NPR 1st reported: There are more than a thousand species of sharks and rays in the world, and nearly a quarter of them are threatened with extinction, according to a new study. That means these ancient types of fish are among the most endangered animals in the world. This word comes from a Swiss-based group called the (IUCN), which maintains the so-called of species threatened with extinction.
The group has been worried about sharks, rays and related species for more than 20 years. IUCN scientists have finally calculated the risk to these species and published in the online journal eLife.
“It’s quite bad, I’m sorry to say,” says , who helps run the IUCN shark assessment.
It’s not news that many species of shark are in trouble. But the 25 percent risk of extinction is a surprisingly large number, Fordham says, adding that “the rays are actually worse off than the sharks.”
Rays include mantas and skates, but also fish that look more like sharks — such as , which has a snout shaped like a double-sided saw.
Fordham, who is president of , says sawfish are the most endangered of all. Some populations have already been driven to extinction. They’re critically endangered elsewhere because they live along fragile coastlines, and because they’re a for the Asian market.
“People know about the in shark fins, but few know that some of the most valuable fins that are used in shark fin soup come from the sharklike rays — species like sawfishes and and ,” Fordham says.
Rays also are often inadvertently . The , for instance, is (ironically, considering it’s name) now extinct in some European waters — wiped out by fishermen . Continue reading….
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