NOAA’s Strategy for Understanding Shark Depredation

Shark depredation, the removal or damage of fish by sharks, has become a growing issue with impacts ranging from economic losses from lost or damaged catch, bait, and gear to increased mortality of released fish and degraded fishing experiences. NOAA is developing a strategic plan on the issue of shark depredation. Reports of shark interactions have increased in recent years due to potentially learned behavior, rebuilding of some shark populations, increasing fishing effort, and more fish being released and discarded. However, shark depredation is not a recent phenomenon. To address the variety of theories on shark depredation, NOAA is using a multiple step approach to answer many of these questions. The framework that will come out of this strategic plan will continue to build on a strong state-federal partnership to give policy makers, stakeholders, and the public better information on how to best manage this issue.

Last updated by Office of Communications on 07/14/2026