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Porbeagle Shark

Streamlined and built for speed, the porbeagle shark is a powerful predator found in the cold and temperate waters of the North Atlantic Ocean and Southern Hemisphere. While it may resemble its relative the white shark, it doesn’t grow to be nearly as large.

 

Porbeagle sharks are mackerel sharks, like white sharks and mako sharks, and they share similar features: a pointed snout and a crescent tail. They can grow to be up to 3.6 meters (12 feet) long and weigh up to 230 kilograms (500 pounds). Like its relatives, porbeagle sharks can maintain a body temperature that is higher than the surrounding water, a trait rare in fish. This ability helps the shark maintain fast speeds in cold water to chase down prey like fish and squid. 

These sharks undertake seasonal migrations from coastal waters in the summer to deeper waters in the winter. Despite being sometimes observed alone, they are one of the few sharks known to show playful behavior. They may playfully chase each other or interact with floating objects together. 

 

 

Porbeagle sharks are especially susceptible to human-caused threats due to their slow reproductive rate and late maturity. They are often retained for their meat and fins, as well as accidently captured as bycatch in longline, gillnet, and trawl fisheries. Following population declines caused by overfishing, some countries, including the United States, Canada, and Norway, have implemented catch limits and protections for these vulnerable sharks.

 

 

The buying and selling of shark fins has been banned in multiple countries, including the United States and Canada following significant campaigning by Oceana and our allies. But there’s more work to be done. 

Overfishing has contributed to a decline of oceanic shark and ray populations by more than 70% over the last 50 years. We are working to stop this decline by advocating for stronger fisheries management to reduce overfishing and the number of sharks killed as bycatch. 

 

 

 

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