Carcharhinus falciformis

Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. – This World Wildlife Day, March 3,Project AWARE®, WWF and The Manta Trust are pleased to release Responsible Shark and Ray Tourism: A Guide to Best Practice, the world’s first-ever guidelines for shark and ray tourism operators.

03 Mar 2017

A record number of migratory sharks and rays were listed for global protection at the CMS COP11, held in Quito, Ecuador in 2014.  But, what comes next? 

10 Aug 2015
Description: 
The silky shark (Carcharhinus falciformis) is listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as Near Threatened globally but Vulnerable in some regions due to continued declines in their populations around the world.
 
C. falciformis are migratory and found in oceanic and coastal habitats of tropical water. Silky sharks live in a variety of habitats throughout their life and have been found to migrate, regularly and cyclically crossing international borders. While they may not travel as much as other species, they may cover large distances in a short period of time (Clarke, C. et al. 2011). They exhibit particularly low productivity and show slow recovery from overexploitation. C. falciformis are vulnerable to fishing pressure, both directed and bycatch. Their fins are an important component of the global shark fin trade accounting for approximately 3.5 % of sharks in the Hong Kong market. C. falciformis populations have declined globally, with some regions experiencing declines of more than 90%.
 
Assessment information
CMS InstrumentsCMS, Sharks (2016)
IUCN StatusNear threatened
Date of entry in Appendix II2014
Geographic range
Countries Angola, Anguilla (UK), Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Brazil, British Virgin Islands (UK), Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Cameroon, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo (Brazzaville), Costa Rica, Cuba, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Kinshasa), Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, French Guiana (France), Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guadeloupe (France), Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran, Jamaica, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Martinique (France), Mauritania, Mexico, Montserrat (UK), Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, New Caledonia (France), New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Puerto Rico (USA), Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands (UK), United Republic of Tanzania, United States of America, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen
Common names
EnglishSilky Shark
SpanishTiburon sedoso
Taxonomy
ClassChondrichthyes
OrderCarcharhiniformes
FamilyCarcharhinidae
Scientific name Carcharhinus falciformis
AuthorMüller and Henle 1839
Standard referenceEschmeyer, W.N. (1990). Catalogue of the Genera of Recent Fishes. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California.

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