Despite the fear they may inspire in humans, sharks have far more reason to fear us. Nearly one-third of sharks are threatened with extinction globally, mostly as a result of fishing.

Some sharks are targeted by fisheries, but the pressure extends beyond these species. “More than half of sharks that are caught and killed in fisheries are captured incidentally and then discarded,” explained Darcy Bradley, co-author of the study and adjunct faculty at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management and lead scientist at The Nature Conservancy.