100 million sharks are killed every year.
Sharks are at a high risk of becoming extinct because of overfishing.
An estimated 100 million sharks are killed every year.
Many fisherman catch the sharks just to cut off their fins, which are used in shark fin soup, a popular dish in Asia.
Sharks take years to reproduce and they develop slower than other species of fish, so their populations are more susceptible to being decimated by overfishing.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species is being held in Bangkok, Thailand, and will address the issue of protecting endangered species of sharks like porbeagles, the oceanic whitetip and three different kinds of hammerhead sharks.
The European Union has banned the practice of shark finning, which is when the fin of the shark is cut off and the rest of the body is thrown back into the ocean.
Elizabeth Wilson, manager of global shark conservation for the Pew Environment Group, supports the latest proposals under consideration at the convention. Wilson said: “We are now the predators. Humans have mounted an unrelenting assault on sharks, and their numbers are crashing throughout the world's oceans. Countries should seize this opportunity to protect these top predators from extinction."
