Estimation of the amount of shark landing by species in the main fishing ports of Japan

To clarity the amount of shark landing by both species and fishing methods in Japan, an investigation on shark landing at the main fishing ports was conducted. The annual average weight of landing in the product form for all shark species and blue shark by all fishing methods from 1992 to 1998 were estimated to be 19, 600 and 11, 600 tons respectively. Those by the longline were estimated to be 15, 000 and 11, 000 tons respectively. These weights became 28, 700, 18, 800, 23, 100 and 17, 800 tons after conversion to whole body weight. In all cases, the landing of the blue shark was dominant and occupied 61-79%. Excluding the blue shark, salmon shark, shortfin mako and thresher sharks were landed in relatively large amounts and occupied about 10, 10 and 5% respectively. A declining tendency in the amount of landing for those main species was not observed.