Kyne & Simpfendorfer.. - Shark Specialist Group

The global trend is largely influenced by the trends in production figures from the Eastern and
Western Atlantic. The decline after the 1996 peak is a result of a reduction in reported catch
from the Western Atlantic and the slight increase at the end of the global time-series, a result
of increases in reported catch from the Eastern Atlantic. This ocean region has shown an
upward trend in reported catches across the time-series. It is the Atlantic were at present the
bulk of deepsea fishing activities occur, with little contribution from the other major ocean
regions. The exception is during the 1950s where the bulk of reported catches came from the
Indo-West Pacific. From initial reported catches of ~10000t in the 1950s, reported catches
from the Indo-West Pacific declined consistently to