{"id":85125,"date":"2019-11-25T13:04:30","date_gmt":"2019-11-25T12:04:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/friendofthesea.org\/conservation-projects-and-awareness\/save-the-sharks\/"},"modified":"2021-12-09T15:49:32","modified_gmt":"2021-12-09T14:49:32","slug":"save-the-sharks","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/friendofthesea.org\/ar\/conservation-projects-and-awareness\/save-the-sharks\/","title":{"rendered":"Save the Sharks"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Save the Sharks<\/font>
\nCampaign<\/font><\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Your Support
is important to save the Sharks<\/span>\n<\/strong><\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"donate\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

<\/div><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Save the Sharks<\/span><\/strong>
Sign Our
Petition!<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

The Problem<\/span>\n<\/strong><\/h1><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Sharks and rays have existed for over 420 million years<\/strong>. They are a group of fish characterized by a cartilaginous<\/strong> skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. They have a covering of dermal denticles that protects their skin from damage and parasites in addition to improving their fluid dynamics. They have numerous sets of replaceable teeth. Sharks generally do not live in freshwater although there are a few known exceptions, such as the bull shark and the river shark, which can be found in both seawater and freshwater. Well-known species such as the tiger shark, blue shark, great white shark, mako shark, thresher shark, and hammerhead shark are apex predators<\/strong>\u2014organisms at the top of their underwater food chain.<\/p>

Sharks and rays are targeted by fisheries for shark fins<\/strong> and gill plates<\/strong> respectively, which fetch exorbitant prices due to their high demand as a delicacy in some Asian countries. There is also a market for shark meat, with European countries providing the biggest market.<\/strong> In addition to being targeted for their fins and meat, sharks often end up in fishing nets as incidental bycatch.According to a recent TRAFFIC report<\/u><\/a> that highlights the major shark catchers, traders and affected species, the top 20 shark catching countries in the world caught more than 600,000 metric tons of sharks and rays each year<\/strong> between 2007-2017, with the top five countries \u2014 Indonesia, Spain, India, Mexico and the United States \u2014 catching a whopping 333,952 metric tons on average between them each year. \u00a0It is estimated that up to 100 million sharks are caught globally each year.<\/strong>\u00a0 According to the report, 16,177 metric tons of shark fin<\/strong>, valued at around USD294 million per year, were imported globally each year between 2000-2016, with 90% of these shark fin products being imported by four countries: Hong Kong SAR (9,069 mt\/year), Malaysia (2,556 mt\/year), mainland China (1,868 mt\/year, and Singapore (1,587 mt\/year). Brazil, Spain, Uruguay and Italy collectively accounted for\u00a0 an average of 57% of global shark meat imports <\/strong>during the ten year study period\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Shark\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Environnemental Consequences<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

These irresponsible and unsustainable fishing practices have resulted in alarming declines in a wide range of shark species. A quarter of the approximately 1,150 species of sharks and rays currently in danger of going extinct. <\/strong>Since sharks are slow growing, only reach maturity relatively late in life, and have long reproductive cycles \u2014 often giving birth to less than a dozen pups every one to two years, they are particularly vulnerable to being overfished.<\/p>

Despite conservation efforts, 17% of sharks and rays are currently listed as Critically Endangered, Endangered, or Vulnerable <\/strong>in the IUCN Red List, while 13% have a status of Near Threatened, and 47% are categorized as Data Deficient. Only 23% of all shark and ray species are listed under the category of Least Concern (Dulvy et al, 2014).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

The regions identified as hot spots include the Coral Triangle in the Indo-Pacific and the Mediterranean (where it is estimated that around 50% of all shark and ray species are threatened with extinction).<\/strong><\/p>

Sharks are top predators that play an important ecological role<\/strong> in marine ecosystems. Their health and wellbeing is therefore vital for maintaining healthy oceans \u2014 and by extension, vital for the communities that depend on the oceans for their food security and livelihoods. Ironically, this also applies to the very fishermen who target them.<\/p>

Maintaining shark biodiversity is important for several reasons, including:<\/p>