Sharks around the world are threatened due to finning. Photo by Eric Cheng - www.echeng.com

Sharks are in critical danger of extinction due to overfishing. Over 100 million sharks are killed each year. That’s over 11,300 an hour. Regionally, 90% of populations of the large shark species are already gone – including those targeted by nets. 1/4 of the over 500 shark species are already facing the threat of extinction with more to follow over the next decade.

There are few places in the world that shark populations are healthy – and sharks are not under attack. Three sharks have been protected world wide by the CITES treaty: great whites, whale sharks, and basking sharks.