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This page is intended to
only be an introduction to the endangered sharks of our world. The species
presented below are by no means the only ones in danger. Links at the bottom of the page will take
you to some of the best resource sites out there for more in-depth information. The
best sites to start with are marked with a star
 .
Many shark species are
endangered, and a number are on the verge of extinction. This is
primarily due to three major factors: destruction of habitats
(especially mangroves which serve as shark nurseries); by catch of ocean
going fish factories; and extreme exploitation and overfishing for their
fins and cartilage, all of which are used in useless and
superstitious ways by various cultures for food and "medicines". And the
endangered list includes not only lesser known sharks but also one of
the ocean's most magnificent predators, the Great White Shark as well as
the extraordinary Whale and Basking Sharks.
The shark populations of
the east coast of the United States have been reduced dramatically in
the past 15 years, including from 40 to 70% reductions in the
populations of tiger sharks, blue sharks and mako sharks. The
"International Action Plan For Sharks" initiated by CITES and the Food
and Agricultural Organization FAO report that more than 100 out of 400
shark species are being exploited commercially, and that many of these
species are so overexploited that their long term survival cannot be
guaranteed. More than 100 million sharks are caught annually. Not only
are sharks actively fished for their meat, fins or cartilage, but
millions of them die needlessly as undesirable byproducts brought in
from the nets and longlines of ocean going fishing factories.
 Finning:
An
especially brutal and cruel practice is finning, which is cutting off of
a shark's fins, often while the animal is still alive. The shark trunk
is then tossed overboard as useless waste. The epicenter of the
international shark fin market is Hong Kong and mainland China, where
the almost uncontrolled finning trade is a huge problem. It is estimated
that over 22,000 tons of shark fins are marketed worldwide, and most of
this ends up as "shark fin soup", a popular "status symbol" dish in many
oriental cultures. Unfortunately only a handful of countries have
introduced finning restrictions: Canada, Brazil, the United States,
Spain and Costa Rica and the attack on sharks for their fins continues
worldwide. Sharks are also exploited for their cartilage, which is
claimed falsely to have therapeutic uses in curing everything from
osteoarthritis to cancer.
Habitat destruction is
also another major threat to sharks. In order for young newborn sharks
to survive, they must have a place to hide from larger fish and other
sharks. For millions and millions of years, mangroves in shallow water
have served this purpose perfectly. However, coastal development in
recent years has accelerated considerably and the building of resorts,
golf courses and marinas where mangroves now threatens the very
existence of shark species. In the Philippines for example, the mangrove
forests have shrunk from 5,000 to only 300 square kilometers! This is a
catastrophic loss of nursery habitat for Philippine sharks.
1. Ganges shark (Freshwater species)
2. Borneo shark
3. Basking shark - North Pacific & Northeast Atlantic sub-populations
4. Speartooth shark
5. Whitefin Topeshark
6. Angular Angel shark - Brazilian sub-population
7. Smoothback Angel shark
8. Spinner shark - Northwest Atlantic sub-population
9. Pondicherry shark
10. Smoothtooth Blacktip
11. Blacktip shark - Northwest Atlantic sub-population
12. Dusky shark - Northwest Atlantic & Gulf of Mexico sub-populations
13. Grey Nurse shark (aka Sand Tiger)
14. Great White shark
15. Gulper shark
16. Basking shark
17. School shark (aka Tope shark)
18. Bluegray Carpetshark
19. Porbeagle shark
20. Whale Shark
The links below will take you to
some great websites about sharks.
The best sites to start for general information are marked with a
star
.
If you have a site that you think should be listed,
please
email me.
Official,
Scientific & Governmental Sites
Endangered Species Organizations
Shark Conservation Groups
Other Countries
Shark Observation Eco-Tours
Shark Species
Miscellaneous
Personal Websites
Mass Extinction of Species
Ben S. Roesch's "A Masterpiece of Evolution -The Shark"
An excellent resource site
by Canadian zoologist Ben S. Roesch that focuses on sharks.
CSULB Sharklab -Cal State, Long Beach, CA
Their mission is to advance our
understanding of the ecology of marine fishes, training future marine
scientists at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and disseminate
information to resource managers and the general public to improve
conservation of marine fishes.
Elasmoworld
Site mission is to
provide information to the general public as well as scientists working
on the preservation, conservation and better understanding of
elasmobranchs.
Henry F. Mollet -Elasmobranch Research
Research
Affiliate, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, Monterery Bay, California
Monterey Bay Aquarium: Sharks
Section of
Monterey Bay Aquarium website devoted to sharks
NOAA's Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Tunas, Swordfish and Sharks
National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration webpage
NOVA Online: Island of Sharks Adventure
Website devoted to NOVA/PBS program
featured filming of
IMAX film,
"Island of the Sharks" -Costa Rica's Cocos Island.
Pelagic Shark Resource Foundation
Sharks of the vast
regions of the open sea. The mission of PSRF is to develop and assist
projects that contribute to a better understanding of elasmobranchs,
with an emphasis on those which contribute to their conservation and
management.
ReefQuest
Centre For Shark Research
Founded in 2001, the
ReefQuest Centre for Shark Research is
dedicated to shark and ray conservation through its scientific research
and public education programs. The Centre maintains research equipment
and facilities, reference collections of fossil and extant elasmobranch
specimens, a scientific library, elasmobranch data bases, and public
education materials.
