Keywords: Fishes, Salish Sea Currents magazine, Species of concern

Local shark experts say people are often surprised to find that sharks are not ruthless eating machines; rather  these animals display complex social behaviors and even personalities. They say the more that people learn about sharks, the more they will want to protect them. Our series on Puget Sound's sharks continues with part six of seven. 


When people hear that sharks are living in Puget Sound, they may go through a series of emotions until they finally come to appreciate these unique marine creatures, according to Rachel Easton, education director for Harbor WildWatch, an environmental learning center in Gig Harbor.

Many people aren’t aware that sharks inhabit Puget Sound, Easton noted. When they find out that several different types of sharks reside in local waters, their first reaction is often apprehension—but curiosity soon takes over. As they are presented with facts, people begin to realize that these unusual creatures are not the dangerous villains portrayed in movies and on television, she said.

“Once people think about what role sharks play in the ecosystem and how that role doesn’t include eating people for lunch, they can look past their initial fear and end in a place of wonder,” she said.

Easton, who graduated from Central Washington University in 2006 with a degree in biology, fell in love with sharks after she got out of college and began working at Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma.

“There were 10 nurse sharks there at the time,” she said. “We had to distinguish each one so they could get the right vitamins. You get to know them as individuals and realize that they don’t just swim and kill. They have complete lives. Sometimes they rest; sometimes they flirt; sometimes they are interested in what the humans are doing. They crave mental stimulation, just like humans.”

A shark swimming above coral and rocks.

A nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) swims above coral in Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in the Gulf of Mexico. Photo: Emma Hickerson, NOAA.

Among the nurse sharks—five male and five female—Number Two and Number 4 were “big bullies,” she said, while Number 1 and Number 3 were somewhat shy. Some would eat practically anything they were offered; others had to be coaxed to eat, spitting out food they didn’t like.

“They have personalities,” she said. “Well, that’s not the right word. Shark-alities. Anyway, we have to provide them enrichment; they do some behavior before getting food. We couldn’t train an animal if they had no ability to think.”

Because sharks have evolved in different habitats, some species tend to be more solitary, while others hunt in packs. Thus, their level of socialization and mental acuity are different, depending on the actions they must take to survive.

Some researchers are trying to learn how sharks communicate, she said. Divers are even trying to interpret their “body language” in order to predict what a shark might do in certain situations.

Anyone interested in the marine environment has more opportunities today than ever before to learn about sharks and how they can shape the ecosystem.

Harbor WildWatch, which operates a Marine Life Center open to the public, created a  popular exhibit on sharks last year. The exhibit just reopened and will remain through the end of this year. With a special focus on Puget Sound species, offerings include the jaws of a sixgill shark. Among other things, visitors will learn about shark tagging for research and peer into a microscope to observe the teethlike scales of a shark skin.

The Seattle Aquarium’s new Ocean Pavilion represents the ecosystem of an Indo-Pacific reef system complete with a variety of reef species that include sharks and rays. Visitors will also learn about the aquarium’s involvement in an international breeding program designed to boost the population of endangered sharks in the wild.

A shark swimming above rocks and coral in an aquarium.

Some fish, like this bowmouth guitarfish at the Seattle Aquarium, look like sharks but are actually rays. Photo: Sylvia Kantor/PSI

Tacoma’s Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium recently renovated its Tropical Reef Aquarium, which features a whole variety of sharks, from reef sharks to nurse sharks. The separate Pacific Seas Aquarium provides a look into a variety of habitats, including those of Puget Sound. The Eye to Eye Shark Exhibit allows visitors to gear up, enter the water and observe tropical sharks up close from within a protective cage. 

“Our mission is to inspire stewardship,” said Easton of Harbor WildWatch, a goal that is shared by the Seattle and Tacoma aquariums. “It’s one thing to learn,” she added, “but we need to translate that into action.”

When it comes to sharks, Easton said people need to know that some species are especially vulnerable to extinction because of their late maturity, long gestation periods and small litters with relatively few pups.

Conservation groups generally encourage people to keep local waters clean, eat seafoods closer to the bottom of the food web, avoid shark oils in cosmetics and other products, and follow local fishing regulations. See the Save Our Seas Foundation for details.

Fishing threatens some shark species

“The main driving force behind the concern for shark and ray populations is from increased take of these species in fisheries, which is driven by the high demand for their body parts in the Eastern Asian market,” according to group of scientists who wrote about shark conservation as part of a special series in the journal Advances in Marine Biology.

Although sharks are no longer needed for their oil or as sources of vitamin A, some shark parts are still valued as food delicacies in some countries. Other body parts are used in traditional medicine.

