Gulf of Mexico Science Volume 24 Article 13 Number 1 Number 1/2 (Combined Issue) 2006 Review: Sharks, Skates, and Rays of the Gulf of Mexico: A Field Guide by Glenn R. Parsons Steve Branstetter National Marine Fisheries Service DOI: 10.18785/goms.2401.13 Follow this and additional works at: https://aquila.usm.edu/goms Recommended Citation Branstetter, S. 2006. Review: Sharks, Skates, and Rays of the Gulf of Mexico: A Field Guide by Glenn R. Parsons. Gulf of Mexico Science 24 (1). Retrieved from https://aquila.usm.edu/goms/vol24/iss1/13 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by The Aquila Digital Community. It has been accepted for inclusion in Gulf of Mexico Science by an authorized editor of The Aquila Digital Community. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Branstetter: Review: Sharks, Skates, and Rays of the Gulf of Mexico: A Field G BOOK REVIEW Gulf of M•·xiro Srimre, 2006(1/2), pp. !J0-93 © 2006 by the :Marine Environmental Sciences something about sharks and rays, they also are Consortium of Alabama entertained with some of Parsons' personal and lighthearted anecdotes, gleaned from his Sharhs, Skates, and Rays of the Gulf of J\!Iexico: A years of experience as a shark researcher. I was Field Guide. 2006. Glenn R. Parsons, University a graduate student at Dauphin Island Sea Lab Press of Mississippi, Jackson, Mississippi 39211. at the same time as Dr. Parsons, so I am famil­ 165 pages. vVeb address: www.upress.state.ms. iar with (and was involved in) many of his an­ us. Flexibind, ISBN l-57806-827-4, US$ 25. ecdotes. A couple of really good ones are miss­ ing. Oh ... and before I get too far into the Sharks and rays fascinate the general public. review, as a photographic contributor to this Perhaps it is the general "primitive" nature of volume, I cannot pass up the opportunity to these creatures; they represent a holdover use an 'inside joke', and say, "These are not from prehistoric times. More likely, it is the my best slides!" perceived concern that people have about be­ I noted several editing or typographical er­ ing bitten by a shark or stung by a ray. vVhat­ rors in this first edition, but will only mention ever their reason, people congregate around some with the intent to clarif)' an error. the shark tanks and ray-touching pools at pub­ It doesn't matter if an end user of a field lic aquaria. People gawk at the large sharks and guide is trying to identif)' flowers, fish, or rays hung up for public display at coastal fish­ ducks; there is a need to understand the basic ing tournaments. terminology and attributes of the specimens in Although shark fishing is not nearly as pop­ question. The anatomy section is short but pro­ ular today as it was in the heydays of the 1970s and 1980s, when dedicated shark tournaments vides a basic background of shark and ray anat­ flourished along the Atlantic coast from New omy. It is must reading for those who are not York to Texas, the sport is still popular. Cap­ familiar with sharks and rays. Not only is it gen­ tures of large sharks (and rays) still make good erally informative, but many of the terms are fodder for newspaper stories. And yet, many used later in the identification keys, and the people do not know what sharks (or rays) they species accounts depend on an understanding are catching, or viewing. of these terms by the reader. There are a cou­ This problem exists, in part, because shark ple of missing terms that would have been and ray taxonomy is not a field that is easy to helpful for the reader. Once the reader gets translate into general terms. Many of the spe­ back to the species accounts, terms used to de­ cies are very simila1~ and accurate identifica­ scribe teeth, such as "erect" and "oblique," tion requires detailed examination and an un­ are used without much explanation. The "in­ derlying understanding of anatomy. Accurate sertion" and "axil" of the pectoral fins are identification may require careful scrutiny of terms that also could have been defined in the the teeth, or precise morphometic compari­ introductory material. sons of the specimens in question. Such de­ In my opinion, the "How to use this book" tailed examinations are not really applicable to section (pages 6-8) would be more appropri­ a large fish thrashing alongside the boat. ate if it occurred later in the book. The 3-page Fishermen's guides are not new; simple but section describes how to use a dichotomous effective and useful taxonomic field guides go key, and then launches into the first key, which back at least as far as the 1960s, and numerous will let the user determine if the animal in ones have been developed over the years. question is (1) a shark, (2) a skate or ray, or