There are more than 450 species of shark in the world’s oceans. The largest shark (in fact, the largest fish) is the filter-feeding whale shark which can grow to 60 feet or longer and weigh over 40,000 pounds. The dwarf lanternshark is the smallest shark at just 8 inches.

Sharks are naturally uncommon, at or near the top of their food chain, and require a long time to reach sexual maturity — 26 years for male great white sharks, 33 for females. They have few predators besides humans. Human harvesting and collateral net deaths have brought 25% of shark species to the brink of extinction.

It has been estimated that as many as 273 million sharks are killed by humans every year, with about 73 million killed for their fins. The fins are used to make soup, primarily in Asian cultures, that can sell for up to $350 per bowl as a luxury item for tourists. Often, the fins are cut off and the shark is left to sink to the ocean floor and die of suffocation or predation. Going by the highest scientific estimates, over 31,000 sharks are killed every hour.

On average, in the United States, sharks cause only 1 human fatality every 2 years.