Sharks have played a vital role in maintaining healthy oceans for hundreds of millions of years as a top predator. More than 450 species of sharks cruise the world’s oceans, ranging in size from 8 inches to a whopping 40 feet long. But today, nearly one in four sharks and their relatives are threatened with extinction. A major cause is the demand for shark fins. Every year, fins from as many as 73 million sharks end up in the global fin trade.
Learn fun facts and how you can help your favorite sharks – from great white sharks to hammerhead sharks – by clicking a species below.
Growing up to 40 feet long, or the size of a school bus, the whale shark is the largest fish in the world. These huge sharks are characterized by their broad and flattened heads as well as the unique “checkerboard” color pattern on their sides and back of light spots and stripes on a dark … Read more
The tasselled wobbegong is a flat, well-camouflaged shark that sits motionless on the seafloor, waiting for unsuspecting prey to swim a bit too close. It is a member of the carpet shark family, named for their seafloor-dwelling behavior. With its blotchy coloration and the highly branched skin flaps that disguise its mouth and head, the … Read more
With their long, whip-like tails, thresher sharks are one of the most easily recognized species of sharks. Pelagic thresher sharks are the smallest of the three species of thresher sharks, averaging about 10 feet (3 m)long. They are highly migratory, inhabiting the pelagic waters of the Pacific and Indian oceans, including off the coast of … Read more
The hammerhead sharks are an unmistakable group of sharks that can be distinguished from all other fishes by the shape of their heads. The wide, hammer-shaped head gives these sharks their common name, and the scalloped hammerhead is named for the notches found along the front edge of its head. Like all hammerhead sharks, the … Read more
The megamouth shark is a rare shark and a large species, reaching weights of 2700 pounds (1215 kg). However, it is the smallest of the three species of filter-feeding sharks, behind the whale shark and the basking shark. The megamouth shark gets its name from the remarkably large, circular mouth. On an individual approximately 16 … Read more
Reaching lengths of 24 feet (7.3 m) and weights of 2200 pounds (1000 kg), the Greenland shark is one of the largest sharks in the ocean. Though both large and predatory, this species is not known to be particularly aggressive and is thought to be fairly sluggish in the cold waters of the north Atlantic … Read more
The goblin shark is a fascinating species that lives in the open ocean from near the surface down to depths of at least 4265 feet (1300 m). Like many species with a deep-sea affinity, scientists believe goblin sharks only come near the surface at night and spend most of their lives in the dark. The … Read more
The cookiecutter shark is one of the most interesting sharks in the ocean, and it never grows bigger than 18-20 inches (~50 cm). It gets its common name from its feeding strategy of biting off small chunks of much larger animals. This species is small and lives much of its life in the deep water … Read more
The bull shark is a predatory species that lives in coastal seas and is the shark with the best ability to move into freshwaters – particularly large, coastal rivers and lakes. They are able to move back and forth between saltwater and freshwater with ease. This behavior brings them into more contact with humans than … Read more
The barndoor skate is one of the largest skates in the world. Skates are closely related to the rays and more distantly related to sharks. The skates are the most diverse lineage of the cartilaginous fishes (sharks, skates, and rays). The term ‘cartilaginous fishes’ refers to the fact that these groups do not have true … Read more
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We have already protected nearly 4 million square miles of ocean and innumerable sea life - but there is still more to be done.