Marine Life & Conservation Blogs
Creature Feature: The Houndsharks
In this series, the Shark Trust will be sharing amazing facts about different species of sharks and what you can do to help protect them.
This month we’re taking a look at a few of the species from the houndshark family. The houndsharks, a.k.a. Triakidae, are a family of around 45 species. In this Creature Feature we’ll be looking at the Leopard Shark and Common Smoothhound.
Houndsharks are known for having two large, spineless dorsal fins, an anal fin and oval-shaped eyes with nictating eyelids. Animals with nictating eyelids have a third, clear, eyelid. This protects the eye whilst still allowing the houndsharks to be able to see. Houndsharks are small to medium in size, with adults ranging from around 37cm to 220cm. They’re one of the largest families of sharks. They are distributed throughout the world in warm and temperate waters. They predominantly feed on fish and invertebrates on the seafloor and in midwater.
Leopard Shark
Confusingly named after a feline species, the Leopard Shark does indeed belong to the houndshark family. Its name comes from the unique saddle marks and spots that cover the species, resembling those of a leopard (as seen in the banner image).
It is one of the most common sharks found along the Pacific coast of North America. They are active, strong-swimming sharks. Sometimes spotted resting on sand among rocks. Leopard Sharks form large, nomadic schools with different species (such as the North Pacific Spiny Dogfish and Bat Rays.
The species is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Leopard Sharks are primarily caught by recreational anglers. But they are also taken as incidental catch in commercial fisheries. They are generally well managed by commercial fisheries. They are also popular in aquariums due to their distinctive markings and hardiness. The poaching of pups for the aquarium trade has been a significant problem.
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Triakis semifasciata
FAMILY: Triakidae (Houndsharks)
MAXIMUM SIZE: 180cm
DIET: Small sharks eat crabs, the siphons off clams and worms from the seafloor. Large sharks may eat fishes and even other smaller sharks.
DISTRIBUTION: Northeast Pacific – west coast of the United States from southern Washington to the Gulf of California (Mexico).
HABITAT: Cool to warm waters. Most common on or near the seabed in bays and estuaries. Females give birth in water less than 1m deep.
CONSERVATION STATUS:
Common Smoothhound
A medium-sized, unspotted houndshark. The Common Smoothhound is often confused with the Starry Smoothhound which usually has white spots along its back. It’s also often confused with the Tope Shark. Smoothounds are so called because they will gather in large numbers, like a pack of dogs.
The Common Smoothhound is classified as globally Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The species is classed as Vulnerable in Europe. It is targeted by fisheries across its range, both for sport and in commercial fisheries. The species is caught for food across the Mediterranean, European and West African fisheries. There is often confusion between the Common Smoothhound and Starry Smoothhound. Starry Smoothounds often doesn’t have any stars/spots. So they are very similar in appearance. Genetic analysis is the most reliable way to distinguish smoothhounds.
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Mustelus mustelus
FAMILY: Triakidae (Houndsharks)
MAXIMUM SIZE: 175cm
DIET: Mainly crustaceans. Also cephalopods and bony fishes.
DISTRIBUTION: Temperate east Atlantic. UK to the Mediterranean, Morocco down to South Africa and the Indian Ocean coast.
HABITAT: Continental shelves and upper slopes. Usually 5-50m, but occasionally down to at least 800m.
CONSERVATION STATUS:
For more amazing facts about sharks and what you can do to help the Shark Trust protect them visit the Shark Trust website by clicking here.
Banner Image – ©Barbar Ash via Shutterstock
Image of Leopard Shark – ©ScubaZoo
Maps – ©Chris_huh, via Wikimedia Commons
Smoothound Illustration – ©Marc Dando
Blogs
Saba’s Plan for a Coral Comeback
Saba has an exciting new initiative to restore its coral reefs. This new project, running from 2024 to 2026, will focus on reviving key species in the island’s underwater ecosystems. With a collaborative team from the Saba Conservation Foundation (SCF) and Van Hall Larenstein (VHL) University of Applied Sciences, the project aims to restore both corals as well as sea urchins.
This initiative is centered around coral restoration, specifically reviving two essential coral species—staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) and elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata). By mapping parent colonies and using a technique known as coral gardening, SCF will create and maintain coral nurseries. These corals will eventually be outplanted at key reef sites around Saba to not only expand the number of coral colonies, but also provide essential fish habitat. The project focusses on installing coral nurseries, training staff with the newest techniques and starting with the restoration of key reef sites.
Reef Cleaners to the Rescue
It’s not just corals getting a makeover—this project also shines a spotlight on the essential role of grazers, particularly sea urchins. VHL is leading the charge on cultivating and restocking two key sea urchin species, West Indian sea egg (Tripneustes) and long-spined sea urchin (Diadema), known for their ability to keep algae in check. By removing algae, which are important competitors of corals, they help the coral to thrive. By restoring these “reef cleaners,” Saba’s project will give corals the breathing room they need to grow, setting the stage for a healthier, more balanced marine ecosystem.
