Hammerhead sharks and giant devil rays are becoming globally
edangered, largely because of serious overfishing driven by the
voracious human appetite for shark fin soup and other seafood, a
comprehensive survey by experts from 90 countries has
determined. Many other sharks and rays–one third of all their
species–are also in trouble. NGS illustration by Shawn Gould The
first study to determine the global conservation status of 64
species of open ocean (pelagic) sharks and rays reveals that 32
percent are threatened with extinction, primarily due to
overfishing, according to the International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Shark Specialist Group. The
percentage of open ocean shark species threatened with
extinction is higher for the sharks taken in high-seas fisheries
(52 percent), than for the group as a whole, the organization
said in a news statement today. “The vulnerability and lengthy
migrations of most open ocean sharks call for coordinated,
international conservation plans. Our report documents