Shark Bycatch Mitigation Decision Support Tool (DST)

Today, an estimated 80 million sharks are killed annually due to fishing activities. Although tools to mitigate these impacts do exist, effective shark management is complex and local stakeholders often lack the resources required to make informed management decisions that support local fisheries and  communities, while minimizing impacts on sharks. Recognizing this gap, The Nature Conservancy, in partnership with external fisheries and policy experts, has developed the Shark Bycatch Mitigation Decision Support Tool (DST) to support decision-makers in identifying location-appropriate shark bycatch mitigation measures that can be enabled by electronic monitoring (EM) in all ocean areas with unsustainable shark catch.

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is actively looking for stakeholders to implement the Tool in fisheries with high bycatch of sharks. If you’re interested in learning more about how to apply this tool in your fishery or supply chain to reduce shark bycatch, please contact Meghan Fletcher at meghan.fletcher@tnc.org.