BERLIN — An international environmental group has added three sharks and a ray to a list of species threatened with extinction, saying the animals risk being wiped out.
The study released Thursday concluded that 11 species of sharks and rays that swim primarily in the world’s open oceans are under enough pressure from overfishing to make the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s “red list” of threatened species. The list is a comprehensive inventory of around 41,000 species and subspecies compiled by a global network of experts.
The group said part of the threat was due to increasing demand mainly in Asia for shark fin soup.
The group studied 21 species of sharks and rays and revealed its results at a conference of the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity in Bonn.
The thresher, silky and shortfin mako sharks and the giant devil ray joined the list, which also includes the great white. The group said the devil ray is critically endangered.
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