Sharkproject International is a biodiversity and marine conservation organization, focusing on shark conservation at the national and international level. The 3 pillars of Sharkproject’s engagement are: PROTECTION – EDUCATION – COOPERATION
We strongly believe in a “together we are stronger“ approach and therefore work closely together with many other organisations in national, European and international campaigns to protect our oceans and to reform fishery management towards an ecosystem-based management approach. We focus on reducing fisheries’ impacts on sharks, other threatened species, and vulnerable marine habitats e.g. in the Deep Sea.
Industrial fishing of the last 50 years has had the biggest impact on shark populations and has been the reason for more than one third of all known shark and ray species being threatened with extinction today. Sharks are globally over-exploited for their fins, meat and liver oil. While all sharks may be exploited for their liver oil, sharks living in the Deep Sea are the ones specifically targeted for their large livers, containing the highest concentration of squalene, a valuable compound used in cosmetics, food supplements and the pharmaceutical industry. However, these shark species are also the ones we know least about, their biology, their abundance, and their exploitation over the last decades.