Glenn Parsons' new contribution-Sharks, (3) one of the three species (angel shark, gui­ Skates, and Rays of the Gull of Mexico: A Field tarfish, sawf1sh) that, based on body shape, Guidr~takes a step forward in this chronology seem like they've been placed in the wrong of field guides, and does so in a light and easy­ subgroup. The key directs the user to family­ to-read tone. Unlike most of its predecessors, level keys farther back in the book. I can see the guide contains good color photographs of where the user would have difficulty finding most of the species, and it points out some of this little introductory key, sandwiched be­ the more easily discernible characteristics to tween the introduction and 40 subsequent pag­ help an angler identif)' the fish, even if it is left es of text covering a variety of topics including in the water for subsequent release. a general overview of the Gulf of Mexico, shark In using this guide, end users not only learn and ray biology, shark fishing, shark fisheries, Published by The Aquila Digital Community, 2006 1 Gulf of Mexico Science, Vol. 24 [2006], No. 1, Art. 13 BOOK REVIEW 91 and the requisite section on shark attacks. Nev­ points were conspicuous by their absence. On ertheless, most users will probably not need to pages 32-33, Parsons states, in regard to spe­ figure out if the specimen is a shark or a ba­ cies that may not be harvested or kept by rec­ toid. reational or commercial fishermen under the It is often said that an author should write current management regime: "Sharks that about what he knows best, and the text often should not be taken in the Gulf of Mexico are reflects the author's familiarity with the north­ the white shark, dusky shark, sandbar shark, central and eastern Gulf of Mexico. Appropri­ and great hammerhead shark." This statement ately, the section "Major Features and Habi­ is incorrect; the list of species protected by the tats" leads off with a good overview of the federal fishery management plan does not in­ dominant feature of the Gulf of Mexico: the clude the sandbar or great hammerhead Mississippi River. However, discussions of the sharks. Sandbar sharks are a major recreational physical and biological environment of the large-shark target along the east coast of the Gulf of Mexico west of the Mississippi River are United States, and they represent the most limited. Discussion of the extensive and highly common target species in the highly regulated productive Louisiana coastline is a single tack­ commercial fisheries as well. Along the same on sentence at the end of a paragraph about lines, on page 33, a short paragraph regarding Mobile Bay and Mississippi Sound. The coast federal and state shark fishery management of Texas and the Mexican coast are described would have been appropriate here. On the fed­ in a brief three-sentence paragraph. The lack eral level, recreational and commercial shark of discussion of half the Gulf of Mexico is even fishing has been tightly managed since the more apparent given that the next page or so mid-1990s, and shark stocks of the Atlantic describes Florida's Gulf coast, detailing several coast are recovering from overfishing. Finally, geographic and ecological areas. although I agree wholeheartly with his warning The sections on shark and ray biology are on page 42: "NEVER try to remove the hook well done, providing the reader with pertinent from a live shark ... ,"I was surprised there was information regarding these interesting crea­ no mention made of the several types of de­ tures. The short "Shark Fact vs. Fiction" dis­ hooking devices available on the market today. pels many of the misconceptions about sharks, Oh, and just for the record; the smalltooth saw­ especially about shark attacks. There is an ex­ fish was added to the Endangered Species List planation of the multiple rows of teeth (always in 2002, not 1993 (page 48). a fascination to the general public) and the The rest of the book is devoted to the family­ denticles. The author is careful to make a and species-level keys, with an informative one­ point that most sharks and rays are opportu­ page account for each species. Developing an nistic feeders, preying mostly on fish and in­ easy-to-use taxonomic key for the general pub­ vertebrates-not humans. The discussion of re­ lic is difficult. In the past, when teaching stu­ production in this group of fishes is very good. dents to use a dichotomous key, I often tried The author makes it clear that all species have to drive home a point by exaggerating that internal fertilization, and that early develop­ they could force an oak tree through a fish key ment is internal (unlike most bony fishes), and if they were not careful.