# Shark — Facts, Threats & Conservation

*Selachimorpha (superorder); e.g. great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias (Linnaeus, 1758)*

> Sharks are a group of more than 500 species of cartilaginous fish found in every ocean; conservation status varies by species, but about one-third of all sharks, rays and chimaeras are threatened with extinction, mainly because of overfishing, the fin trade and bycatch.

**IUCN status:** Varies by species (Least Concern to Critically Endangered)  ·  **WARN range:** Global oceans

## Quick facts
| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Lifespan | Varies by species; great white ~70+ years, Greenland shark potentially 250+ years |
| Weight | Great white up to ~2,500 kg; whale shark much heavier |
| Size | From ~20 cm (dwarf lanternshark) to over 12 m (whale shark); great white up to ~6 m |
| Diet | Mostly carnivorous — fish, marine mammals, squid and turtles; whale and basking sharks filter-feed on plankton |
| Gestation | Varies; great white around 12 months |
| Young | Typically few per litter — great whites bear about 2 to 10 pups |
| Baby name | Pup |
| Group name | A shiver (or school) of sharks |
| Top speed | Great white can sprint up to ~24 km/h (15 mph); shortfin mako is faster |
| CITES | Several species, including the great white, are listed on CITES Appendix II |

## Scientific classification
- **Kingdom:** Animalia
- **Phylum:** Chordata
- **Class:** Chondrichthyes
- **Superorder:** Selachimorpha
- **Example order:** Lamniformes (mackerel sharks)
- **Example family:** Lamnidae
- **Example species:** Carcharodon carcharias (great white shark)

## Conservation status
- **Status:** Vulnerable (great white shark, representative large species); varies across the group from Least Concern to Critically Endangered
- **Population:** No reliable global total; many populations are difficult to count and trends are assessed species by species
- **Trend:** Decreasing for the great white and for many sharks overall
- **Assessed:** 2018 (great white shark IUCN assessment); group-wide status from 2021 IUCN reassessment
- **CITES:** Appendix II (great white shark and several other species)
- The IUCN Shark Specialist Group estimates that roughly a third of all sharks, rays and chimaeras are threatened with extinction, mainly due to overfishing.

## Key facts: Shark
- Sharks are not a single species but a group of more than 500 described species in the superorder Selachimorpha, ranging from giant filter-feeders to species smaller than a human hand.
- Conservation status varies enormously: some sharks are Least Concern, while roughly a third of all sharks, rays and chimaeras assessed by the IUCN are threatened with extinction.
- The great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List with a decreasing global population trend, and is protected under CITES Appendix II.
- Overfishing is the dominant threat: many sharks are killed for their fins, while large numbers die as unintended bycatch in fisheries targeting other species.
- Sharks reproduce slowly — many species mature late and produce few young, so populations recover very slowly once depleted.
- As apex and meso-predators, sharks help keep marine food webs in balance; their decline can ripple through entire ocean ecosystems.

## Why Are So Many Sharks Endangered?
The single biggest driver of shark decline is overfishing. Some species are targeted directly — most notoriously for their fins, used in shark-fin soup — while many more die as bycatch, hauled up accidentally in nets and on longlines set for tuna, swordfish and other commercial fish. Sharks are biologically ill-suited to withstand this pressure: most mature late, reproduce slowly and produce only a handful of young at a time, so depleted populations can take decades to recover, if they recover at all. Habitat degradation, coastal development and climate-driven shifts in prey add further strain. The result is one of the most concerning extinction-risk profiles of any animal group: assessments by the IUCN Shark Specialist Group find that around a third of sharks, rays and chimaeras are threatened with extinction.

## How Many Kinds of Shark Are There?
More than 500 shark species have been formally described, and new ones are still being identified as taxonomy advances. They span an extraordinary range of size and lifestyle. The whale shark, the largest fish in the sea, filter-feeds on plankton and can exceed 12 metres. The great white is the archetypal large predator, hunting seals and other marine mammals. Bottom-dwelling species such as wobbegongs and angel sharks lie camouflaged on the seabed, while tiny lanternsharks glow in the deep ocean. Because the group is so varied, no single conservation label fits them all — which is why responsible guides report status species by species rather than for sharks as a whole.

