Empowering fishers for Great White Shark stewardship

Empowering fishers for Great White Shark stewardship: Reply to Madigan et al. 2021

Luis Malpica-Cruz, Alicia Abadía-Cardoso, Marc Aquino-Baleytó, Rodrigo Beas-Luna, Edgar E. Becerril-García, José L. Castillo-Géniz, Felipe Galván-Magaña, Emiliano García-Rodríguez, Sharon Z. Herzka, Edgar M. Hoyos-Padilla, Raúl E. Lara-Mendoza, Julio Lorda, Erick C. Oñate-González, Rodrigo J. Pérez-Weil, Nancy C. Saavedra-Sotelo, Omar Santana-Morales, Valeria Towns, José A. Zepeda-Domínguez

Conservation Letters. 2021; e12828.

DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12828

Madigan et al. (2021) recently reported a supposedly illegal fishery targeting white sharks in the Gulf of California (GC), Mexico. While we are strongly against illegal fishing and recognize the need to enhance enforcement to protect white sharks, the evidence presented does not support the authors’ argument and likely failed to abide by ethical and professional guidelines. Claiming the existence of a targeted fishery is weakly supported and irresponsible, and could jeopardize white shark research and conservation in Mexico. Additionally, the paper does not reference mandatory permits required under Mexican regulations for working with protected wildlife – regardless of whether handling of samples or derivatives was direct or indirect, especially when local scientists are not involved (LGVS arts. 97 & 98: http://www.diputados.gob.mx/LeyesBiblio/pdf/146_190118.pdf, accessed April 13, 2021).