Everything You Know about Shark Conservation Is Wrong

Our fear and fascination has been inspired by sharks. A growing body of scientific evidence shows that we should be afraid of sharks, which have killed fewer humans within a year than accidents taking scenic selfies and encounters with vending machines. According to the latest numbers from the International Union for Conservancy of Nature's Red List, nearly one third of all known species of sharks and their relatives are threatened with extinction. One of the highest rates of any group of animals. Billions of humans depend on sharks for their livelihoods and food security, so the task of preserving these amazing and misunderstood species should concern us all.

More people are aware of the shark crisis and want to help, which is great news. Many well-intentioned people don't know the true causes of the crisis and the solutions they're trying to get rid of. The last decade of my research and public science engagement has been inspired by this dilemma. It inspired my new book, Why Sharks Matter: A Deep Dive with the World's Most Misunderstood Predator, which contains hundreds of research papers and reports to inform readers of the true threats to sharks and how we can begin to solve them. By following the evidence and looking for data-driven, sustainable solutions to overfishing, we can save these fascinating and important creatures.

Many people believe that the biggest threat to sharks is the practice of catching sharks, harvesting their fins and throwing the carcasses at the sea. This isn't the case and hasn't been for a long time. I've seen online petitions calling for a ban on shark fending in Florida get tens of thousands of signatures. The creators of the petition did not know that the United States had already banned shark finning. It doesn't help anyone or anything to share incorrect information about what the problems are or how to solve them if supporters of these petitions say that they're raising awareness. Such feel-good solutions don't do anything, they just divert energy, media coverage and funding away from solutions that might help.

Climate change, which may negatively affect some populations, and plastic pollution, which may harm some individuals, are not the greatest threat facing sharks. We should work to address these two as well as other ocean issues, but we should not claim that doing so is vital to shark conservativism.

The top threat to sharks and their relatives is unsustainable fishing, which includes, but is not limited to, shark finning. The paper announcing Red List status updates is entitled "Overfishing drives over one-third of all sharks and rays." Banning or restricting the fin trade alone is not enough to address the larger issue of accidentally killed sharks.

This does not mean that the only solution is no fishing at all, but sustainable fishing for sharks is a vital part of livelihoods and food security in the Global South. The principle is the same as for any sustainable fishery: perform scientific research to learn how many sharks are present, and allow fishermen to take some of them, but not so many that the population collapses. A survey shows that 90 percent of surveyed shark scientists and 78 percent of surveyed shark advocates prefer sustainable shark fishing to total bans on fishing for sharks and trade in shark products.

For reasons that aren't very clear, banning the U.S. fin trade is the best way to save sharks. Many people are influenced by provocative and misleading documents.

There is no doubt that sharks need our help, and that the loss of sharks would be devastating. We need to use evidence-based solutions to alleviate threats, and focus our efforts on the real threats.

If you want to learn more about the threats to sharks and the solutions backed by expert scientists and scientific evidence, I invite you to pick up a copy of Why Sharks Matter: A Deep Dive with the World's Most Misunderstood Predator.