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Sharks massacre
Written by DIVE Magazine Monday, 04 March 2013 14:45
As many as one in 15 of all sharks are being killed each year, a shock report reveals.
Douglas David Seifert
Based on available data for shark deaths and estimates of unreported illegal catches, the researchers estimated that 100 million sharks were killed in 2000 and 97 million in 2010. But since scientists lack sufficient data on shark catches, they say the real number of annual shark deaths could be as high as 273 million.
'Our analysis shows that about one in 15 sharks gets killed by fisheries every year,' said study leader Boris Worm, a professor of biology at Canada's Dalhousie University. 'With an increasing demand for their fins, sharks are more vulnerable today than ever before.'
Killing an apex predator at such an alarming rate threatens not only the target species but the whole ecosystem of our oceans.
Based on available data for shark deaths and estimates of unreported illegal catches, the researchers estimated that 100 million sharks were killed in 2000 and 97 million in 2010. But since scientists lack sufficient data on shark catches, they say the real number of annual shark deaths could be as high as 273 million.
'Our analysis shows that about one in 15 sharks gets killed by fisheries every year,' said study leader Boris Worm, a professor of biology at Canada's Dalhousie University. 'With an increasing demand for their fins, sharks are more vulnerable today than ever before.'
Killing an apex predator at such an alarming rate threatens not only the target species but the whole ecosystem of our oceans.
'In working with tiger sharks, we've seen that if we don't have enough of these predators around, it causes cascading changes in the ecosystem, that trickle all the way down to marine plants,' said study researcher Mike Heithaus, a Florida International University biologist.
This week hundreds of delegates from 177 different countries will descend on Bangkok for the meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). On the agenda will be increased trade protection for five species of sharks — the oceanic whitetip, porbeagle and three types of hammerheads — which are hunted for their fins.
'A simple vote 'yes' to support their listing could turn things around for some of the world's most threatened shark species,' Elizabeth Wilson, manager of global shark conservation at the Pew Charitable Trusts' environmental organization, said in a statement today. 'Countries should seize this opportunity to protect these top predators from extinction.'
The new research was detailed online in the journal Marine Policy.
This week hundreds of delegates from 177 different countries will descend on Bangkok for the meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). On the agenda will be increased trade protection for five species of sharks — the oceanic whitetip, porbeagle and three types of hammerheads — which are hunted for their fins.
'A simple vote 'yes' to support their listing could turn things around for some of the world's most threatened shark species,' Elizabeth Wilson, manager of global shark conservation at the Pew Charitable Trusts' environmental organization, said in a statement today. 'Countries should seize this opportunity to protect these top predators from extinction.'
The new research was detailed online in the journal Marine Policy.