Sharks.com
A mega shark site -all
and everything about sharks!
Shark Research Committee
Founded in 1962 as a
tax-exempt non-profit scientific research organization, the Shark
Research Committee's goal is to conduct original research on the general
biology, behavior and ecology of sharks indigenous to waters off the
Pacific Coast, with particular emphasis on potentially dangerous
species.
Shark Research Institute
The Shark Research
Institute is a multi-disciplinary non-profit scientific research
organization created to conduct research on sharks and to promote the
conservation of sharks.
The American Elasmobranch Society
Florida Museum of
Natural History website. The American Elasmobranch Society is a
non-profit organization that seeks to advance the scientific study of
living and fossil sharks, skates, rays, and chimaeras, and the promotion
of education, conservation, and wise utilization of natural resources.
ICUN World Conservation Union
The World Conservation
Union is the world’s largest and most important conservation network.
The Union brings together 82 States, 111 government agencies, more than
800 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and some 10,000 scientists
and experts from 181 countries in a unique worldwide partnership. The
Union’s mission is to influence, encourage and assist societies
throughout the world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature
and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and
ecologically sustainable.
United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation
Monitoring Centre
The
United Nations Environment Programme
World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) is the
biodiversity assessment and policy implementation arm of the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the world's foremost
intergovernmental environmental organization.
US Fish & Wildlife Webpages on Endangered Species
The American endangered
species list maintained by the US Fish & Wildlife Service
Word Conservation Union ICUN Red List of Endangered Species
IUCN
- The World Conservation Union, through its Species Survival Commission
(SSC) has for four decades been assessing the conservation status of
species, subspecies, varieties and even selected subpopulations on a
global scale in order to highlight species threatened with extinction,
and therefore promote their conservation.
Conservation Science Institute's Alaska Shark Assessment Program website
In depth look at sharks
of the North Pacific
Sharklife
Sharklife is a non-profit
organization based in South Africa that has as its mission the
prevention of shark species from declining to a point beyond recovery.
Their focus is on altering public misconception through shark education,
research and legislation.
Shark Foundation
The
Shark Foundation has been committed to the protection and research of
sharks since 1997 and sees itself as the sharks' lobby. Their purpose is
to contribute to the protection and preservation of sharks.
Sharks of Maryland and Delaware
Webpage of the Graduate
College of Marine Studies at the University of Delaware
Shark Trust
Established
in 1997, the Shark Trust is a UK registered marine conservation charity
dedicated to promoting the study, management, and conservation of
sharks, skates and rays in the UK and internationally.
ENGLAND
Isle of Man: Basking Shark
British based Manx
Wildlife Trust's Manx Basking Shark Watch web page
CANADA
Canadian
Shark Research Laboratory
Site emphasis is on
Canadian shark species.
MEDITERRANEAN REGION
Mediterranean
Shark Site
An online
information and news resource with focus on Mediterranean sharks.
SOUTH AFRICA
The Natal Sharks Board
The Natal Sharks Board (NSB)
is a service organization that protects beach users in KwaZulu-Natal
against shark attack.
THAILAND
The Sharks of Thailand
Excellent regional site.
Addresses problem of finning in Thailand.
African Sharks Eco Charters
Diving with South African
Great Whites
Diving With Sharks.com
An extensive scuba
directory featuring shark diving links and resources on the world wide
web.
ReefQuest Marine Projects
Expeditions in which
participants actively assist on-going shark related projects
The Great White House
South African
resort that offers whale
watching and Great White shark cage diving tours.
BASKING
SHARK:
Isle of Man: Basking Shark
British based Manx
Wildlife Trust's Manx Basking Shark Watch web page
GREAT WHITE
SHARK:
Apex Predators
Superb photography
by
Chris & Monique Fallows
of the Great
White Sharks of South Africa. Unbelievable stuff!
Australian Government Marine Species Conservation: Great White Shark
Superb resource site on
Great Whites
Great White Sharks
Website by Gary Villa
focusing on Great White Sharks in the section of the California Coast
known as the Red Triangle
Great White Site
Website by Chris Kain
focusing on Great Whites
The Great White Shark
Website by Douglas Long
focusing on Great Whites
SAND TIGER
SHARK:
Sand Tiger Sharks
Website by Rick Allen focusing on Sand Tiger Sharks off the coast of
North Carolina
TIGER SHARK:
Tiger Shark Research Program
University of Hawaii
research website on Tiger Sharks
WHALE SHARK:
The Whale Shark Bibliography
Great
resource and search page for Whale Sharks
Boattalk's Sharks of the World
Boating website with a nice section on
sharks presenting general information and shark profiles.
Capt Tom's Guide to New England Sharks
This site is primarily
about the New England shark species. Some general material presented.
Fiona's Shark Mania
An artsy fun site by Fiona, who shares her passion
for sharks! Extremely comprehensive link section on sharks.
Sharks of Hawaii
Lifeguard resource and educational site with excellent section of
Hawaiian sharks
Sharkman's World
Personal website of Alex
Buttigieg, a diver and shark conservationist from Malta.
American
Museum of Natural History Statement
The IUCN Red List of Endangered Species
Professor David Ulansey's
Website -Mass Extinction Underway
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