Velvet Belly Lanternshark

About the Velvet Belly Lanternshark

Velvet belly lantern sharks are one of the most common deepwater sharks in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean near Iceland and Norway to Gabon and South Africa at depths between 20 m to 2, 490 m/66–8,169 ft. They are most commonly found between the depths of 200 to 500 m/656–1,640 ft. Older velvet belly lantern sharks will move closer to the bottom of the ocean.

Biology and Behaviour:

Velvet belly lantern sharks are small and grow no longer than 45 cm/1.48 ft. They are named after their black underbelly that contrasts between its brown body. Its body is fairly stout, with a moderately long snout and tail with very small gills.

Similar to other lantern sharks, velvet belly lantern sharks are bioluminescent where they have light-emitting photophores forming a specific pattern over its flanks and abdomen. Their ventral photophores are thought to be used as a counter-illumination, where it camouflages them against predators and prey. They may also use their photophores as a way to communicate with each other.

The young sharks will feed primarily on krill and small bony fish and as they grow older, they eat squid and shrimp.

Like many other deep sea creatures, velvet belly lantern sharks have special adaptations within and on their body for a better survival rate. They have t-cells and liver protein for higher concentrations of heavy metals found in the ocean.    

Reproduction and Lifespan:

Velvet belly lantern sharks are ovoviviparous and give birth to litters between six and 20 young sharks every two to three years. Ovoviviparous animals reproduce by developing eggs inside the mother’s body, where the embryos hatch internally and are born as live young, nourished by the egg yolk rather than a placenta. Velvet belly sharks mature between five to six years.

Conservation and Tourism

The species is frequently reported as incidental catch in deep-water demersal trawl, longline, and handline fisheries across its known spatial range in the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea. Off West Africa, there are a number of European distant-water vessels using demersal trawl and longline to target demersal fish and shrimp species that likely interact with this species. The Velvet Belly Lanternshark is listed as a deep-water shark species in European Union regulations, and various management actions apply to such listed deep-water sharks, including a prohibited on targeted fisheries, a Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for shark bycatch in longline fisheries targeting Black Scabbardfish (Aphanopus spp,) and depth limits beyond which gillnets and demersal trawl fisheries are prohibited in some areas. Overall, there is high distribution overlap with intensive fishing pressure, some refuge at depth, and deep-water shark management across part of its range. The Velvet Belly Lanternshark is estimated to have undergone a population reduction of 30–49% over the past three generation lengths (23 years) based on abundance indices and actual levels of exploitation, and it is assessed as Vulnerable A2bd.

Further information is required on population size and trends of the Velvet Belly Lanternshark, as well as interactions with fisheries across its range, particularly around Africa. There are some general management arrangements of relevance in place in the Northeast Atlantic. In 2010, the European Union Fisheries Council prohibited directed fishing for deep-water sharks, including the Velvet Belly Lanternshark, in European Community and international waters, and in 2012, no allowances for bycatch were implemented (ICES-WGEF 2019). Since 2017, a restrictive bycatch allowance has been trialled, permitting limited landings of unavoidable catches of deep-water sharks in directed artisanal demersal longline fisheries for Black Scabbardfish (Aphanopus spp). Additional management actions for this region include banned use of trawls and gillnets in waters >200 m in Azores, Madeira and Canary Islands and international waters regulated by ICES (NEAFC regulatory Area); banned use of gillnets by European Union vessels at depths >600 m; maximum bycatch limits of deep-water shark in Hake (Merluccius merluccius) and Monkfish (Lophius spp) gillnet catches; area restrictions by vessel size and gear, gear restrictions (hook size, maximum number of hooks on longline gear), and a network of closed areas in Azorean waters; closure of the Condor seamount to deep-water fishing in 2010 (ICES-WGEF 2019).

In the Mediterranean, the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) banned demersal trawling below depths of >1,000 m in the Mediterranean Sea in 2005, but this is unlikely to provide considerable refuge for the species.

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Velvet Belly Lanternshark Gallery