From Tiny Urchins to Big Goals
The project will be funded as part of the Dutch Government’s Nature and Environment Policy Plan (NEPP) 2020-2030 for the Caribbean Netherlands, a comprehensive initiative aimed at conserving and restoring the unique natural environments of the Dutch Caribbean islands, including Saba, St. Eustatius, and Bonaire. This project is aiming for big milestones: build and maintaining coral nurseries, the expansion of urchin cultivation facilities, and the creation of a dedicated research center. By 2026, the project hopes to ramp up coral and grazer restoration, with the ultimate goal of extending these efforts across the Dutch Caribbean. By linking local initiatives to broader regional goals, Saba’s restoration project promises to leave a lasting impact on both the environment and the community.
Find out more about the DCNA at dcnanature.org.
Blogs
Reef-World marks two decades of marine conservation: strengthening impact amid coral reef threats
Empowering ocean stakeholders to tackle future challenges and ensure the survival of coral reefs and humanity
2024 marks the 20th Anniversary of The Reef-World Foundation’s tireless efforts for global coral reef conservation. The UK charity is the international coordinator of the UN Environment Programme’s Green Fins initiative, known as the leading voice in sustainable marine tourism. Today, Reef-World released its 2023-2024 Impact Report outlining a year of substantive growth and impact in its marine conservation programmes.
Impact Report Highlights:
- Impressive improvements in environmental behaviours to protect coral reefs by the marine tourism industry as the global participation of Green Fins increases.
- Continued capacity building for government and NGO staff to effectively manage marine tourism activities in Asia, Caribbean and Red Sea regions.
- For the first time in Green Fins’ 20-year history, tourism operators have achieved ‘Best Environmental Performer’ status by demonstrating the lowest possible environmental impact in their environmental assessments. In 2024, three dive operators achieved this challenging milestone.
- Significant increases in global participation of Reef-World’s innovative digital conservation tools.
- 138 Green Fins dive operator members achieved the strict threshold for PADI Eco Center recognition.
- Developed four new educational materials and translated two into 16 languages to support the marine tourism industry in achieving sustainability targets.
- Establishing a new Reef-World Development strategy and recruiting new roles – Development and Programmes Managers.
- Reef-World’s board welcomes new Chair and Trustees strengthening organisational leadership.
Reef-World started as a one-person mission to inspire and empower communities to act in conserving and sustainably developing coral reefs and related ecosystems. Today, the team of 12 continues to meet this mission by inspiring and empowering the global marine tourism community to be exemplary sustainability leaders by using the Green Fins guidelines and tools to simultaneously use and protect the world’s precious reefs.
In April 2024, the fourth global coral reef bleaching event was confirmed. Reef-World’s work has never been more urgent as the marine environment, and the benefits they provide humanity, continue to be eroded by global threats. The reduction of local threats, like those from the marine tourism industry, is an essential step to ensuring a future where coral reefs survive and continue to support the millions of people who depend on their ecosystem benefits. Reef-World’s work buys time for coral reefs and related ecosystems to be resilient to the impacts of global threats.
“Right now our corals are facing the greatest fight of their existence as the terrifying predictions of the steps towards their complete extinction are starting to come true. But all is not lost, reefs are resilient and they have existed on this planet for millions of years. We must take action now, to buy time for reefs by reducing threats facing them and allowing them to react and adjust to the changing environment they need to survive in.” – Chloe Harvey, Executive Director
Looking Forwards:
Like coral reefs, the Reef-World team needs to be resilient in the face of the complex challenges of the conservation sector. Reef-World has invested significantly in developing a Culture of Care to ensure the well-being of its team on a daily basis, continuing to be an exemplary employer to enable its team to best achieve the mission for coral reef conservation.
With the foundations of a Culture of Care and organisational development laid, Reef-World is emerging from the end of a natural organisation life cycle, that brings the challenges of growth and scale, stronger than ever. With a new strategy in place to generate much needed resources, Reef-World is excited for the opportunities to leap forward, continue to scale our impact and lean into new innovations and untapped opportunities for marine conservation.
We continually strive to become a forward-thinking organisation that delivers on our goals and commitments to our stakeholders with fresh approaches and not being afraid of steering away from a “normal approach.” This approach is not only applied to our programmes of work but also internally and carries over to our Culture of Care for our team.” — JJ Harvey, Operations Director
The Reef-World Foundation is immensely grateful for the continued support of its grant funders: UN Environment Programme, IUCN’s Blue Natural Capital Financing Facility, Adventure Travel Conservation Fund, PADI Aware Foundation, and World Nomads Footprints Program.
Reef-World would also like to express its gratitude to international partners whose vital support has resulted in significant tangible benefits for our work and mission: PADI; Professional SCUBA Schools International (PSS); Explorer Ventures; 1% for the Planet; ZuBlu; Snorkel Venture, GSTC; Dive O’Clock; Seven Dragons; DiveAssure and Eco Beach, without whom these achievements would not be possible.
The full 2023–2024 Annual Impact Report is available on Reef-World’s website.
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