Editing Angelshark (section)

==Commercial value==
Prior to the late 1980s, the Pacific angel shark was considered a "munk fish".<ref name=Richards1987>{{cite book |last1=Richards |first1=John B. |year=1987 |chapter=Developing a Localized Fishery: The Pacific Angel Shark |title=Sharks: An Inquiry into Biology, Behavior, Fisheries, and Use |editor1-last=Cook |editor1-first=Sid F. |pages=147–160 |hdl=1957/23696 }}</ref> It was a byproduct of commercial [[gillnetting]], with no commercial appeal and was used only for crab bait. In 1977, Michael Wagner, a fish processor in [[Santa Barbara, California]], US, in cooperation with local commercial fishermen, developed the market for angel sharks.<ref name=Richards1987/> The annual take of angel shark in 1977 was an estimated 147&nbsp;kg.<ref name=Richards1987/> By 1985, the annual take of angel shark on the central California coast had increased to more than 454 tonnes or an estimated 90,000 sharks.<ref name=Richards1987/> The population declined dramatically and is now regulated. Angel sharks live very close to shore, resulting in high bycatch rates. In 1991, the use of gillnets in nearshore state waters of California was forbidden, and fishing was restricted in a larger portion of the Pacific angel shark's range.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1016/bs.amb.2017.09.003 |pmid=29056145 |chapter=Shark Interactions with Directed and Incidental Fisheries in the Northeast Pacific Ocean: Historic and Current Encounters, and Challenges for Shark Conservation |title=Northeast Pacific Shark Biology, Research, and Conservation, Part B |volume=78 |pages=9–44 |series=Advances in Marine Biology |year=2017 |last1=King |first1=Jackie |last2=McFarlane |first2=Gordon A. |last3=Gertseva |first3=Vladlena |last4=Gasper |first4=Jason |last5=Matson |first5=Sean |last6=Tribuzio |first6=Cindy A. |isbn=978-0-12-812394-2 }}</ref>

In April 2008, the UK government afforded the angel shark full protection under the [[Wildlife and Countryside Act]].