one of Oregon’s lesser known sea creatures

As a child, I used to visit local aquariums along the coast and was amazed to experience another world that existed under the ocean. Walking through aquariums seeing the wide assortment of fish in every color, jellyfish who amazed crowds, and seals that could do tricks brought a strong feeling of awe and wonder through my whole body. Regardless of how amazing these animals were, the star of the show was always the sharks. I always felt a magnetic pull towards the shark tanks, as a little kid I dragged my mom towards them, and years later I now coax my friends in the sharks direction. Now, since moving to Oregon, I have been introduced to a new world as the state is home to fifteen species of sharks. While this does include the infamous Great White, Oregon’s waters provide a wide variety of shark that can’t be found in a tank. Among these is the soupfin shark, a species I never encountered in an aquarium growing up, but hasn’t failed to fascinate me.

The soupfin shark, also known as the tope shark, gets its name from its use in shark fin soup, a popular cuisine in many Asian countries. They are detectable by their long snouts and second dorsal fins and distinguish themselves by swimming in schools of up to fifty animals. They have a vast migratory range from Southern California to British Columbia, which includes Oregon’s coastal regions that provide important pupping and nursery habitat.

Unfortunately, not everything has gone swimmingly for the soupfin shark. Over the last century, they’ve seen around an 80% decline globally. Fisheries along the west coast turned to the abundance and popularity of the soupfin shark, especially their vitamin rich livers, beginning in the 1930’s. Oregon reached its peak at 270,000 pounds of liver harvested in the late 1930’s. The overharvesting of these sharks that occurred around this time has left the population still in recovery. 

Overfishing was one of the greatest threats that these animals faced, they have slow growth rates, long gestational periods struggle to repopulate as quickly as they are declining. Federal law banning the finning of sharks has helped the United States maintain sustainable harvesting practices and reduce offshore illegal finning, however there’s a lot that isn’t fully understood about this shark in Oregon. For example, little is known about their migratory patterns, pupping season, seasonal feedings and how human activities interfere with them. To help ensure the recovery of this at risk  species, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife recently designated the soupfin shark as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need in their newly updated State Wildlife Action Plan, an overarching state initiative with the goal to help conserve fish and wildlife. 

The Pacific Coast Groundfish Management Plan, the key reference for conservation noted in the State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP), was created to help restore the declining populations of these sharks and other groundfish. While it is known that these sharks rely on estuaries for nursery habitats and seasonal feeding, gaps in data fail to show exactly where and when these fish arrive and evidence suggests new coastal and offshore developments may impact them. Conservation measures in the Groundfish Management Plan includes increased research and data collection to help to monitor the richness of the sharks off Oregon’s coast and includes an amendment prohibiting target catching of this species. Limits to deep water interactions and guidance and gear changes are also included in the Pacific Coast Groundfish Management Plan to help reduce possible human interactions with these animals. 

These plans are efforts in a positive direction but more could be done to ensure the conservation and recovery of this species. Further investment in public education and increased policy around the conservation of marine wildlife, especially Oregon’s Species of Greatest Conservation Need, are critical to protecting species like the soupfin shark to ensure they remain in our waters for generations to come.