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Considering the incredible number of between 150-200 millions sharks
destroyed each year, we need to look at the natural biology of sharks to
fully understand the potential threat of extinction to these species. Most
sharks are slow growing, have late maturation and low fecundity and this
is the shark’s downfall. They cannot replace their stocks to keep up with
human exploitation, such as say, sardines can. Lets look at
The Great White Shark. The Great White Shark female takes
approximately 15 years to become sexually mature, and the male about
8 years. At these ages the female will be around five meters long and the
male around four meters long.

The Great White Sharks´ fecundity is low, so the female may possible
only give birth to several litters of pups in a lifetime and these litters are
relatively small, ranging from about seven to eleven pups in a litter. The
white shark is just an example, and if you look at all species, you find
some which give birth to only one pup and some such as
the Sandbar shark which only become sexually mature at about 25 years
old. So due to the shark´s inability to reproduce quickly, stock
replacement is not occurring, and subsequently the populations of the
world are fast diminishing. In fact they are being wiped out far quicker
than most people realise, with many species critically endangered and
some species literally on the brink of extinction.

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Many species of shark need protection, but unfortunately, the protection of species is
not the end of the problem. Although the protection of that species would be a start in
the right direction, it would possibly not guarantee the survival of that species. We
have to look further into the complexities of the problems facing sharks, which bring
us to our next obstacle, which is probably just as serious as over exploitation.

This huge hurdle is Habitat Degradation. More than half of the earth´s human
population live within about 100 km of an ocean, and subsequently this ever
increasing population encroaches on the inshore marine environment. Costal marine
habitats are subsequently adversely affected and altered at relatively accelerated
rates by the development of harbours, buildings, inshore fishing fleets, weekend boat
anglers and industrial outlets. Humans with modern technology and machinery can
alter a complete ecological environment within days, weeks or months. Sharks
unfortunately do not have the ability to adapt to these changes in their habitat, and
therefore stocks are affected. Most shark species utilise the inshore zone for nursery
purposes which obviously indicates that these areas need to be stable.

We need to take a serious look at the conservation of shark nursery areas, as it will
not be sufficient to only protect the adults stocks. If we are not very careful, we will
not only loose our shark stocks, we will lose entire ecological systems.

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Instructions:Read the article. Then,
answer the questions according to the
reading not according to your
knowledge.

Q 1-3
Q 4-6
Q 7-9
Q 10-12

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Instructions: Choose the correct answer a,b or c.
1. What is one of the causes of sharks extinction?
a. Low fecundity
b. Pollution in the ocean
c. Lack of food

2. How many sharks are destroyed each year?

a. 200 million sharks
b. about 180 million sharks
c. less than 150 million sharks

3. How many years it will take the female to become about five
meters long?
a. 8 years
b. 25 years
c. 15 years

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