Angel sharks are flat, ambush-predator sharks that have been fished to near extinction in many regions. Their welfare in bycatch and the challenges of their critical status are interconnected.
Angel sharks caught as bycatch in bottom trawls suffer severe trauma from net abrasion and crushing by other catch. Their flat body shape makes them particularly vulnerable to injury in trawl hauls. Despite legal protection, bycatch continues because enforcement is weak and fishers have few incentives to report catch. Critically endangered status means each individual welfare harm also carries significant conservation cost. The near-extinction of angel sharks in the Mediterranean represents one of the most dramatic examples of how intensive fishing can eliminate a large vertebrate species in a matter of decades.