IUCN - 26% Of NE Atlantic Shark & Ray Species Face Extinction -7% "Critically Endangered"

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More than a quarter of sharks and rays in the north-east Atlantic face extinction from overfishing, conservationists warned today. A "red list" report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) found that 26% of all sharks, rays and related species in the regional waters are threatened with extinction. Seven per cent are classed as critically endangered, while a fifth are regarded as "near-threatened".

The total number of at-risk species may well be higher because scientists lack of sufficient information to assess the populations of more than a quarter (27%) of them, the report adds. Many are slow-breeding fish that are especially vulnerable to fisheries.

Two species of shark that are highly prized for their meat, the spiny dogfish (rock salmon) and porbeagle, are critically endangered. They are among the few species that are subject to EU fishing restrictions, although these quotas are well above the zero-catch levels proposed by scientists at the International Council for Exploration of the Sea (Ices).

Angel sharks and common skates are also critically endangered in the north-east Atlantic, prompting Ices scientists to call for greater restrictions on fisheries that target them or land them as bycatch. The basking shark, the world's second largest fish, was listed as vulnerable. Sonja Fordham, policy director at the Shark Alliance, and co-author of the report said: "The north Atlantic is one of the most overfished regions in the world and yet only four species of sharks and rays are protected. This is a clear consequence of overfishing, whether these species are targeted or taken as bycatch."

EDIT

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/nov/10/conservation-fishing