Millions of Sharks Killed Each Year: New Study Reveals Dangers of Fishing

Sharks are being pushed closer and closer to extinction, thanks to commercial fishing. The industry kills about 100 million sharks a year, according to a new study.

The findings, published in the journal Marine Policy, are the most comprehensive analysis yet of global shark mortality. The researchers surveyed roughly 100 papers, examining years of data. In the end, they found that the fishing is not only not sustainable, but that it may drive sharks to extinction.

In particular, they noted that sharks are being fished at an average rate that is 30 to 60 percent higher than can be sustained. It takes years for sharks to sexually mature and produce their offspring, which means that they can't rebuild population numbers. In addition, the researchers found that shark finning is still a major issue. Shark deaths declined only slightly between 2000 to 2010--from 100 million to 97 million.

Shark finning, in particular, is a practice that has drastically culled the shark population in the world's oceans. Ships fish for sharks and then cut off their fins, leaving them bleeding on the deck. Although fishermen are supposed to completely kill the sharks before engaging in this practice, sometimes the sharks are left alive and then are dropped back into the ocean after their fins are removed. There, they drown, unable to swim without their fins.

Some effort is being done to protect sharks, though. The California Department of Fish and wildlife just announced that great white sharks are now a protected species off of the coast of California. Anyone caught harming or catching the sharks could face fines and jail time. Currently, there are only about 340 great whites in California and the Northwestern Pacific region, making them in danger of extinction.

While great whites have received protection, though, other species haven't. Currently, activists hope to send delegates to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) over the next two weeks in order to convince officials to pan the trade of oceanic whitetip, porbeagle and three times of hammerhead sharks.