The world's most terrifying predator... the Human. A scientific paper published by Marine Policy this year estimated that 100 million sharks are killed per year. Add the number of unreported catches, and this could possibly even be as high as 270 million annual shark deaths. In case you were wondering, sharks kill 12 people a year. It's clear our finned fellows have a devastatingly bad rap. So who is to blame for these shocking statistics? The primary culprit China's black market, where shark fin soup is a delicacy and "finning", albeit the cruel and wasteful practice is rife. The sharks, once their fins have been hacked off, are usually discarded back into the ocean, where, no longer able to swim properly, they sink to the ocean floor and suffocate; or are eaten by other predators. It seems our vulnerable sharkies have a PR problem that could eventually lead to their extinction. This would extremely jeopardise the world's oceans: as apex predators, sharks help balance the water's ecosystems. This staggering infographic (condensed below) by Robin Richards illustrates the outrageous ratio better than words ever could. Maybe by raising awareness of our "most feared predator", we can do something to curb the finning of our deep sea inhabitants.
