||||||||
| ( Müller & Henle , 1839) |
The silky shark ( Carcharhinus falciformis ) belongs to the family of requiem sharks (Carcharhinidae) and is classified as endangered by the IUCN .
anatomy
The silk shark is 2 to 3.3 m tall, with a gray, brownish gray to blackish color, towards the belly the shark becomes lighter and white. It is a large and slender shark with a moderately long, flat and rounded snout, large eyes, small jaws and it has pointed teeth. The first dorsal fin begins behind the free end of the pectoral fin (the most typical feature). The second dorsal fin has an elongated tip.
distribution
The silky shark occurs worldwide in tropical and subtropical regions, both near the coast and oceanic.
- Western Atlantic Ocean: Massachusetts down to Brazil , the Gulf of Mexico and the entire Caribbean.
- East Atlantic: Spain and down to Senegal .
- Indian Ocean: Tanzania to Madagascar , the Maldives and around Sri Lanka .
- Red sea .
- Western Pacific : Thailand , Philippines , New Caledonia, and Australia .
- East Pacific: Hawaii , southern California to Peru .
- For a few years now also in the Mediterranean , probably immigrated through the Strait of Gibraltar .
food
Together with the blue shark and the whitetip deep sea shark, this shark is one of the most common large animals in the high seas. The preferred water depth is in the upper 500 m, where he mainly hunts fish, but also mollusks .
Danger
The silk shark is one of the three most traded shark species in the world, it is mostly a target of fishermen or bycatch. Their meat is offered for human consumption, but more important is their fins. The fins are particularly traded in Hong Kong . According to some estimates, which already last three generations of sharks, the population of the silk shark in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans is steadily declining. But they also show an increase in the Indian Ocean. There are, however, uncertainties about catch quotas and changes in the population of sharks, but it is estimated that the species has declined by 16 to 22 percent over the last three generations. According to the FAO , the 2014 catch was around 4900 tons and was mainly fished in Sri Lanka. Because of the vague data, it is impossible to confidently blame fishing for the population decline. This species could also lose its population through environmental influences. Due to the estimated population decline, this species is classified as Endangered .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Carcharhinus falciformis in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2017-1. Posted by: Rigby, CL, Sherman, CS, Chin, A. & Simpfendorfer, C., 2015-02-21.
- ↑ Carcharhinus falciformis on Fishbase.org (English)
- ↑ Golani, D., Orsi Relini, L., Massutí, E. & Quignard, J.-P. (2002). CIESM Atlas of Exotic Species in the Mediterranean. Vol. 1: Fishes. Monaco: CIESM.
- ↑ http://www.dradio.de/dlf/sendung/umwelt/1039546/ Fisheries policy and climate change: From the annual meeting of the International Council for Marine Research. ( Deutschlandfunk )
Web links
- Silky shark on Fishbase.org (English)
- Silky shark in the hai.ch database
- Sharkproject: Project dedicated to the fight for more knowledge about sharks and thus more understanding for the protection of animals
- Carcharhinus falciformis inthe IUCN 2017-1 Red List of Threatened Species . Posted by: Rigby, CL, Sherman, CS, Chin, A. & Simpfendorfer, C., 2015-02-21.