Large sharks and rays could be no more in the coming decades according to a press release from Simon Fraser University Jan. 28, and reported by Outdoor Life Tuesday.
The release that 25 percent of the fish species could become extinct over the next couple decades the press release reported. The findings are based on an initial study printed in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's eLife journal.
"A global analysis of the conservation status of the 1,041 species of cartilaginous fishes undertaken by IUCN's Shark Specialist Group for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species estimates that one-quarter (24 - percent) of shark and ray species are threatened with extinction," Dr. Christian Samper, president and CEO of the Wildlife Conservation Society said in a statement. "This is a significant downward trend in the conservation status of these fishes from previous assessments and provides evidence that they are at substantially higher risk than most other groups of animals," Samper said in the statement. "This is a disheartening development that bodes poorly for the future of these marvelous fishes," Samper said in the statement.
Scientists used groups and requirements from the International Union for Conservation of Nature's red or endangered species list for the 1,041 animals the press release reported. The work was done in 17 workshops with over 300 scientists.
Scientists grouped 107 rays, and 74 different sharks who are on the verge of becoming extinct the press release reported. Scientists labeled 23 percent as safe and not in endanger.
"We now know that many species of sharks and rays, not just the charismatic white sharks, face extinction across the ice-free seas of the world," Nick Dulvy, a research chair in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada said in a statement. "There are no real sanctuaries for sharks where they are safe from overfishing," Dulvy said in the statement.
