Hammerhead sharks are iconic ocean predators facing severe population declines from targeted fishing, bycatch, and finning. Their welfare in fisheries interactions is a critical concern.
Hammerhead sharks endure significant welfare harms through fisheries interactions. Longline capture causes physiological stress, exhaustion, and injury before or after hauling. Post-release survival studies show that great hammerheads have some of the lowest survival rates among bycatch-released sharks due to physiological stress responses. Finning — practiced despite bans in many jurisdictions — involves removing fins while the animal is alive and discarding the body, causing a prolonged and painful death. Capture stress from gill nets can cause asphyxiation. Welfare improvements require better bycatch reduction devices, mandatory circle hooks, rapid-release protocols, and robust enforcement of finning bans. Marine protected areas covering hammerhead aggregation sites provide crucial protection.