North and Central Atlantic

Fish and shellfish catch statistics

Shark catches analysis were conducted using records retrieved from survey data on large pelagic species caught with longlines from 1976 to 1989 in the northwest Atlantic (US shelf waters 43 - 27 N) and in the area extending from 16 to 39 W , referred to as the Central Atlantic. Twenty of the 25 shark species noted in the research catches were found in the western part of the surveyed area. Blue sharks constituted 40% of the total number of sharks caught in the north-west Atlantic and 86% of those caught in the Central Atlantic. The next most frequently caught shark species were sandbar, scalloped hammerhead, whitetip and shortfin mako sharks. The CPUE index values were calculated for them. The geographical distributions of blue and shortfin mako sharks within 30' x 30' geographical squares were analyzed. The shark species diversity index was also calculated. Data are in digital or analogue maps form.

National Marine Fisheries Research Institute
Kollataja 1
Gdynia

81-332
Poland