Porbeagle: public consultation
The Government of Canada is consulting with Canadians on whether Porbeagle should be added to the List of Wildlife Species at Risk as an endangered species. – Please fill out the online survey by June 1, 2018.
Your opinion counts
The Species at Risk Act (SARA) supports Canada’s international commitments to conserve biological diversity by providing legal protection for wildlife species at risk. SARA acknowledges that all Canadians have a role to play in the conservation of wildlife species.
Before deciding whether Porbeagle (Lamna nasus) will be added to the List of Wildlife Species at Risk under SARA, we would like your comments regarding the possible ecological, cultural, and economic impacts of listing or not listing this species.
Figure 1: Image of a Porbeagle (Jeffery C. Domm).
Adding a species to the list of Wildlife Species at Risk
The first step in the process to determine if a species should be listed under SARA occurs when the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC), an independent committee of experts, assesses the status of a species based on the best available information, including scientific data, local ecological information and Indigenous traditional knowledge. COSEWIC then assigns the species a designation based on its risk of disappearing in Canada (e.g., endangered, threatened, special concern).
Once assessed, the Government of Canada decides if it will be added to the List of Wildlife Species at Risk under SARA. Public consultations are an important step in the process to gather information on the potential positive and negative impacts of protecting a species under SARA.
Facts about Porbeagle
Porbeagle is a species of mackerel shark which is widely distributed in the northwest Atlantic. Porbeagle are dark bluish-grey to bluish-black on their backs (dorsal side) and white underneath (ventral side), with a pale or whitish tip on the lower trailing edge of their large, triangular first dorsal fin (on their backs) (Figure 1). Porbeagle have a heavy, secondary “keel” underneath the longer primary keel on its tail, a stout head, a pointed snout, large black eyes, and small smooth-edged narrow teeth with two smaller cusps at the base of each tooth. Porbeagle are apex predators, and feed opportunistically on squid and many marine fish species. This suggests that they play an important role in structuring marine communities. According to the 2014 COSEWIC assessment, Porbeagle have a life span of 26 to 40 years and a generation time of 18 years. These warm-blooded sharks have slow growth rates, mature later in life (an average of 8 years for males and 13 years for females), and have small litters (4 pups per litter on average). Porbeagle have a continuous distribution in Canadian waters ranging from northern Newfoundland and Labrador to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the Scotian Shelf and the Bay of Fundy. They are widely distributed, and are most abundant on the continental shelf or near the shelf edge.
Status designation of Porbeagle in Canadian waters
COSEWIC assessed the Porbeagle population in Canadian waters in May 2004 and assigned it a status of endangered. The status was re-assessed and confirmed by COSEWIC in May 2014. Under SARA, an endangered species is defined as one that is facing imminent extirpation (the species no longer exists in the wild in Canada) or extinction (the species no longer exists in the wild anywhere).
Why is Porbeagle assessed as endangered
According to the 2014 COSEWIC assessment, Porbeagle experienced a decline in abundance in the 1960s after they started to become targeted by the fishing industry. In the 1980s the population partially recovered before another collapse occurred in the 1990s. Catch rates have since decreased and Porbeagle numbers are thought to have remained low but stable up to 2009, the last year that population size was estimated. In 2013 directed fisheries for Porbeagle were suspended; however, they continue to be caught as bycatch in multiple fisheries in Canadian and international waters. Although some Porbeagle is retained, most incidentally caught Porbeagle in Atlantic Canada are returned to the water. Mortality rates for Porbeagle in Atlantic Canadian fisheries are uncertain, but have been estimated at 110t per year. This species’ life history characteristics, including late maturity and few pups per litter, make it particularly vulnerable to overexploitation.
What happens if Porbeagle is listed as endangered under the Species at Risk Act
If Porbeagle is listed as endangered, the prohibitions of SARA would immediately come into effect in Canadian waters. It would be illegal to kill, harm, harass, capture, possess, buy, sell, or trade Porbeagle. A recovery strategy and subsequent action plan(s) would be developed to identify measures to address threats. Critical habitat – the habitat necessary for the survival and recovery of Porbeagle – would need to be identified, to the extent possible, in a recovery strategy or action plan. Destruction of any part of the critical habitat would be prohibited under SARA.
How would listing under SARA benefit Porbeagle
The prohibitions implemented under SARA would offer legal protection for the species in Canada and would trigger recovery planning in collaboration with key partners. There may be increased access to funding for scientific research and stewardship activities aimed at recovering the species.
How would listing Porbeagle impact fishing activities
Food, social, and ceremonial (FSC) fisheries
There are currently no Indigenous FSC fisheries targeting Porbeagle. Licensed FSC fisheries with the potential to catch Porbeagle as bycatch could be issued a permit or exemption if it is determined that incidental bycatch of Porbeagle is not a threat to the survival or recovery of the population.
Commercial and recreational fisheries
Fishing activities with the potential to catch Porbeagle as bycatch would be reviewed to determine if they qualify for a SARA permit or exemption. If a permit or exemption is issued, non-directed fisheries could continue to operate, but Porbeagle caught as bycatch must be returned to the water in the manner that causes the least harm. Other measures could also be implemented, including an increase in the level of detail recorded for Porbeagle bycatch and mandatory discard reporting in fisheries which do not currently report discards. Additional measures could be taken if mortality levels are observed to be regularly above acceptable levels, either across fisheries or in a given fishery. These could include a regional Porbeagle bycatch strategy, or temporal or spatial closures, or other measures as appropriate.
Related links
- COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report (2014)
- Recovery Potential Assessment for Porbeagle in Atlantic Canada (2015)
For more information
Species at Risk Program, Maritimes Region
1 Challenger Drive, PO Box 1006
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, B2Y 4A2
SpeciesatRisk.XMAR@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Your comments on the potential impacts of adding or not adding Porbeagle as endangered to the List of Wildlife Species at Risk under SARA would be appreciated.
Your comments are important.
Thank you for completing the survey.