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Lookup NU author(s): Danielle Robinson, Dr Steven Newman, Professor Mark WhittinghamORCiD, Dr Richard Francksen, Professor Selina Stead
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© 2022 The Authors. Conservation Letters published by Wiley Periodicals LLC. Targets for protecting predatory species often fail to consider the human costs of conservation. Human–wildlife interactions can increase following conservation action and present a major ecological and socioeconomic challenge. Using semistructured interviews (n = 103), participatory mapping (n = 57) and Baited Remote Underwater Video Stations (50 h) we investigated fisher-shark interactions in one of the world's principal shark sanctuaries. Seventy-three percent of respondents reported an increase in shark depredation postsanctuary implementation. Fisher-reported losses due to shark depredation varied significantly between fisheries and were disproportionately high for reef fishers (>21% of daily vessel earnings). This is attributed to extensive spatial overlap (55%–78%) between reef fishing activity and ecologically validated shark hotspots. We show significant correlations between perceptions of depredation and support for shark sanctuary regulations. Findings demonstrate the need to consider fisher–shark interactions in current and future conservation planning and suggest that management of depredation must be sensitive to diverging perceptions among fisher groups.
Author(s): Robinson D, Newman SP, Whittingham MJ, Francksen RM, Adam MS, Stead SM
Publication type: Letter
Publication status: Published
Journal: Conservation Letters
Year: 2022
Volume: 15
Issue: 6
Print publication date: 01/11/2022
Online publication date: 19/08/2022
Acceptance date: 03/07/2022
ISSN (electronic): 1755-263X
Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Inc
URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12912
DOI: 10.1111/conl.12912
