Pelagic sharks, the massive species that live in the deep sea rather than in coastal waters, are particularly at risk of being fished out of existence as demand for their fins increases, experts said. Populations of several species, including the dusky and sandbar, have dropped 80 percent in just 10 years, according to the Ocean Wildlife Campaign. Sharks are fished for their meat, fins, cartilage, leather, teeth and jaws by commercial and recreational fisheries. Their nurseries, where sharks return each year to hatch their young, have also been damaged by pollution. In addition, they are killed accidentally by fishermen using huge drifting nets or long lines to catch tuna.
Sharks account for just one percent of all the species fished in the world.
But they are slow to reproduce and take up to 14 years to mature. Therefore, the experts said, if current practices continue, species could go extinct. A coalition of environmental groups are pushing for the adoption of domestic and international recovery plans that they say will rebuild pelagic shark populations in about 40 years. One challenge conservationists said they face is that sharks have a bad reputation.