Reconciling conservation and management objectives with the international aquarium trade of the globally critically endangered Sand Tiger Shark

The Sand Tiger Shark ( Carcharias taurus ) is a globally critically endangered shark that is one of the most popular sharks to display in aquariums. The Northwest Atlantic population is considered one of the least threatened populations of Sand Tiger Sharks, largely due to effective fisheries management in the U.S. However, there has never been a formal stock assessment for this population, nor has there been any recent assessment of its population trends, so its population status remains unknown. Despite these issues, there remains a strong financial incentive to collect wild sharks for display in aquariums around the world. Over the last several years, there has been an increase in the harvest of Sand Tiger Sharks in Delaware Bay, a Habitat Area of Particular Concern for this species, by private collecting companies for display in aquariums. Most of these sharks are then sold in a global market, being sent overseas to Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, regions that have historically had their own populations of Sand Tiger Sharks, but their numbers have been so reduced that they are generally considered to be extirpated in these regions. The impact that these collecting activities have on the Northwest Atlantic population is unknown and therefore raises questions as to why private organizations are permitted to harvest a protected species for profit without understanding the impact this activity has on wild populations or without directly contributing to their conservation. In this paper, we describe this situation and highlight some of the biological, ethical, and financial concerns associated with harvesting a protected species for profit, thereby hindering the conservation and recovery of Sand Tiger Shark populations.