Sharks are among the most endangered species in the oceans - research suggests that most species will have disappeared from the oceans within a decade. I notice this as a diver when I dive in waters which, say twenty years ago, might have been considered 'shark infested'. Yet now divers may be lucky to get a sighting at all.

Sharks are the oceans' apex predators and play a vital role in the health of marine ecosystems. It has been estimated that each year some 100 million sharks are taken from the oceans either as by-catch or to satisfy the insatiable appetite for the multi-billion dollar Chinese shark fin industry.

Their loss from the oceans will have devastating consequences on the staple diet of coastal communities and will itself have a significant knock on effect on the productivity of traditional fisheries. Despite their impending extinction there remains no effective inter-governmental control program to protect sharks.

Rays too are coming under increasing threat. As sharks become scarcer so intensive, long-line fishing vessels are turning their attention to rays. New demand from Asia for dried gill rakers used in traditional medicines is seriously threatening Manta and mobula ray populations in Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Philippines and Sri Lanka.