Isurus oxyrinchus

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	CHONDRICHTHYES	LAMNIFORMES	LAMNIDAE

Scientific Name:

Isurus oxyrinchus

Species Authority

Intra-specific Authority:

Rafinesque, 1810

Common Name/s:

English

–

Shortfin Mako

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:	Lower Risk/near threatened ver 2.3
Year Assessed:	2000
Assessor/s	Stevens, J.
Evaluator/s:	Musick, J.A. & Fowler, S. (Shark Red List Authority)
Justification: A wide-ranging oceanic and pelagic shark with high value meat, the shortfin mako is subject to significant bycatch and targeted fisheries in some areas. Most catches are inadequately or un-recorded, and its relatively low reproductive capacity makes it very susceptible to depletion by these fisheries. However, the species is very wide-ranging and has a relatively fast growth rate. There is no evidence to suggest that its global population has been sufficiently depleted for it to warrant ‘Vulnerable’ status at the present time.

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	Cosmopolitan in temperate and tropical seas (Ref. 6871). Western Atlantic: Gulf of Maine to southern Brazil, including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. Eastern Atlantic: Norway to South Africa, including the Mediterranean. Indo-Pacific: East Africa to Hawaii, north to Primorsk Kray (Russian Fed), south to Australia and New Zealand. Eastern Pacific: south of Aleutian Is. and from southern California, USA to Chile.
Countries:	Native: Algeria; Angola; Antigua and Barbuda; Argentina; Australia; Bahamas; Bangladesh; Barbados; Belize; Benin; Brazil; Brunei Darussalam; Cambodia; Cameroon; Chile; China; Colombia; Congo; Cook Islands; Costa Rica; Cuba; Cyprus; Côte d'Ivoire; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; Egypt; El Salvador; Equatorial Guinea; Eritrea; Fiji; France (Corse); French Guiana; French Polynesia; Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Gibraltar; Greece (East Aegean Is., Kriti); Guadeloupe; Guatemala; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Guyana; Honduras; India; Indonesia; Iran, Islamic Republic of; Ireland; Israel; Italy (Sardegna, Sicilia); Jamaica; Japan; Kenya; Kiribati; Korea, Democratic People's Republic of; Korea, Republic of; Liberia; Libyan Arab Jamahiriya; Macao; Madagascar; Malaysia; Marshall Islands; Mexico; Micronesia, Federated States of; Montenegro; Morocco; Mozambique; Myanmar; Namibia; Nauru; New Caledonia; New Zealand; Nicaragua; Nigeria; Northern Mariana Islands; Norway; Oman; Pakistan; Palau; Panama; Papua New Guinea; Peru; Philippines; Pitcairn; Portugal; Puerto Rico; Russian Federation; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Singapore; Somalia; South Africa; Spain (Baleares, Canary Is.); Sri Lanka; Sudan; Suriname; Taiwan, Province of China; Tanzania, United Republic of; Thailand; Timor-Leste; Tonga; Trinidad and Tobago; Tunisia; Turkey; Turks and Caicos Islands; Tuvalu; United Kingdom; United States (Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaiian Is., Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington); Uruguay; Venezuela; Viet Nam; Virgin Islands, British; Virgin Islands, U.S.; Western Sahara; Yemen
FAO Marine Fishing Areas:	Native: Atlantic; Atlantic; Atlantic; Atlantic; Atlantic; Atlantic; Indian Ocean; Indian Ocean; Mediterranean and Black Sea; Pacific; Pacific; Pacific; Pacific; Pacific

Population [top]

Population Trend:	Unknown

Population Trend:

Unknown

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	The shortfin mako is an extremely active, offshore littoral and epipelagic species found in tropical and warm temperate seas. It seldom occurs in waters below 16°C. This shark is found from the surface down to at least 152 m. The species may be the fastest shark and one of the swiftest and most active fishes. It is able to leap several times its length from the water, and is capable of extreme bursts of speed when hooked and in pursuit of prey. In the extreme northern and southern parts of its range, it has a tendency to follow movements of warm water masses polewards in the summer. The species feeds primarily on other fishes, with a wide variety of prey (Compagno 1984).
Systems:	Marine

Habitat and Ecology:

The shortfin mako is an extremely active, offshore littoral and epipelagic species found in tropical and warm temperate seas. It seldom occurs in waters below 16°C. This shark is found from the surface down to at least 152 m. The species may be the fastest shark and one of the swiftest and most active fishes. It is able to leap several times its length from the water, and is capable of extreme bursts of speed when hooked and in pursuit of prey. In the extreme northern and southern parts of its range, it has a tendency to follow movements of warm water masses polewards in the summer. The species feeds primarily on other fishes, with a wide variety of prey (Compagno 1984).

Systems:

Marine

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	This is an important species for longline fisheries where it occurs, because of its high quality meat, and also is a prime game fish prized by sport anglers. The meat is utilized fresh, frozen, smoked and dried salted for human consumption; the oil is extracted for vitamins; the fins used for shark-fin soup; the hides processed into leather and the jaws and teeth used for ornaments. This species is caught in gillnets as well as on pelagic longlines and hook-and-line (Compagno 1984).

Major Threat(s):

This is an important species for longline fisheries where it occurs, because of its high quality meat, and also is a prime game fish prized by sport anglers. The meat is utilized fresh, frozen, smoked and dried salted for human consumption; the oil is extracted for vitamins; the fins used for shark-fin soup; the hides processed into leather and the jaws and teeth used for ornaments. This species is caught in gillnets as well as on pelagic longlines and hook-and-line (Compagno 1984).

Conservation Actions [top]

Citation:	IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 06 October 2008.
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