About sharks in the Algerian sea Written by Farid Hemida
Region Update: Mediterranean
1953 the list of all Algerian marine fish. He reported, at the time, the capture of a White Shark in the Jijel region and the specimen is in the collection of the Museum of Natural History in Paris. Long before that, many researchers published their work relating to the group of cartilaginous fishes. Since 1996, as part of research on Chondrichthyans of the Algerian coast, various surveys carried out in the main fish markets, and fishing sites (shelters and ports) on the coast showed more than 30 species of sharks. All the species are traditionally found on the stalls of our markets and very appreciated by the consumers. Passageway between the northern and southern sectors of the Atlantic and the rest of the Mediterranean, the Algerian coast is bound to enrich itself with new species of sharks, even with immigrants from the Red Sea. Sustained exploitation of the environment by humans with increasingly efficient fishing methods leads to a greater abundance of pelagic species that were previously unknown or infrequent. Climate change further impacts their distribution and behaviour.
IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group | Mediterranean Regional Group | Member École Nationale Supérieure des Sciences de la Mer et de l’Aménagement du Littoral (ENSSMAL) | Algiers, Algeria
Mare Nostrum, cradle of biodiversity The Mediterranean is a semi-enclosed sea that, contracry to what we may think, hosts great biodiversity, especially for fish and mammals: dolphin, pilot whale, monk seal, killer whale, sperm whale, whales (fin whale, minke whale). Cartilaginous fish or Chondrichthyes, essentially sharks and rays, angel sharks and chimaeras, can be found in seas around the world. They are of great economic importance being fished regularly, in large quantities and easily marketed. In Algeria, they are eaten regularly in restaurants under the name of dogfish, rays, or torpedoes. A visit to the fish outlets in this country highlights the diversity of this group; many anglers wear white shark teeth on necklaces, and many keep tail fins as trophies in their barracks.
A fish viction of its bad reputation
Photos by Farid Hemida
About three of the 400 species of sharks are believed to be dangerous. Number one is the Bull Shark, Carcharhinus leucas, which can leave the marine environment to enter rivers; then comes the Tiger Shark Galeocerdo cuvier, and finally the White Shark, Carcharodon carcharias. The first two are still not present in the Algerian waters or even in the Mediterranean. High concentrations of seals or birds attract these predators. This kind of concentration does not take place on the Algerian coast. Sharks are fragile predators: the particular length of their reproductive cycle with different modalities (viviparous for most species, which brings them closer to mammals, oviparous for the rest), late sexual maturity and low fecundity make them sensitive to fishing pressure. Like all predators, they can be dangerous and unpredictable. Still, annual statistics indicate that the most dangerous animals for humans are in order, well after small invertebrates (mosquitoes, flies, worms and snails), snakes, crocodiles, hippopotamus, elephants, wolves, then the shark, responsible for ten deaths per year. On the contrary, the real predator is the human being: he is responsible for the disappearance of about 800,000 tons of sharks per year in the world, or nearly 25 million individuals, according to figures from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Sharks, ancestral inhabitants of the Algerian sea Sharks, incredible animals haunting the collective imagination, are also appreciated for the quality of their flesh and are used for basic and applied research (chemistry, pharmacology, medicine). In the Algerian basin, large pelagic and solitary species have always been observed and captured occasionally to regularly: Great White Shark, Blue Shark, Basking Shark, Smalltooth Sand Tiger, Shortfin Mako, Thresher Shark, Hammerhead Shark, or requiem sharks. The new Mediterranean Sea, a wildlife annexe to the Atlantic, has been sheltering them for nearly 5 million years. These animals are classified in the group of Selachians or elasmobranchs, subcategory of Chondrichthyans which count more than 1200 species in the world and 85 species in the Mediterranean basin: 51 species of sharks, 34 rays and angel sharks and only one chimaera. The geographical origins reveal a significant Atlantic influence (52 species) and little endemism. Their qualitative and quantitative distribution is more important in the western part than in the eastern part of the coast. Dr Dieuzeide, from the Bou Ismail research centre, Algeria (ex Castiglione, central region of the Algerian coast), established in
Updated observations The largest fish in the world, the Whale Shark, which feeds on plankton, is completely harmless despite the enormous size it can reach (20 meters long and weighing 34 tons). If it is found in the tropical regions of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, the Mediterranean seems too small to host it, while it is home to the Basking Shark, the second largest fish (12m, for more than 6 tons). This species is regularly observed in spring and summer when it approaches the coast. Unfortunately, during this period, they are caught frequently by various fishing gears; one can often see individuals exposed, cut into several sections to facilitate their handling. Other sharks are also fished in abundance and regularly by longliners, trawlers or sport fishing. In Algeria, our calculation of 64