“The effects of removing sharks from our aquatic ecosystems are complex and varied and thus not fully understood,” say the scientists. “However, we know from other systems that the removal of apex predators such as sharks often causes a trophic cascade or collapse in ecosystems…”

Some 142 cartilaginous species (backbones of cartilage) have been identified in the northeast and east-central parts of the Pacific Ocean. For more than 20 years, shark experts have evaluated the global health of each of these species with reports to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. More than one-third (53) of these species are listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered.

In Washington state, two shark species—bluntnose sixgill and broadnose sevengill—are listed as “species of greatest conservation concern.” Besides the potential for over-fishing, both species are threatened by a lack of information about population size and distribution, and there is a clear need to educate anglers about shark conservation and how to handle incidental catch, according to the State Wildlife Action Plan. Although not yet on Washington’s list, soupfin sharks are under consideration for a listing under the federal Endangered Species Act.

While over-fishing remains the biggest threat to worldwide shark populations, a disproportionate amount of the talk about conservation focuses on the wasteful practice of removing shark fins and discarding the rest of the shark, according to the journal article by lead author is Shawn Larson of the Seattle Aquarium and seven other biologists. Even though documentaries and news reports have become more realistic about the risk of shark attacks — which are extremely rare — comments about shark finning could leave the mistaken impression that sustainable shark fishing is not possible.

“All of the sustainable shark fisheries are led by developed countries that employ rigorous fisheries management measures, which might be difficult to replicate by developing countries,” the article  continues. The most successful shark-conservation efforts go well beyond fishing to involve alternative livelihoods for fishermen along with education for local communities and tourists.

“Zoos and aquariums have the potential to influence this conversation through their Saving Animals from Extinction (SAFE) program,” the scientists say. The SAFE program is a conservation initiative of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Among marine species, the program is designed to help visitors understand the diversity of sharks and shark scientists and to reduce the perception that sharks are dangerous.

In terms of actual risk, 36 unprovoked shark bites were reported last year in the United States, with 16 of those in Florida and eight in Hawaii. Along the West Coast, two shark bites were reported in California, and one was fatal. Since 1887, only two shark attacks have been confirmed in Washington state. The last was in 1996, and it was on the outer coast.

In Puget Sound, some divers are known to go out looking for sharks in places where sharks have been known to gather. Those who manage to see one generally report the shark as acting curious but not threatening.

“A whole group of divers go out looking for sixgills,” said Lisa Hillier of WDFW. “They want to see them, but the sharks are shy and don’t want to be around people.”

Hillier is involved in managing Puget Sound’s shark populations, including the development of fishing regulations to protect local stocks. She started with WDFW’s underwater dive team 21 years ago and eventually shifted into bottomfish management, both on the coast and in Puget Sound. Her fascination with sharks was heightened when a thresher shark appeared in Willapa Bay.

“I have thousands of hours of diving in Puget Sound,” she said. “I have never seen a shark while diving, but I’ve seen seals and sea lions, which are probably more dangerous.”

Hillier also offers slide-show presentations in which she describes all sorts of sharks to interested adults and even elementary school children.

“Everybody has an inherent fear of the unknown,” Hillier said, “but fear can be alleviated with knowledge. When people get the chance to know about sharks, they come away with a greater respect for them and a curiosity to learn more.”

Up next: Shark fishing raises questions about the need for more protection

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Recent discoveries of two new shark species in Puget Sound have sparked public interest and may encourage greater conservation efforts. In this seven-part series, Christopher Dunagan provides an overview of sharks in Puget Sound and some of the recent work among scientists to protect these often misunderstood creatures. 

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Soupfin sharks were not known to occur in Puget Sound until one was hooked by a fisherman in 2022. Scientists say warming oceans from a changing climate may be bringing more of the species into local waters. Our series on the sharks of Puget Sound continues with a closer look at soupfins and why they are being considered for inclusion on the Endangered Species List.    

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Bluntnose sixgill sharks are among the largest sharks in the world, reaching lengths of almost 16 feet. Research shows that Puget Sound may be an important place for sixgills to give birth and raise their young. We continue with part three of our series on Puget Sound's sharks. 

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While several shark species are observed more frequently off the coast of Washington than in Puget Sound, some are seen on rare occasions in the inland waterways. Detailed information on these sharks is limited, but the same thing might have been said for sixgills, sevengills and soupfin sharks until recent discoveries opened the door to new research. Part five of our series on Puget Sound's sharks outlines some of our region's lesser known shark species. The following information comes from various sources, including fishing and scuba diving reports, scientific studies and the book “Fishes of the Salish Sea” by Theodore Pietsch and James Orr.

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In the final installment of our series on sharks in Puget Sound, we look at how fishing regulations have changed to protect potentially vulnerable shark species. Experts say more regulations may be needed as research evolves.  


About the author: Christopher Dunagan is a senior writer at the Puget Sound Institute.

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