2. CONTENT
1. Introduction.
2. Biology.
3. Distribution and abundance.
4. Behavior.
5. Life cycle.
6. Food habits.
7. Catching methods.
8. Production level in Sri Lanka.
9. Nutritional level of fish meat
10. Average price of shark meat.
2
3. INTRODUCTION
3
• Solitary hunter.
• Sharks can be highly social, remaining in large schools.
• Nonselective feeders.
• Sinhala name : ම ෝරා(Mora)
• Tamil name : Sura
• Scientific name : Selachimorpha spp.
• Kingdom : Animalia
• Phylum : Chordata
• Class : Chondricthyes ( cartileginous fish)
• Order : Lamniformes
• Lifespan : 20 – 30 years
• Speed : 50km/h
7. 7• Shark biodiversity generally associated with latitudinal and
bathymetric gradients.
• Species richness typically increases toward the equator.
• Sharks represent approximately 60% of the Great Barrier
Reef.
• “Top down predation pressure” on lower trophic levels.
8. 8BEHAVIOR
• Solitary or gregarious in the form of schools.
• Nocturnal predators of the ocean.
• Great whites do not give their young any parental care.
• Slap the water then jump out of water after they slap their
tail.
• Sharks come from the sea floor to ambush their food.
• Arch their bodies and open their mouths to exhibit threats
to other shark.
10. 10FOOD HABITS
• Low on food web.
• Some are scavengers.
• Many are predators.
• Never share their food.
• Circle their prey, disconcertingly appearing
seemingly out of nowhere and frequently
approaching from below.
• Feeding is inhibited in large males during courtship
and in gravid females while on the nursery grounds.
• Locate food by chemical senses(Olfactory).
• Feeding habit vary with foraging method and
dentition
12. 12PRODUCTION LEVEL IN SRI
LANKA
• Over 60 shark species reported in Sri Lanka.
• 12 species are predominant.
• Silky sharks are more than 50% .
• High demand for shark meat in fresh basis as well as in dry
basis
• High demand for shark fins in export trade.
• Annual shark production nearly 4851 metric tons
• Contributes 3% of the total marine fish production in Sri
Lanka.
• Fins are mostly used to make soups.
15. 15
AVERAGE PRICE OF SHARK
MEAT
• $26 per pound
• Value of dry fish- Rs.700 per kilogram
• Retail market price – Rs.1000 per kilogram
16. 16
SUMMARY
• They have highly refined senses for communication and
hunting; taste, vision, touch, hearing and electroreception.
• It could detect even slightest hint of blood.
• Long lining method mostly used for catch sharks.
• Mostly shark catching is banned in Sri Lanka.
• Most people demand for shark fins, meat and liver oil.
17. 17
REFERENCE
1. Rex I. De silva,The sharks of Sri Lanka, FOGSL, 2015
2. Rex I. De Silva, Loris, The shark killers and other shark lore, Vol.28, 2016.
3. MFAR, DFAR & NARA, Sri Lanka national plan of action for the
conservation and management of sharks, Dec 013.
4. Mendis A. S.(1954), fishes of Ceylon, Bulletin No:02, Fisheries research
station.
5. Amarasooriya A. , Dayaratne P. , (1994), A species identification of the shark
catches landed in the west and the South West coasts of Sri Lanka. NARA
annual report.