Hammerhead sharks face severe population declines from targeted fishing and bycatch, with welfare concerns spanning capture stress, finning, and the ecological harm of removing apex predators.
Hammerhead shark welfare is severely compromised by targeted finning and bycatch mortality. Their physiology makes capture stress particularly acute -- they are obligate ram ventilators that suffocate rapidly when unable to move forward through water. Finning -- removing fins from living sharks and discarding them to drown -- causes extreme suffering. Population declines of this magnitude represent not just conservation harm but the end of welfare-relevant existence for millions of individuals that would otherwise live complex lives as apex predators. The welfare and conservation cases are inseparable: restoring hammerhead populations requires ending the practices that cause both welfare harm and population collapse.