Disturbed by guts of a preg leopard shark @ alameda boat ramp

 
Do leopard sharks give birth to live young? They must. Today I visited the Grand Street boat launch in Alameda to look at the water. There's a fish cleaning station there, so I usually peek into the water near it to see what other people are catching. Saw a few Halibut carcasses, a whole juvenile leopard shark, and a very large leopard shark head with a distinct gut floating next to it.

The size of the head really grabbed my attention so I walked over the rocks to pick it up, as it was very fresh; I enjoy examining the physical features of fish. The guts next to it were actually a pair of wombs (or whatever they're called on a shark), and they were full of baby leopard sharks. I'd say there were at least 40 sharks in the sacks. This leads me to realize leopard sharks probably give birth to live young.

This disturbed me. Would there have been any way for the anglers to realize it was female & pregnant? Whomever it was already offended me with the needlessly dead juvenile, but this taking meat from a large mother at the expense of preventing 40 of her young from living seems wrong to me.

Maybe I'm just the sensitive type. Honestly I feel a little emotional every time I kill a fish - even bait, and this year my first Halibut was carrying eggs & I had a moment of feeling really guilty. I hooked up a second Halibut right in the same spot a few minutes later and lost it _after_ gaffing it (felt guilty about that). When I cleaned the one I caught at home & saw the eggs I even wondered if I had interrupted a spawning or mating.

I'm wondering if anybody else gets these feelings. Also curious about the sharks' biology. Is it their time of year to reproduce, and if so wouldn't it make sense to not fish for them and release ones that hook up etc.?

I feel the same way you do. About all fish. (Well maybe with the exception of needle fish...lol.)

One way to avoid that scenario is to treat all large, fat fish as if they are pregnant females.

I think that your feelings are right on. That is needless slaughter in my mind. I caught 2 nice lingcod acouple of weeks ago and both were female with roe inside. They were young fish not large breeders but still I had a pang of guilt. My freezer is now full of rockfish and ling until next year so I will probably not take anymore.. Guilt and shame are sometimes gentle reminders of behavioral changes that need to be looked at that are good.

 

Maybe I'm just the sensitive type. Honestly I feel a little emotional every time I kill a fish - even bait,

I'm wondering if anybody else gets these feelings.

You're a good man Charlie Brown.    Waste not want not. I use my net for everything that will fit in it and save the gaff for what won't. Unfortunately, I haven't used the gaff since purchasing it.  Someday.  jim

Right there with you on all counts, the older I get the more C.P. & R. I do. 

Right with ya.  I still feel guilt about my largest ling...  had tons of eggs inside.

I think it's good advice to release fish that are on the large and/or fat side.  CnR for halis may be tough, tho!

Yep, in the same boat. 

It's always sad to find out how many potential new fish you actually caught once that fish hits the fillet table.

As for the biology of leopard sharks, yes, leopard sharks give birth to live young.   They aren't placental vivaparious like mammals, rather, they are ovoviparious meaning they hold eggs internally and after the eggs hatch internally the animal gives birth.  As for a time of year they reproduce, well their gestation lasts between 10-12 months, giving birth spring-summer.  So female leopard sharks can be pregnant at any time of the year.


Brian the fish nerd

Me too - I've gut hooked small fish, and it's a bummer...

Believed it or not I caught fish that keep their fingerlings on their mouth, even though I put it back I still feel guilty on those it spit out while I was netting it! I think we really need to pay attention specially if the fish has big fat belly we should let them go, this is why Salmon shrink in population since we are trying to catch them on the river before they even lay their eggs, When I was a bass fisherman I use to feel being insulted (ASIAN you know) whenever somebody release after they catch, then I got into fishing and my son was born, I finally understand why we practice CPR... Good thread and no pun intended....

bolinas earlier this summer

this was the only shark taken thogh that day , caught about 10 large sharks that day and this was the only one taken .

I feel the same way about that sinking feeling when you clean a female with eggs or young.I do not keep many sharks a year,maybe one or two but I have gotten to were I only keep males anymore. Male sharks have two penile appendages  called claspers back by the anal fin so its easy to tell males from females sorry I don't have a pic to share

I think that your feelings are right on. That is needless slaughter in my mind. I caught 2 nice lingcod acouple of weeks ago and both were female with roe inside. They were young fish not large breeders but still I had a pang of guilt. My freezer is now full of rockfish and ling until next year so I will probably not take anymore.. Guilt and shame are sometimes gentle reminders of behavioral changes that need to be looked at that are good.

Do you know that you can sex a lingcod? 

http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/sci/sa-mfpd/lingcod/ling_lifehistory.htm

Adult males can be distinguished externally from females by the presence of a small, conical papilla behind the anal vent.

-Allen

Its the people who care and listen to these feelings, that practice moderation ensuring a continued fishing sport. i C@R almost everything i catch, snap a few pics then away they go. As for sharks i never harvest them. whoever caught that shark knew it was a female, sharks are probably one of the easiest fish to sex, some people just don't care, they are the ones that in time ruin it for everyone.