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Sharks

Class: Chondrichthyes Subclass: Elasmobranchii Superorder: Selachimorpha

Sharks have ruled the seas since long before the time of the dinosaurs. Often mislabeled as "man-eaters," these apex predators have been feared for centuries. Today, they face their first real threat—humans.

Sharks live in oceans around the globe—from warm shallows to the cold, deep sea and even fresh water lakes. With approximately 400 species of sharks, there is great variety in body type and size. From the six inch dwarf dogshark to the immense whale shark, which can grow to nearly 60 feet in length.

Shark diets vary by species. The two largest shark species (whale and basking sharks) feed on tiny fish and plankton, while the tiny cookie-cutter shark cuts plugs of flesh from huge fish and whales. White sharks prey upon sea lions; and tiger sharks feed on sea turtles. Most sharks, however, eat a variety of fish and invertebrates. Humans are not part of any shark's natural diet.

On the other hand, people eat a variety of sharks. Americans have developed a taste for the steaks of blacktip and mako sharks, while Australians fish for school and gummy sharks. Europeans import spiny dogfish sharks from all corners of the globe for everything from "fish and chips" to fried belly flaps (a beer garden snack). Consumption of rotten Greenland shark meat is traditional in Iceland. Sharks are featured in Spanish tapas and are growing in importance in South American fish markets. The exceptionally high value of shark fins, used in the Asian delicacy shark fin soup, is a driving force in most shark fisheries. Worldwide, fishermen target more than 100 different shark species and catch at least as many unintentionally.

Population Status

Despite their fierce image, sharks are among the most vulnerable creatures in the ocean. Sharks generally grow slowly, mature late, and bear few young. These traits hamper sharks' ability to withstand heavy fishing pressure and to recover once populations are depleted.

For example, female "dusky" sharks don't reach sexual maturity until age 20 and may only reproduce every third year. Atlantic dusky shark populations have declined by more than 80 percent since the 1970s due to overfishing and now classify as Critically Endangered under the criteria for the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) Red List of Threatened Species. Even with targeted fishing now banned, dusky sharks will need centuries to recover.

In 2003, the smalltooth sawfish, a close relative of sharks, became the first marine fish of US waters to be added to the US Endangered Species List. Scientists estimate that this population has declined by 99 percent since the early 1900s. The government's new sawfish recovery plan, due out in mid 2008, aims to rebuild the population over 100 years, but faces an uphill battle for funding and implementation of its recommended actions.

Too often, shark fisheries expand quickly without limit only to end in collapse. Around the world, few shark fisheries are adequately controlled and many species are seriously overfished; the IUCN estimates that 20 percent are in danger of extinction. Depleted shark populations often require decades, even centuries, to rebuild.

Threats to Sharks

Sharks have been hunted for thousands of years. Today they are sought mainly for their fins, meat and liver oil, but also their teeth, hides and cartilaginous skeletons, as well as for sport. In addition to intentional catch, tens of millions of sharks are killed each year as "bycatch", taken incidentally in fisheries targeting other species. Shark bycatch, while usually described as unintentional, is becoming more welcome as traditional food fish decline and fishermen develop new markets for shark meat. Overfishing, through targeted fisheries and bycatch, is the number one threat to shark populations today.

Too often sharks fall victim to finning, the wasteful practice of slicing off a shark's fins and tossing its carcass back into the water. Fins fetch a high price and are used to make the Asian delicacy shark fin soup. The US Atlantic was one of the first places where finning was banned (in 1993). In 2000, national legislation prohibited the practice in all US waters. The first international finning ban (for Atlantic tuna fisheries in 2004) has since been replicated for most of the world's international waters. In 2008, US fishery managers strengthened the Atlantic finning ban by prohibiting the removal of shark fins at sea (to replace a complicated and unreliable weight ratio system of enforcement. This fins attached strategy is by far the best method for ensuring an end to finning and the US Congress is considering requiring this approach nationwide. Whereas there has been much progress in the battle against finning in recent years, the practice still occurs legally in most fishing nations and international finning bans have yet to include the fins-attached requirement. The demand for fins appears to be rising along with the booming Chinese economy and continues to be a driving force for most shark fisheries. Demand for meat coupled with lack of science-based catch limits, particularly in Europe, also pose threats to many shark populations.

