First sharks bred in captivity return to the Mediterranean off Barcelona

Researchers at the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM) have succeeded in breeding 35 small-spotted catsharks in captivity from more than 200 eggs rescued from abandoned nets on the seabed.

For months, the scientists monitored the embryos’ temperature, feeding and health until confirming that the small sharks—just 15 centimetres long at birth—could feed themselves. Having passed the test, around ten of them have been released off the coast of Barcelona, in an area with artificial reefs and natural shelters.

The project, driven by the Catsharks foundation and with the collaboration of fishers and Barcelona City Council, seeks to reverse the dramatic situation of sharks in the Mediterranean, where more than half of species are threatened. Breeding them and returning them to the sea offers hope of restoring the balance of an ecosystem increasingly under pressure from fishing and climate change.