- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- As Great Salt Lake dries, Utah Republicans pardon Trump climate skepticism
- Amazon activist warns of 'critical situation' ahead of UN forum
- Mourners pay tribute to latest victims of deadly Channel crossing
- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- Phillies win thriller to level Mets series
- Yu bags first PGA Tour win with playoff win
- PSG held by Nice to leave Monaco clear at top of Ligue 1
- AC Milan fall at Fiorentina after De Gea's penalty heroics
- Lewandowski treble for leaders Barca as Atletico held
- Fresh Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Sucic stunner earns Real Sociedad draw against Atletico
- PSG draw with Nice, fail to reclaim top spot in Ligue 1
- Gudmundsson downs AC Milan after De Gea's penalty heroics for Fiorentina
- 'Yes' vote prevails in Kazakhstan nuclear plant vote: TV
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Lewandowski hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- 'Nothing gets in way of team,' says Celtics' MVP hopeful Tatum
- India maintain Pakistan stranglehold as Windies cruise at Women's T20 World Cup
- 'We will win!': Mozambique's ruling party confident at final vote rally
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Florida braces for Milton, FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation
- Postecoglou slams 'unacceptable' Spurs after 'terrible' loss at Brighton
- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
- Rallies worldwide call for Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire
- Maresca hails Chelsea's 'fighting' spirit after draw with 10-man Forest
- New 'Joker' film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office
- Man Utd stalemate keeps Ten Hag in danger, Spurs rocked by Brighton
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
- Ahead of attack anniversary, Netanyahu says: 'We will win'
- West Indies cruise to T20 World Cup win over Scotland
- Arshdeep, Chakravarthy help India hammer Bangladesh in T20 opener
- Lewandowski's quickfire hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Man Utd fire another blank in Aston Villa stalemate
- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
- Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory
- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
Sharks killed at alarming rates despite regulations: study
Global shark populations are plummeting despite worldwide efforts to curb mass killings for their fins, researchers said in a new report showing that more needs to be done to protect one of the ocean's apex species.
Between 2012 and 2019, the number of sharks killed from fishing increased from some 76 million a year to more than 80 million, they reported in the journal Science.
At least 25 million were threatened species.
Sharks have prowled Earth's waters for 400 million years, but a growing appetite for their fins -- a valuable commodity in Asian markets -- has driven several species to the brink of extinction.
Today, 70 percent of countries and jurisdictions have implemented protective regulations to eliminate shark finning, where the top predators are tossed back into the ocean and left to die once fins are removed.
But some of these rules -- which first emerged in the 1990s -- have had unintended consequences that are costing even more sharks their lives, new data revealed.
Finning has marginally declined over the past two decades, but policies requiring fishers to land whole sharks inadvertently incentivised a market for shark meat.
"Anti-finning measures were not the silver bullet we hoped for," study author Laurenne Schiller told AFP.
Researchers spent three years collecting data on fishery regulations and shark mortality.
They were surprised to learn "how widespread the trade with shark meat, oil and cartilage is, and how sharks are showing up in a lot of products without consumers being aware," said lead author Boris Worm.
- Blood in the water -
Fisheries are now catching smaller sharks, including juveniles, more often, because of the decline in the fin trade and regional declines in the abundance of large sharks.
In hotspots where shark mortality is greatest, researchers found a higher use of gillnets -- walls of netting that hang in the water -- and trawls, which is heavy netting dragged along the ocean floor.
Despite being highly evolved ocean predators, sharks are incredibly vulnerable, Schiller said.
"Sharks have spent over 99% of their time on Earth in an ocean without humans, so in many ways, they were not prepared for us and the impacts of fishing."
As a keystone species, sharks are crucial for keeping oceans healthy.
"When we lose these species, it can throw off the balance of the marine ecosystem", she said.
Today, one in three shark species around the world is threatened with extinction.
On a more positive note, Worm emphasised that many nations and territories have already implemented shark fishing prohibitions and sanctuaries to safeguard one of the world's oldest species.
Implementing shark sanctuaries and no-take protected areas seem to keep shark mortality levels low, according to the study.
Still, the current risks for coastal sharks appear to be escalating globally, a conclusion supported by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
"We need to take a more targeted approach to reducing shark mortality," Schiller said.
F.Pedersen--AMWN