User:Crf009/sandbox

Sources from the 19th and early 20th centuries indicate that the angelshark was once abundant all around the coasts of Western Europe. Yarrell (1836), Day (1880–04), and Garstang (1903) all noted that the angelshark was common around the British Isles, and Rey (1928) recorded that this species was common around the Iberian Peninsula and in the Mediterranean. However, from the latter half of the 20th century onwards, the angelshark has come under intense pressure from commercial fisheries operating across much of its range. Due to its benthic, near-shore habits, individuals of all ages are susceptible to incidental capture by bottom trawls, trammel nets, and bottom longlines; the low reproductive rate of this shark limits its capacity to withstand population depletion. This has also led to habitat loss caused by the development of coastal areas for commercialism and tourism.

As a result of these steep population declines and the ongoing threat from demersal fisheries, the IUCN has assessed the angelshark as Critically Endangered. An assessment of the angelshark population by the IUCN showed a decrease in population of over 90%. The assessment also showed that there was no signs of recovery of the population. It was listed on Annex III of the 1976 Barcelona Convention, which aims to limit pollution in the Mediterranean Sea. In 2012 it was moved to Annex II, making it illegal to catch and keep in countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea (if caught, it must be released). This species is protected within three marine reserves in the Balearic Islands, although it has not been reported from this area since the mid-1990s. In 2008, the angelshark also received full legal protection from human activities in the waters off England and Wales from the coast to a distance of 11 km (6.8 mi), under the UK Wildlife and Countryside Act. Since 2010, it has been illegal to keep angelsharks caught in waters of the European Union (if caught, it must be released). The United Kingdom and Belgium have pushed, unsuccessfully, for this species to be listed on the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic Priority List of Threatened and Endangered Species. A captive breeding program has been initiated at Deep Sea World, North Queensferry, with the first live pups born in 2011.