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There are currently no accurate and exact estimates of the global whale shark population. Despite this, the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) has declared the species endangered due to the impacts of fisheries, by-catch losses, trash pollution, and vessel strikes.
Whale sharks are listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List, and their populations are currently decreasing. They face a range of threats, including vessel strikes, bycatch, fisheries, finning, tourism, and climate change. According to the IUCN, whale sharks have a recovery score of 29%.
Hundreds of whale sharks, basking sharks, and great white sharks are illegally hunted and processed by a factory in China.
Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) are the largest shark, and indeed largest of any fishes alive today. They feed on plankton and travel large distances to find enough food to sustain their huge size, and to reproduce. Whale sharks are found in all the tropical oceans of the world.
Whale sharks have been found to possess dermal denticles on the surface of their eyeballs that are structured differently from their body denticles. The dermal denticles, as well as the whale shark's ability to retract its eyes deep into their sockets, serve to protect the eyes from damage.
With that in mind, it's a little more understandable that planet Earth's largest fish, the whale shark, made the endangered species list back in 2016. National Geographic tells us there are several factors having an impact on whale shark populations, not all of them related to hunting.
Some orcas specialize in prey like bluefin tuna, elephant seals or even blue whales—but others focus on hunting sharks. In 2011, researchers first documented the behavior in the Pacific Ocean.
We identified three main reasons. First, the deep water is used by whale sharks for feeding. Studies have shown the sharks diving to depths of almost 2 kilometres () to feed on...
Overfishing is causing many shark populations to decline and driving some to the point of extinction, according to a leading shark conservationist. But sharks play a crucial role in marine ecosytems. Improved marine management is a key component of protecting endangered species – and new technology could help protect sharks. In 1975, the ...
That day changed her life, as well as Philippine fishing and export laws, and ultimately saved the gentle whale shark from extinction. Calmes, who splits her time between Ventura, California, and Hood River, Oregon, explains how both her and this obscure giant fish unexpectedly crossed paths.