How many hammerhead sharks are left in the world

Science Coronavirus Coverage What families can do now that kids are getting the vaccine. Magazine How one image captures 21 hours of a volcanic eruption. Science Why it's so hard to treat pain in infants. Science The controversial sale of 'Big John,' the world's largest Triceratops. Science Coronavirus Coverage How antivirals may change the course of the pandemic. Travel A road trip in Burgundy reveals far more than fine wine.

Travel My Hometown In L. Subscriber Exclusive Content. Why are people so dang obsessed with Mars? How viruses shape our world. The era of greyhound racing in the U. See how people have imagined life on Mars through history. Shark tourism and conservation off South Africa — in pictures. Read more. Reuse this content. Environment Climate crisis Wildlife Energy Pollution. Like other hammerhead species, great hammerhead sharks have long, serrated teeth and use their hammer-shaped heads to detect and eat prey.

Their heads are equipped with electrical receptors that can sense potential prey, including those hiding in the sand. They do not hunt prey larger than stingrays. Because of their large size, great hammerhead sharks are not preyed upon by other marine animals. Great hammerheads are, however, vulnerable to overfishing. They are caught incidentally and commercially targeted for their valuable fins in longline, bottom trawl, gillnet and hook-and-line fisheries.

Great hammerheads are particularly threatened by the global shark fin trade because of the large size of their fins. The great hammerhead shark is the largest of all nine hammerhead species. In six years , hammerheads sharks have been culled at an average of 99 per year 6. Hammerhead sharks have never been involved in a fatal incident. Since in NSW and in QLD, lethal shark control programs have been carried out each year using either nets or drumlines. These methods are outdated and ineffective — in a fatal shark bite occurred on a drumlined beach in Amity Point, QLD 7.

Download PDF. But they are under threat, and in some cases even critically endangered. To save our hammerheads, we must implement stronger levels of protection for them and reduce fishing pressure.