Porbeagle sharks need more help, says Ecology Action Centre

A Halifax-based ecology group says international regulators aren't doing enough to protect a type of shark known to frequent waters off Canada's east coast.

The Ecology Action Centre says that for the fifth year in a row, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas has decided against new conservation measures for the porbeagle shark.

There is no directed fishery for this type of shark.

However, there are no rules against keeping the sharksif fishermen capture them when fishing for other species.

Spokeswoman Heather Grant says bycatch is one of the largest threats to the species.

Grant says scientists consider porbeagles one of the most vulnerable sharks, which have been assessed as endangered by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.

Recent estimates from Fisheries and OceansCanada put the population at about a quarter of what it was in the1960s before overfishing devastated stocks.

The fierce-looking shark is sometimes confused with its larger relative, the great white shark, due to its similar body profile.

However, swimmers need not worry. Although porbeagles are found in waters surrounding Atlantic Canada, they eat primarily fish and squid.