More than 100 Million Sharks Killed every Year

One of the cruelest, most callous and inhuman practises followed by man is 'finning'. Every year, sharks are killed at an alarming rate for their fins that serve as a Chinese delicacy. The shark population has been depleting around the world and yet, not much is done about it.

A latest study states that a shocking number of sharks are killed every year. More than 100 million sharks are killed every year, and with the fishing rates increasing, the declining shark population is unable to recover its numbers.

This data will be presented as part of a new study to The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) held in Bangkok on Monday. Researchers will take certain measures to protect the declining number of the shark population including porbeagles, oceanic whitetip and three types of hammerhead that are killed for their fins.

According to the data retrieved on shark death and illegal catches that are unreported, nearly 100 million sharks were killed in 2000 and 97 million were killed in 2010. Due to the lack of sufficient data on shark catches, the actual figure of annual shark deaths falls between 63-273 million.

The Guardian states that nearly 6.4 to 7.9 percent of sharks are being killed each year.

Sharks help maintain the ecosystem in the world's oceans and their declining number is a real concern.

"Sharks have persisted for at least 400 million years and these predators are experiencing population declines significant enough to cause global concern," lead author Boris Worm, professor of biology at Dalhousie, said in a press statement.

Dry shark fins are sold in markets. A bowl of shark fin soup costs $350.

"A simple vote 'yes' to support their listing could turn things around for some of the world's most threatened shark species," Elizabeth Wilson, manager of global shark conservation at the Pew Charitable Trusts' environmental organization, was quoted as saying in LiveScience. "Countries should seize this opportunity to protect these top predators from extinction."

The study was published in the journal Marine Policy.