The main factor behind their demise is overfishing, which has wiped out populations of chondrichthyans fishes (cartilaginous fishes) such as sharks, rays, and chimaeras over the last 50 years. In the case of sharks, the threat posed by intentional fishing and bycatch is compounded by habitat degradation, climate change, and pollution.

The result is over one-third of chondrichthyans fishes now face the threat of extinction, a statement by Australia’s James Cook University noted.

The sequential depletion of the largest and most functionally important species, such as sawfish and rhino rays – the latter considered the world’s most threatened marine fish -, was followed by the decline of large manta rays, eagle rays, angel sharks, hammerhead sharks, and requiem sharks.

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