Australia Report Shark Extinction Risk - 21 Sep 2021
Undated photo provided by the Marine Biodiversity Hub on Sept. 21, 2021 shows a White Shark in Australia.
More than 10 percent of Australia's shark species are at risk of extinction, a government report has found.
The National Environmental Science Program (NESP) marine biodiversity hub on Tuesday published the first-ever complete assessment of extinction risk for all Australian sharks, rays and ghost sharks (chimaeras).
It found that Australia is home to more than a quarter of the world's cartilaginous fish species, with 182 sharks, 132 rays and 14 chimaeras calling Australian waterways home and that 12 percent, or 39 species, are facing extinction.