Sharks caught as bycatch or in targeted fisheries face significant welfare risks from stress, physical injury, and physiological exhaustion - improved handling and rapid release reduce harm.
Shark welfare in fisheries deserves serious consideration as evidence accumulates that these fish experience significant stress and pain during capture. The physiological experience of an exhausted shark - lactic acid flooding muscles, oxygen debt, temperature stress, physical injury from hooks and lines - represents genuine suffering. For obligate ram ventilators, immobilisation in nets or on decks is directly life-threatening. The case for minimum handling standards, use of injury-reducing gear, and short fight times in recreational fishing is both welfare-driven and conservation-aligned - reducing post-release mortality protects both individual animals and populations.