Endangered Shark Species

Sharks are found in all the oceans of the world, right from the Arctic to the Antarctic. More than 450 species of sharks exist in the world today. On a first glance, that may come as a relief for people concerned about the rapid rate at which the animals on our planet are going extinct. However, a bit more probing, and you realize that the picture is different from what it appears. Several species of sharks have been brought to the verge of extinction, predominantly as a result of human activities. In fact, some of the endangered shark species have seen a decline of 90 percent over the last few decades. If the same trend continues, it wouldn't be long before these names are transferred from the list of endangered animals to the list of extinct animals.

Why are Sharks Threatened by Humans?

The popular belief that humans are threatened by sharks doesn't quite hold ground today, as several shark species are on the verge of succumbing to large-scale exploitation by humans. Overfishing is one of the major concern for the shark population the world over, as the demand for shark fins and cartilage in the international market continues to soar. While shark fins are used to prepare shark fin soup - a status symbol in the Asian countries, its cartilage is used for its alleged therapeutic value, which has never been proved scientifically. Habitat destruction is yet another factor responsible for the decline in number of shark species. Mangroves which act as a nursery wherein females give birth to young ones have also been exploited by humans, thus resulting in lack of breeding area for the shark species. The fact that sharks have a low reproductive rate, and the gap between the birth and sexual maturity being a bit too long, also adds to the decline of these species. The rate at which various shark species are reproducing is far low, compared to the rate at which they are being slaughtered for selfish human needs.

Most Endangered Sharks

One of the major problems when it comes to the initiation of the efforts for shark species conservation is the lack of proper monitoring of the shark fisheries worldwide. Several Asian countries, including economic giants like China and Japan, have been continuously opposing the need for restrictions on international shark trade. Man's greed for short term economic gains far exceeds the vision required to maintain a proper balance in the biodiversity of the planet. The end result is inclusion of more and more names to the list of endangered shark species, given below.

More than a hundred species of sharks have been subjected to commercial exploitation over the last 3-4 decades, thus leaving their population in a dire state. If this trend continues, some of these endangered species will not even live for another decade. This list features various species of sharks including Great White shark, Sand Tiger shark, Basking shark, Hammerhead shark, etc.

• Angular angel shark
• Basking shark
• Bigeye thresher
• Bluegrey carpetshark
• Borneo shark
• Dusky shark
• Ganges shark
• Great White shark
• Gulper shark
• Oceanic Whitetip shark
• Tiger shark
• Pondicherry shark
• Porbeagle shark
• School shark
• Smooth Hammerhead
• Smoothback angelshark
• Smoothtooth blacktip shark
• Speartooth shark
• Whale shark
• Whitefin topeshark

While some of these shark species have experienced an overall decline, some have been subjected to a total decline in a particular region. For instance, the Oceanic Whitetip shark population has declined by 90 percent in the central Pacific ocean, while the same in the Gulf of Mexico has declined by a whopping 99 percent. Similar is the case with several other species of sharks battling for their basic existence.

Even though the crisis that these shark species face today are more than obvious, they fall short of waking the administration from its deep slumber. Time and again, it has been proved that wildlife conservation methods are only initiated when the species become rare, and it is too late to save them from extinction. Serious depletion in the number of species goes for a toss, when the economic gains come into the picture. If this attitude doesn't change, it won't be long before these sharks become extinct, and trigger a series of aftereffects on the ecosystem of the planet.