Social science and its application to the studies of shark biology

Meeting the needs of people while sustaining ecosystems and the benefits they deliver is a global challenge. Coastal marine systems present a particularly important case, given that over half of the world's population lives within 100 km of the ocean, and fisheries provide the primary source of protein for over a billion people worldwide (Leslie et al., 2015). Sharks and rays play important roles in many of these fisheries and coastal communities, as not only do they provide food and income but they can also have strong social and cultural value (Dulvy et al., 2017). However, pressures on sharks and rays from fishing, habitat loss, and other factors are increasing, resulting in global declines in some species and raising concerns that up to a quarter of the world's sharks and rays are threatened with extinction (Dulvy et al., 2008). At a time when many shark and ray species are experiencing ongoing population declines from these growing pressures, the need to engage in research that bridges the human-shark interface to better inform conservation and fisheries management and policy is becoming increasingly recognized (Jacques, 2010; Simpfendorfer et al., 2011). With the possible exception of work related to "shark attacks" on humans, social science research that focuses on sharks has not kept pace with biophysical science, despite knowledge that understanding people is pivotal to effective natural resource management (Gutierrez et al., 2011; Reid, 2016; Twyman, 2017)