Porbeagle Shark Breeding Ground On Georges Bank

July 21, 2008

A post on Canadian Broadcasting Center Online reports that scientists have discovered a new breeding ground for porbeagle sharks off Canada’s East Coast on the Candian portion of Georges Bank.

A research team located the mating area on Georges Bank earlier this month after hearing reports from fishermen that they were hauling up the large, blue-grey sharks in their nets. Steve Campana, a marine biologist who specializes in the species, said the find makes it only the second known breeding ground in the Northwest Atlantic for the fast, fierce-looking shark that can reach almost four metres in length.

Until now, scientists knew of only one breeding ground for porbeagles off Newfoundland and Labrador’s southern coast. The area was closed to directed shark fishing shortly after it was identified as a mating area.Campana said Fisheries managers are now reviewing the latest find to determine whether the area should be closed to shark fishing to stave off another collapse in the population.

The porbeagle fishery is worth an estimated $2 million annually on the East Coast, with 90 per cent of it going to markets in Boston.

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