Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Highly Streamlined Pcr-Based Genetic Identification Of Carcharhinid Sharks (Family Carcharhinidae) For Use In Wildlife Forensics, Trade Monitoring, And Delineation Of Species Distributions, Marcy Henning

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

An increase in worldwide industrialized shark fisheries resulting from the growing demand for shark products, especially shark fins in Asian markets, as well as high levels of bycatch mortality associated with multi-species fisheries have raised suspicions of substantial declines in global shark populations. Due to varying responses by individual species to fishing pressure, it has become necessary to manage sharks on a species-specific basis, which requires the collection of more accurate catch and trade data. The accumulation of such data is hindered, however, by difficulties in identifying species from only landed carcasses, body parts, or fins. This is especially true …