A comprehensive survey conducted by scientists in nearly 400 coral reefs on Earth has made an alarming discovery: Five shark species that inhabit these reefs have experienced a devastating decline of 60% to 73% over the past 50 years, as reported by the Washington Post. The study, published in Science, revealed that some species were completely absent in up to 47% of the surveyed areas. To conduct the surveys, reef-focused cameras captured 200,000 hours of footage within the territorial boundaries of 67 countries. The species focused on were the Caribbean reef shark, nurse shark, grey reef shark, blacktip reef shark, and whitetip reef shark.
The likely reason behind this decline, according to Colin Simpfendorfer, the lead researcher of the Australia-based study, is overfishing driven by the demand for shark fin soup. Marine biologist David Shiffman of Arizona State University, who was not involved in the study, described the results as “absolutely jaw-dropping,” while co-author Mario Espinoza of the University of Costa Rica called it a “really frightening” discovery for shark researchers. Sharks are typically the apex predators in their habitats, and their absence can disrupt the food chain. Rays, although assuming the top position in the absence of sharks, cannot consume as much as their shark cousins, unable to handle the same workload.
This study is not the first to highlight such a significant loss. In 2020, the Global FinPrint study, documented in Nature, conducted its own survey of 371 reefs in 58 countries. The study found no sharks at all in reefs within the boundaries of the Dominican Republic, the West Indies, Kenya, Vietnam, the Dutch Antilles, or Qatar. Similar to the 2023 study, the authors concluded that years of overexploitation have devastated shark populations and raised doubts about their ecological status. The loss of sharks has far-reaching consequences, causing “diversity deficits” and impacting nearby communities through the loss of ecological function and ecosystem services. It is evident that humans stand to lose if the sharks continue to decline. (Read more sharks stories.)
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