Although sharks are fierce, streamlined predators they are no match for humans. Despite being portrayed as vicious man-eaters in the media, sharks are actually under enormous threat from human hunting. Over the past few decades many shark populations have dramatically dropped and shark conservation efforts have been slow to catch up.
How Many Sharks are Endangered?
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recently studied open ocean sharks and rays, and explained their findings in the June 2009 press release “Third of open ocean sharks threatened with extinction”. There are 64 known species of pelagic sharks and rays, 32% of which are categorized as either: vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered.
However, this particular IUCN list doesn’t include non-pelagic species such as endangered sharks living in mangrove forests, in rivers, or that are primarily benthic. Further, deep sea sharks are very difficult to study and little is known about their numbers. Thus it is difficult to create a full list of endangered shark species. However, enough is known now to illustrate the gravity of the situation and the need to take action.
Well-known Endangered Sharks
The IUCN’s 2007 report The Conservation Status of Pelagic Sharks and Rays includes the following well-known sharks among the 64 studied:
- Scalloped Hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini) – Status: Endangered
- Great Hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran) – Status: Endangered
- Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) – Status: Vulnerable
- Whale Shark (Rhincodon typus) – Status: Vulnerable
- Longfin Mako (Isurus paucus) – Status: Vulnerable
- Bull Shark (Carcharhinus leucas) – Status: Near Threatened
Further sharks however are listed on the IUCN’s website in their Red List of Threatened Species database. These endangered sharks include the following sharks and many more:
- Sharptooth Lemon Shark (Negaprion acutidens) – Status: Vulnerable
- Tawny Nurse Shark (Nebrius ferrugineus) – Status: Vulnerable
- Striped Dogfish (Mustelus fasciatus) – Status: Critically Endangered
- Whitetip Shark (Carcharhinus longimanusi) – Status: Globally Vulnerable, Critically Endangered in the Northwest and Western Central Atlantic
Shark Conservation and What Can Be Done
Estimates say that over 100 million sharks are killed annually, according to the WWF’s webpage “Pelagic sharks”. Many of these fish are caught unintentionally as bycatch in nets meant for tuna and swordfish. However, many endangered sharks are killed solely for their fins which ultimately become the Asian delicacy shark fin soup. The WWF says around 10 million blue sharks are killed annually just for their fins. Sport fishing and habitat loss have also impacted shark populations which are slow to rebound due to slow reproduction rates.
Fortunately, many shark conservation organizations do exist in order to study sharks, educate the public, and help save these magnificent animals. Anyone can help save the sharks however by eating only sustainable caught seafood, telling their friends to adopt a shark, and encouraging people to avoid shark fin soup.
Megan Jungwi - Megan Jungwi started her freelance writing career in March 2009. Although new to online writing Megan has long been passionate about the ...
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