According to the study more than a quarter of sharks and rays in the northeast Atlantic are threatened with extinction due to overfishing. Porbeagle sharks and spiny dogfish are among the most threatened species yet they remain two of the most hunted species in European waters. Common skate, which little more than a century ago were one of the most populous fish off British shores, rank alongside them as critically endangered in the northeast Atlantic region.
The study reveals that out of 116 species of shark, rays and chimaeras, which are known collectively as chondrichthyan fish, 7 percent are critically endangered in the region, 7 percent are endangered and 12 percent are classified as vulnerable. It is said that these figures were released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) amid calls by conservationists for more protection to be given to the animals.
According to Sonja Fordham, of the IUCN shark advisory group and the Shark Alliance, overfishing is the main cause of the decline. She told that too little is done to protect them. Britain and Sweden are the only two countries in the region to offer full protection for any shark or ray species. She also said that European governments all too frequently ignore scientific advice on sustainable catch levels for the few species for which quotas apply.
Fordham opined that officials should heed the dire warnings of this report and act to protect threatened sharks and rays at national, regional and international levels. She told that such action is immediately possible and absolutely necessary to change the current course toward extinction of these remarkable ocean animals.
