Shark fishing and shark finning

Abstract

Sharks belong to an ancient and diverse group of cartilaginous fish called the 'chondrichthyans', which play important roles in maintaining healthy oceans. Unfortunately these fish are amongst the world's most threatened species, primarily due to overfishing. Saving sharks requires that the entire seafood industry is managed for sustainability, so that the number of sharks which are caught (as both target species and bycatch) does not exceed the slow population growth rates of many shark species.