Sharks face severe welfare harms from finning, bycatch, and live capture. Their role as apex predators makes their welfare inseparable from ocean ecosystem health.
Sharks experience severe welfare harms across multiple fisheries interactions. Finning causes a particularly cruel death: de-finned sharks are returned to the water alive but unable to swim, sinking to the seafloor where they die slowly. Bycatch on longlines causes hours of stress, exhaustion, and often death before lines are hauled. Market demand for shark fin soup, shark liver oil, and cartilage supplements drives significant fishing pressure. Conservation and welfare advocacy have converged on shark protection: CITES listings, national finning bans, and sustainable seafood certification all reduce demand and pressure on shark populations. Consumer choices to avoid shark products address both individual welfare and population sustainability.