How Many Sharks Are Killed Every Year? An estimated 100 million sharks are killed per year throughout the world, a startlingly high number and one that is greater than the recovery rate of these populations. More specifically, an estimated 6.4% to 7.9% of all shark species in the world are killed each year.
Around 100 million sharks are killed each year worldwide, according to a paper published in Marine Policy in 2013. In the study, researchers calculated that between 6.4 and 7.9 percent of all sharks are killed annually.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare reports that every year, humans kill around 100 million sharks. It's a devastating amount, especially considering that sharks are incredibly important for the overall health of the ocean.
However, The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) states commercial fishing kills over 100 million sharks annually. They also estimate that up to 273 million sharks are killed each year. There are over 500 species of sharks in the ocean, and some of their populations are declining by as much as 99%.
How many sharks are killed each year? Humans kill an estimated 100 million sharks every year. That's an average of almost 274,000 sharks every day, over 11,000 sharks every hour, and around three sharks every second!
Culling compared to bycatch from commercial fishing
On average, 15 great white sharks are caught by the NSW and Queensland shark control programme each year, compared to 186 caught in Australia from other activities.
Which shark has killed the most humans? As of April 2021, the great white shark - the species portrayed in the film “Jaws” - is responsible for the highest number of unprovoked attacks with 333 total events including 52 fatalities.
Sharks are therefore quite vulnerable to overfishing, being removed from the ocean faster than they can reproduce. In addition to being harvested for their fins, sharks are often taken as by-catch in other commercial fisheries, and some are popular targets for recreational fishing.
Frank Mundus' Great White Shark – 3,427 lbs.
In 1986, this was the largest fish ever caught by rod and reel. The record Captain Mundus was aiming to beat was held by Alf Dean who reeled in a 2,664-pound killer white shark in 1959.
Once a delicacy, the dish is increasingly popular with China's growing middle class. The statistics are grim: up to 100 million sharks are killed each year, 73 million for their fins to service this demand, taking one in three shark species to the brink of extinction.
That's one hundred million. We need to protect these apex predators before they disappear and their absence wreaks havoc on our ecosystems. It averages out to two to three sharks killed every second, over 11,000 every hour, over a hundred million every year.
More specifically, an estimated 6.4% to 7.9% of all shark species in the world are killed each year. This figure, converted into hours, amounts to 11,416 sharks killed worldwide every hour.
Millions of sharks are being slaughtered every year to meet the demand of shark fins and shark meat. About 11,000 sharks per hour, 250,000 sharks per week, 73 to 100 million sharks per year are killed by humans either through targeted fishing for fins, meat and other products, or through by catch of other fisheries.
Massive numbers of sharks died abruptly 19 million years ago, new data show. Fossils from sediments in the Pacific Ocean reveal that 90 percent of them vanished. And so far, scientists don't know why.
In 2018, humans killed approximately 100 million sharks worldwide. That's 11,415 sharks killed per hour.
So far, the cause of this die-off remains unknown. There were no significant climatic changes in the early Miocene, and there's no evidence of an asteroid impact around that time.
A great white shark was captured near Kangaroo Island in Australia on 1 April 1987. This shark was estimated to be more than 6.9 m (23 ft) long by Peter Resiley, and has been designated as KANGA. Another great white shark was caught in Malta by Alfredo Cutajar on 16 April 1987.
The second biggest shark in the world is the basking shark
While they don't get quite as large as whale sharks, the largest one ever reliably measured was 12.27 metres or just over 40 feet long. This is enough to net them the title of the world's second-largest shark.
Megalodon is NOT alive today, it went extinct around 3.5 million years ago. Go to the Megalodon Shark Page to learn the real facts about the largest shark to ever live, including the actual research about it's extinction.
The policy was implemented in 2014 to protect human swimmers from shark attack following the deaths of seven people on the Western Australian coastline in the years 2010 to 2013. National public demonstrations opposing the policy attracted international attention to the issue.
Made of very strong and thick bone, dolphin snouts are biological battering rams. Dolphins will position themselves several yards under a shark and burst upwards jabbing their snout into the soft underbelly of the shark causing serious internal injuries. More than Peas in a Pod.
Shark conservation
A 2021 report showed over the last 50 years, global shark and ray populations have fallen more than 70%. Listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, oceanic whitetip shark numbers in the Pacific Ocean have fallen an estimated 80 to 95% within the last 30 years, according to NOAA.
In 2021, the Australian Shark Incident Database reported a total of 24 human/shark incidents in Australia. This number is significantly higher than the 2022 number due to the incomplete records for 2022. 19 of these incidents were unprovoked, were at the time of the incident: 7 victims were swimming.
Leopard sharks are harmless and small, measuring only 5 feet in length. The leopard shark is one of the friendliest shark species in the sea, and it can be found off the coast of California.