If you are heading for a European coastline this summer, the chances are you will be sharing the sea with some fascinating, but increasingly rare fish. That’s not meant to alarm you. The idea that sharks pose a serious danger to humans is a myth.
The fact is that this extraordinary group of fish is seriously threatened by human activities.
European sharks are judged more at risk of extinction than those in most other assessed regions of the world.
Europeans have a taste for shark meat that has driven several species to the brink. The shark’s most famous feature – the fin – is also at the heart of the threat to sharks.
The EU banned shark finning in 2003, but loopholes in the regulation seriously hamper enforcement.
MEPs called on the European Commission to strengthen the shark finning ban nearly four years ago. In the coming months, the process for amending this critical regulation will finally
begin in earnest.
The Shark Alliance, a coalition of NGOs dedicated to restoring and conserving shark populations, has produced this fact-packed guide to give you some insight in to the amazing world of sharks, and help MEPs to conserve these remarkable but imperilled fish.
Download European shark guide (PDF).