Survival due to vitelline reserve of a finned neonate of Carcharias taurus in southern of Brazil

Abstract

A neonate of Carcharias taurus with mutilated fins was caught during commercial fishing with monofilament nylon bottom gillnets on the continental shelf of southern Brazil. The individual, a 100-cm long male, had the lobes of the first dorsal and two pectoral fins, probably cut clean with a knife and the wounds were healing process. The specimen probably was captured by the first time as a neonate and survival may only have happened due to the yolk reserve it was born with. In southern Brazil, where it was recaptured, landings of C. taurus have been forbidden by law since 1998. This case highlights the need for measures to enforce the landing of shark carcasses with attached fins to avoid finning and restrain the illegal fishing of protected species.