It depends on the location. Sharks are missing from 19% of the world’s coral reefs. This number is the highest percentage of reef shark decline ever recorded. The decline of sharks is caused by overfishing, according to a new study. Don’t worry, sharks aren’t fully extinct, this means that some reefs in the world have no sharks, as Science Magazine details:
”This study is a tour de force,” says Nick Dulvy, a conservation biologist at Simon Fraser University. “It’s the most comprehensive study that’s ever been done to look at shark abundance,” adds Ellen Pikitch, a marine biologist at Stony Brook University. Both say the findings bolster the conclusion that fishing has profoundly depleted reef shark populations in many places. (Neither was involved in the project.)
Like other large animals, sharks are vulnerable to overfishing because they grow slowly and don’t have many offspring. Demand for shark fins has grown, along with consumption, by a burgeoning Asian middle class. In other places, fishing communities are eating more shark meat as other species have declined. Researchers know shark populations have dropped in many places, but these studies are difficult to compare.
image via wikimedia commons
I mean.... I duno.. i guess