Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know what you're all thinking but keep in mind that they are fishes and all the species in it can be found in North America.
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LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists added several species of deep sea sharks on Thursday to the World Conservation Union's (IUCN) endangered Red List due to overfishing.

At a meeting in Oxford, England, the scientists listed all three species of thresher sharks -- known for their scythe-like tails -- as "vulnerable globally," and moved the shortfin mako to "vulnerable today" from "near threatened."

"The qualities of pelagic sharks -- fast, powerful, wide-ranging -- too often lead to a misperception that they are resilient to fishing pressure," said Sarah Fowler of the IUCN's Shark Specialist Group.

"This week, leading shark scientists from around the world highlighted the vulnerability of these species to overfishing and concluded that several species are now threatened with extinction on a global scale," she added.

The scientists decided that the blue shark, the world's most abundant and heavily fished pelagic shark, should remain in the "near threatened" category despite a decline in numbers of 50-70 percent in the North Atlantic and scant conservation measures.

Scientists later added the semi-pelagic scalloped hammerhead shark to the "endangered" category, while the pelagic stingray was put in the "least concern" category which is still part of the IUCN's Red List.


The Red List categories range from "extinct" to "not evaluated."

Pelagic sharks are taken unintentionally in high seas during swordfish and tuna fishing, and increasingly targeted as new markets develop for their meat and demand grows for their fins.

Bans on shark finning -- slicing off a shark's fins -- have been adopted for most international waters, but standards of enforcement are low, IUCN said.

"Despite mounting threats and evidence of decline, there are no international catch limits for pelagic sharks," said Sonja Fordham, Shark Alliance's policy director.

"The workshop results underscore the urgent need for international fishery commissions to limit fishing for these vulnerable species and strengthen regulations on the wasteful practice of finning," she added.

She said the hammerhead was among the most endangered species from shark finning because their meat had very low value but their fins were highly prized for the Asian delicacy shark-fin soup.

http://www.sciam.com...5A0CC479D221282

"Finning" is probably number one on my list of ecologically unsustainable pet peeves. As much as you'd like to fantasize about punching the hulls of these peoples' boats with .50 caliber shells, there's really no way to enforce any of the finning bans. The only way to stop it is to reduce the demand, which is probably just as unlikely given the fact that it's a tradition at Chinese banquets

...The only way to stop it is to reduce the demand, which is probably just as unlikely given the fact that it's a tradition at Chinese banquets

True, but fur coats used to be a huge status symbol here, and demand for those has dropped beyond dramatically.

True, but fur coats used to be a huge status symbol here, and demand for those has dropped beyond dramatically.

Fur coats are made from farmed animals, unlike sharkfin soup. Now if only I could afford to buy my wife a fur coat...

Fur coats are made from farmed animals, unlike sharkfin soup. Now if only I could afford to buy my wife a fur coat...

My point was just that with enough work, public opinion can be changed.

I think for the most part the world frowns on shark finning, I would even go as far to say that sharks are the new whales. It's just with so much other stuff going on right now people have been focusing their attension elsewhere. Hopefully this problem will be taken care of.

I think for the most part the world frowns on shark finning, I would even go as far to say that sharks are the new whales. It's just with so much other stuff going on right now people have been focusing their attension elsewhere. Hopefully this problem will be taken care of.

Sharks might be the next whales as long as the media doesn't make them public enemy #1 like they did a few years ago. I recall all they talked about for an entire summer was how many shark attacks there were in a year that had no more than other years.

Sharks might be the next whales as long as the media doesn't make them public enemy #1 like they did a few years ago. I recall all they talked about for an entire summer was how many shark attacks there were in a year that had no more than other years.

Yes, I recall that 2001 was supposed to be the "summer of the shark" or some such nonsense. A little boy was attacked by a bull shark and had his arm bitten off, and the news media latched on to it like you wouldn't believe. Things must have been particularly slow at that point... But I remember that people were terrified of even going to the beach that summer.

The media has not been much help with the issue. Between "Summer of the Shark" type headlines and Shark Week documentarys like "Anatomy of a Sharkbite" and "Shark Attack Files". The media needs to focus on shark conservation and diversity, both far more interesting then shark attacks. 2001 actually had less "attacks" then the previous summer IIRC.