Which sharks are killed for their fins? Are they endangered?
There are 400 species of shark, and many are used for their fins. Blue, hammerhead and silky sharks are the most highly traded in Hong Kong. Mako and thresher are also popular, and great white is also used. All these species are found off the California coast. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says over 100 million sharks, skates and rays are killed every year. We figure that’s just half the total, because another half is unreported. This total threatens sharks because they reproduce slowly, more like mammals than fish. Some sharks only have 1-2 pups every other year, and they may take nine or more years to mature. Shark populations are quickly declining — the dusky-shark population in the U.S. Atlantic has declined 90 percent. Does WildAid want shark fishing to become illegal? No. Sharks are an important source of protein in certain parts of the world, like India and West Africa. It’s primarily the huge value for fins that endangers sharks–its like a global gold r
