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International
THE SHARK TRUST
Despite their fearsome media image sharks now rank amongst the most endangered species on the planet.
As apex predators sharks are crucial to the health of our marine ecosystems. However, they demonstrate a life history strategy that is intrinsically vulnerable to exploitation: slow growth, late maturity and few offspring.
Shark finning, over fishing and habitat destruction all contribute to an alarming pattern of population decline, leading in some cases to regional extinction. Recent scientific assessments ranked the sharks of the North East Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea with the worst conservation status of all assessed regions: over 30% of EU and more than 50% of UK shark species are listed as threatened, some species are reported to have declined by 99%.
The Shark Trust is a UK registered charity which works to advance the worldwide conservation of sharks, skates and rays through science, education, influence and action.
THE TRUST IS:
- An effective and well respected advocate for sound shark management and protection.
- A founder member of the Shark Alliance.
- The Secretariat of the European Elasmobranch Association.
- A membership organisation which provides a link between the public and the science community.
The Trust works through cross-sectoral collaboration and where possible works with governments and industry to attain sustainable goals.
There are many ways in which you can get involved in shark conservation.
Visit www.sharktrust.org/getinvolved to see what you can do, and you can even adopt a shark!After all we have to ask ourselves – sharks have survived five major extinction events, but will they survive us?
RELATED LINKS: - Ocean Conservancy
- Seen a shark? Record it on the Shark Trust Sightings Database