Despite legal mandates aimed at fish conservation, the European Union (EU) has an exceptionally poor record for effective control of shark fishing and finning and, as a result, an exceptionally high number of endangered shark species. EU fleets fish for sharks all over the globe and EU officials have great influence in international fisheries management arenas. For these reasons, Ocean Conservancy helped found the Shark Alliance, a conservation coalition dedicated to improving European shark policies. Visit the Shark Alliance Web site to read about efforts in Europe to combat shark overfishing and finning.

The degradation of nearshore habitat, which many sharks use as safe places to give birth and grow up, also poses a threat to coastal shark populations.

Overall, sharks still have relatively low economic value and are often regarded as menaces, pests or trash, making them a low priority for fishery managers. Despite the highly migratory nature of most sharks, there are still no international catch limits for sharks. US shark management plans are among the world's strongest and yet have been generally inadequate to prevent overfishing, rebuild populations, and protect shark habitat. Scientific knowledge of sharks and their population status is limited and yet an essential part of effective conservation.

Read our Red Listed Sharks fact sheet. (PDF)

What We're Doing to Help

Ocean Conservancy has promoted sound management for sharks in US waters and around the world for nearly two decades. We use a combination of active participation in key meetings, public education, media coverage and grassroots activism to achieve our science-based policy goals.

Ocean Conservancy led efforts to establish management plans for US Atlantic sharks, spiny dogfish and closely related skates; we are closely involved in the amendment of these plans as we press for complementary limits in state and international waters. Ocean Conservancy filed the petition that led to the listing of US Atlantic smalltooth sawfish under the US Endangered Species Act.

On the US Pacific Coast, with help from partner organizations, we secured California bills to prohibit directed fishing for white sharks and prohibit finning as well as federal protections for rare Pacific species and limits on new fisheries for spiny dogfish.

Ocean Conservancy played a key role in adoption of the United Nations (UN) Food and Agricultural Organization's 1999 International Plan of Action for Sharks, the US Shark Finning Prohibition Act of 2000 and all four listings of sharks and related species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. We were the lead proponent of the world's first international ban on shark finning and the world's only international quota for a skate. Ocean Conservancy helped form the IUCN Shark Specialist Group in 1991 and now serves as Deputy Chair. In 2006, we were one of five founding members of the Shark Alliance, a Europe focused coalition that now boasts 50 member groups. Our Director of Shark Conservation, Sonja Fordham, while overseeing Shark Alliance policy, maintains numerous appointments to US government advisory committees and delegations to international fisheries meetings, providing ample opportunity for Ocean Conservancy to continue to speak for the sharks.

How You Can Help

Sharks are in dire need of fishing limits, but shark conservation programs will not proceed without public support. Your voice for long-term conservation is vital to balance short-term interests. There are many things you can do to help the sharks:

• If you live in the US, contact your Senators and Representatives in Congress and ask them to:
• strengthen our nation's shark finning ban by prohibiting the removal of shark fins at sea,
• encourage the Departments of Commerce and State to give a high priority to securing international limits on the catch of sharks, and
• support shark and ray research and management programs on state, national and international levels (particularly for highly endangered smalltooth sawfish).
• Write to the Director of the National Marine Fisheries Service (1315 East West Highway; Silver Spring, MD 20910) and ask him impose the scientific advice for spiny dogfish, minimize bycatch of imperiled dusky sharks, and prohibit fishing for depleted hammerhead, oceanic whitetip, and porbeagle sharks;
• If you live on the West coast, write to your state law makers and Pacific Fishery Management Council (2130 SW Fifth Avenue, Suite 224; Portland, OR 97201) and ask managers to adopt precautionary catch limits for spiny dogfish and pelagic sharks such as threshers and makos;
• If you live on the Gulf coast, contact your state lawmakers and the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission (P.O. Box 726; Ocean Springs, MS 39566) and ask them to enact state shark regulations that are consistent with the federal shark plan;
• If you live on the US Atlantic coast, write to your state lawmakers and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (1444 Eye St., NW; Washington, DC 20005; website: asmfc.org ) and ask them to enact interstate shark (including dogfish) measures that are at least as stringent as those in federal waters;
• If you live outside the US, contact your fisheries policy officials and ask them to ensure your country has finning ban that prohibits the removal of shark fins at sea, a national plan of action for shark conservation and science-based limits on the catch of sharks.

© Copyright 2010 Ocean Conservancy
The Ocean Conservancy, International Coastal Cleanup and Ocean Action Network are registered trademarks of Ocean Conservancy.

Visit www.oceanconservancy.org/contactus for regional office addresses and email information.

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The Ocean Conservancy, International Coastal Cleanup and Ocean Action Network are registered trademarks of Ocean Conservancy.

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