At time when some Florida fishermen have called on state and federal fishery managers to loosen protection for sharks, a new study shown that overfishing is driving reef sharks toward extinction.
The five main shark species that live on coral reefs — grey reef, blacktip reef, whitetip reef, nurse and Caribbean reef sharks — have declined globally by an average of 63%, according to the scientists of Global FinPrint, a five-year international study supported by the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation and co-led by researchers at Florida International University (FIU).