Sleek, powerful and endlessly fascinating, sharks have roamed the oceans for millions of years.

Their unjustly fearsome reputation has come with a cost: Each year, up to 73 million sharks are killed for their fins which are mainly used in shark fin soup, an Asian delicacy eaten around the world. Now nearly a quarter of all shark and ray species are threatened with extinction.

Great white shark swimming with fish Western Cape Province, South Africa.
FionaAyerst
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iStock.com
Turning the tide for sharks

Fifteen states now limit or ban the sale of shark fins. Stopping the shark fin trade is crucial, not only because of the devastating cruelty it involves, but also because it is leading to a fast and dangerous decline in shark species. Protect sharks and save our oceans. 

Bags of dried shark fins lining shelves
Dried shark fins for sale.
Iris Ho
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HSI
Did you know?

A healthy ocean needs sharks; by controlling populations of other predatory fish species, sharks play a key role in a fragile food web and the health of coral reefs.

Fins being removed from a great hammerhead shark

Each year across the globe, tens of millions of sharks are hunted down, only to have their fins sliced off and their bodies thrown back into the ocean, often left to die an agonizing death. You can help.

Jeff Rotman / Alamy Stock Photo