Human appetites are pushing makos and other iconic sharks to the brink of extinction, scientists warned in a new assessment of the apex predator's conservation status.
Seventeen of 58 species evaluated were classified as facing extinction, the Shark Specialist Group of the International Union for the Conservation (IUCN) said late Thursday in an update of the Red List of threatened animals and plants.
"Our results are alarming," said Nicholas Dulvy, who chairs the grouping of 174 experts from 55 countries.
"The sharks that are especially slow-growing, sought-after and unprotected from overfishing tend to be the most threatened."
"Today, one of the biggest shark fisheries on the high seas is the mako," Dulvy told AFP. "It is also one of the least protected."
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