Read on for our obligatory Shark Week post!
A white shark (Carcharadon carcharias) off Guadalupe Island.
Late July means Shark Week. Unfortunately, it also means the annual shark trophy hunting season is in full swing in the United States.
As unnecessary as they are, shark trophy hunts are only one of the threats these animals face. Finning is also thought to be responsible for the deaths of some 73 million sharks every year. Tens of millions more are killed as bycatch in industrial fisheries. And habitat destruction, for instance through the loss of mangroves or coral reefs, is another significant threat.
All of these anthropogenic pressures continue to have devastating effects on shark populations. A recent study found that 59 percent of shark and ray species found on coral reefs are threatened with extinction. Another study estimated that since 1970, the global abundance of oceanic sharks and rays had declined by 71 percent.
The decline of shark populations is bad for all of us. It's cliche at this point to highlight how little people actually have to fear from sharks, but it's still worth repeating that you're more likely to be bitten by a New Yorker than a shark. And the reality is that as apex predators, sharks help to regulate mesopredators and herbivores in their foodwebs, which reduces the spread of disease, and maintains ocean biodiversity.
We support efforts to help communities move away from the extractive behaviors and industries causing shark population declines and towards a more sustainable and nature-positive economic future. As one example, the establishment of marine protected areas opens up various other opportunities, such as responsibly managed ecotourism. In fact, worldwide, the annual value of shark tourism is already over well over $300 million.
We'll end with this quote from the late great shark biologist Dr. Samuel H. Gruber:
"Sharks aren’t gods and they’re not devils. I regard them as true lords of time. They’ve survived multiple extinction episodes when most marine animals have disappeared. They’ve had the strength and adaptations to come back time and time again, and they’ve been around probably longer than most animals with backbones – nearly half a billion years! But now humans, the super-predator, threaten to undo the half-billion-year reign of sharks."
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