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August 6, 2010

Sharks by the Numbers

As shark week comes to a close, we thought we’d hit you with the good stuff: numbers. Here are some of the most revealing statistics about sharks that we could find:

400 million: Approximate number of years that sharks have been on planet Earth.

50: Number of shark species that are listed as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered on the IUCN Red List of threatened species

138,894: Number of people in the U.S. who suffered ladder-related injuries in 1996.

13: Number who suffered shark-related injuries in the U.S. in 1996.

22 million: Amount, in pounds, of shark fins that were imported into Hong Kong in 2008, making it the world’s largest single market for the product.

40: percent of highly migratory oceanic sharks that are overexploited, according to the FAO

83: percent by which scalloped hammerheads have declined in the Northwest Atlantic since the 1980s.

64: number of reported fatal great white shark attacks between 1580 and 2007. 

100 million: approximate number of sharks that humans kill every year.

300: maximum number of live pups in one litter of whale sharks.

400: Approximate number of different species of shark.

20: Approximate number of shark species known to have ever attacked a human.

25: Number of different colors of M&Ms available. 

And last but not least…

19,275: the number of people who have signed Oceana’s petition to Congress to stop shark finning this summer.

Are you one of them? If not, write to your Senator today!

Source for statistics: International Shark Attack File, Oceana reports and Discovery.com.