Third of shark and ray species face extinction, warns study

Number of species of sharks, rays and chimaeras facing global extinction crisis' doubles in a decade

A third of shark and ray species have been overfished to near extinction, according to an eight-year scientific study.

Sharks and rays are the canary in the coalmine of overfishing. If I tell you that three-quarters of tropical and subtropical coastal species are threatened, just imagine a David Attenborough series with 75% of its predators gone. If sharks are declining, there's a serious problem with fishing," said the paper's lead author, Prof Nicholas Dulvy, of Canada's Simon Fraser University.