Why are sharks endangered?
A large number of shark species are now at risk of extinction because too many have been removed from the oceans and the rate of removal is higher than the rate at which the remaining sharks can reproduce. It is a simple case of overfishing such as has been seen in every sea and ocean of the world. While some fish species can recover relatively quickly, sharks cannot as they are slow growing, late to mature and produce few young. The overfishing of sharks that is occurring in Australia and the rest of the world has a principle driver – the demand for shark fin soup. However, millions of sharks are also caught as bycatch in fisheries that target other species. Some of these will be retained, some discarded, already dead. Unselective fishing methods such as drift netting, trawling and long lining are spelling disaster for sharks and the wider marine environment. “Dolphin friendly” canned tuna, for example, should instead be labelled “Shark fatal”.
