Captured Species
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Photo	Names
Illustrations by Chris Van Dusen Images Courtesy of Seafood Business Magazine	Latin: Isurus and Carchahinus spp. French: Requin German: Haifisch Spanish: Tiburone Russian: Akula Japanese: Same, fuka

Description

There are dozens of shark species available on the market, the most prominent being the maku (Isurus oxyrinchus). Sharks have not changed much in the past 100 million years. Sharks are extremely efficient hunters that exist at the top of the marine food chain. Sharks are different from other marine fish in several ways. First their skeletal structure consistes entirely of cartilage with no bone. Second they have no scales. Third they have no urinary tract. Urine in sharks accumulates in the blood and is then secreted through the skin. Sharks also give birth to live young.

Markets	Commercial Aspects
Exporting Countries Capture: United States, Canada, Iceland Primary Consumers Japan, United States, France	About 6,000 tons of sharks are landed annually in North America.

Production Trends	Diet/Health Info
Population assessment of sharks has proven difficult. The steady continued supply suggests that current stocks are healthy. Supplies are expected to be steady but limited.	Since sharks have no urinary tract and urine accumulates in the blood before secretion through their skin, sharks must be bled immediately after capture. If a shark is not bled or improperly handled, it will smell of ammonia.

The Global Supply

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