Cetorhinus maximus (North Pacific subpopulation)
– Endangered
Taxonomy
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Kingdom:
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ANIMALIA
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Phylum:
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CHORDATA
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Class:
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CHONDRICHTHYES
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Order:
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LAMNIFORMES
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Family:
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CETORHINIDAE
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Scientific Name:
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Cetorhinus maximus (North Pacific subpopulation)
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Species Authority:
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(Gunnerus, 1765)
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Common Name/s:
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BASKING SHARK (Eng)
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Assessment Information
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Red List Category & Criteria:
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EN A1ad ver 2.3 (1994)
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Year Assessed:
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2000
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Assessor/s:
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Fowler, S.L.
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Evaluator/s:
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Musick, J.A. & Fowler, S. (Shark Red List Authority)
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Justification:
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A very large filter-feeding cold-water pelagic species, widely distributed but only regularly seen in a few favoured coastal locations and probably never very abundant. Documented fisheries in several regions have usually been characterised by rapidly declining local populations as a result of short-term fisheries exploitation, followed by very slow or no recorded population recovery. There is likely potential for similar population declines to occur in the future from directed and bycatch fisheries, driven at least in part by the demand for fins in international trade. Basking sharks are now legally protected in some territorial waters. Compagno (1984) considers the basking shark "to be extremely vulnerable to overfishing, perhaps more so than most sharks ... ascribed to its slow growth rate, lengthy maturation time, long gestation period, probably low fecundity and probable small size of existing populations (belied by the immense size of individuals in their small schools)."
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Geographic Range
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Countries:
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Native:
Canada; China; Japan; Korea, Democratic People's Republic of; Korea, Republic of; Mexico; Russian Federation; United States
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FAO Marine Fishing Areas:
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Native:
Pacific-northeast; Pacific-northwest
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Population
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Population Trend:
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Habitat and Ecology
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System:
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Marine
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List of Habitats:
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| 9.1 | Marine Neritic - Pelagic |
| 10.1 | Marine Oceanic - Epipelagic (0-200m) |
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Threats
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List of Threats:
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| 3.1.3 | Harvesting (hunting/gathering) - Food - Regional/international trade (ongoing) |
| 3.4.3 | Harvesting (hunting/gathering) - Materials - Regional/international trade (ongoing) |
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Bibliography
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Bibliography:
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Compagno, L.J.V. 1984. FAO species catalogue. Vol. 4. Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. FAO Fish. Synop. No. 125, vol. 4. Shark Specialist Group. 2000. IUCN Shark Specialist Group Red List Assessments, 2000 (unpublished report). Shark Specialist Group. For more information, see the Specialist Group website.
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