I have been diving with many types of sharks around the world for many years now. Unfortunately, during those times, I have seen the declining population of sharks as it has been more difficult to find them where they once used to be in abundance. The primary reason for the decline is the increased number of shark traders for shark fin soup based on the demand in Asia, sport fishing for sharks, and the culling of sharks. Scientists estimate that approximately about 11,400 plus sharks are killed per hour. Depending if you take 10 hours a day or 24 hours a day, that can be an average or 40 million to over 100 million sharks slaughtered per year. That is an incredible rate at the low or the high end.
Why is saving sharks so important, because they are critical for the survival of a healthy ocean. Sharks are predators or scavengers. They tend to eat the sick or decaying dead creatures of the sea which would otherwise pollute the reef.