Over 30 percent of open ocean sharks and rays face extinction

By Jeremy Hance

The first global study of open ocean (pelagic) sharks and rays found that 32 percent of the species are threatened with extinction largely due to overfishing and bycatch, making pelagic sharks and rays more threatened than birds (12 percent), mammals (20 percent), and even amphibians (31 percent), which are considered to be undergoing an extinction crisis. The situation worsens when only sharks taken in high-seas fisheries are considered: 52 percent of these species are threatened. “The completion of this global assessment of pelagic sharks and rays will provide an important baseline for monitoring the status of these keystone species in our oceans,” says Roger McManus, Vice-President for Marine Programs at Conservation International. Long killed by fisheries as bycatch, sharks have recently become targets of many high seas fisheries due to an increased demand for shark meat and fins. Shark fins are used in the Asian delicacy shark fin soup. When caught sharks often undergo ‘finning’, where the fins are sliced off the shark before its body is tossed overboard. While, finning has been banned in most international waters, there is currently little enforcement. Due to slow maturation and few offspring, sharks are particularly vulnerable to fishing. “Despite mounting threats, sharks remain virtually unprotected on the high seas,” says Sonja Fordham, Deputy Chair of the IUCN Shark Specialist Group and Policy Director for the Shark Alliance. “The vulnerability and lengthy migrations of most open ocean sharks call for coordinated, international conservation plans. Our report documents serious overfishing of these species, in national and international waters, and demonstrates a clear need for immediate action on a global scale.” …