Help protect our sharks and rays

© Amanda Cotton / Ocean Image Bank

Make a donation to protect our sharks and rays

© Amanda Cotton / Ocean Image Bank

Sharks and ray are facing an extinction crisis

Some of the ocean’s top predators - and some of its gentlest giants - sharks and rays have helped shape our ocean over hundreds of millions of years. Without them, coral reefs, and seagrass meadows – which help regulate our climate – could collapse.

But we’re losing them – and fast.

Since the 1970s oceanic shark and ray numbers alone have plummeted by 71%. 

More than 35% of these critically important species are now threatened with extinction. And without them, the entire health of the ocean is at risk.

We must act quickly before a wave of extinctions overwhelms our ocean.  

© naturepl.com /Mark Carwardine /WWF

The number one threat they face is commercial fishing.

Sharks and rays grow slowly, mature late, and produce few offspring - which makes them particularly vulnerable to overfishing. 

These charismatic apex predators are also targeted for their fins, caught as bycatch, and killed by destructive fishing methods like bottom trawling. 

Your donation today will help:

  • create more Marine Protected Areas - safe havens where harmful human activities are limited or prohibited.
  • make fishing more sustainable by reducing bycatch and the use of indiscriminate and destructive methods
  • support research on our 'data-deficient' local shark and ray populations
Living Planet Report sharks and rays video