## What Role Do Sharks Play in the Ocean?
Sharks sit at or near the top of marine food webs, and that position matters. As predators they remove the sick, weak and dying, and they influence the behaviour and distribution of the species they hunt. When shark numbers collapse, the effects can cascade downward — mid-level predators may increase, prey species can be over-grazed, and habitats such as seagrass beds and reefs can degrade. Healthy shark populations are therefore widely treated as an indicator of a healthy ocean. Protecting them is not only about saving individual species; it is about safeguarding the structure and resilience of marine ecosystems that billions of people depend on.

## Are Sharks Dangerous to People?
Despite their fearsome reputation, the risk sharks pose to humans is very small. Unprovoked bites are rare, and only a handful of the 500-plus species have been involved in serious incidents with people. By contrast, humans kill very large numbers of sharks every year through fishing and the fin trade. The popular image of the shark as a mindless threat has, if anything, made conservation harder by obscuring how vulnerable these animals actually are. Understanding sharks as slow-reproducing, ecologically vital predators — rather than monsters — is an important step toward protecting them.

## Great white shark vs. other well-known sharks
| Species | Typical max size | Main diet | IUCN status |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Great white shark | ~6 m | Seals, fish, marine mammals | Vulnerable |
| Whale shark | 12+ m | Plankton (filter feeder) | Endangered |
| Tiger shark | ~5 m | Fish, turtles, seabirds, varied | Near Threatened |
| Basking shark | ~8 m | Plankton (filter feeder) | Endangered |
| Shortfin mako | ~4 m | Fast fish and squid | Endangered |

## What WARN does
Sharks live in the global oceans and fall outside the five countries where the World Animal Rescue Network currently funds frontline rescue work — Pakistan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brazil and Colombia. We want to be transparent: at this launch stage WARN does not fund shark-specific projects, and this guide makes no such claim. Instead, it is part of our educational and search-visibility work, written to give accurate, well-sourced answers about one of the world's most-searched animals and to support broader global awareness of marine conservation. Where readers want to help, we point them toward the closest relevant WARN work — habitat protection and efforts against the illegal wildlife trade — without overstating the connection.

Sharks fall outside the regions WARN currently funds, but the ocean and the wildlife trade do not respect borders. A gift to our habitat-protection work helps safeguard the wild places and address the illegal trade that threaten animals across the planet — and supports the global awareness that conservation depends on.

## Frequently asked questions: Shark
### How many species of shark are there?
Scientists have formally described more than 500 shark species, and the figure continues to rise as new species are identified and others are reclassified. They range from giant filter-feeders like the whale shark to species smaller than a human hand.

### Are sharks endangered?
It depends on the species. Some sharks are listed as Least Concern, but roughly a third of all sharks, rays and chimaeras assessed by the IUCN are threatened with extinction. The great white shark is classified as Vulnerable globally.

### What is the conservation status of the great white shark?
The great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, with a decreasing global population trend. It is also protected under Appendix II of CITES, which regulates international trade.

### Why are sharks dying out?
The main cause is overfishing. Some sharks are targeted for their fins, while many more die as accidental bycatch in fisheries aimed at other fish. Because sharks mature late and reproduce slowly, populations recover very slowly once they are depleted.

### How long do sharks live?
Lifespan varies widely by species. Great white sharks are estimated to live more than 70 years, and the Greenland shark may live for centuries, making it one of the longest-lived vertebrates known.

### Are sharks dangerous to humans?
Serious shark incidents are very rare, and only a few of the 500-plus species have been involved in attacks on people. Humans pose a far greater threat to sharks than sharks do to humans, killing very large numbers each year through fishing and the fin trade.

## Sources
- [IUCN Red List — White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias)](https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/3855/212629880)
- [IUCN — A third of sharks, rays and chimaeras are threatened with extinction (press release)](https://iucn.org/press-release/202412/third-sharks-rays-and-chimaeras-are-threatened-extinction-new-report-narrows)
- [IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group — The Red List and Sharks](https://www.iucnssg.org/iucnredlist.html)
- [CITES — Convention text and appendices](https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php)
- [Smithsonian Ocean — Sharks](https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/sharks-rays/sharks)
- [Wikipedia — Great white shark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_white_shark)

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Full guide: https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/shark