Swimming around the shallow seagrass meadows, these sharks serve as crowd-controllers and prevent overgrazing by marine creatures such as turtles
Hovering over sandy areas, they excavate the sand in search of food while simultaneously creating micro-habitats for various tiny invertebrates.
Large, deep-diving sharks and rays help phytoplankton (microscopic marine plants) to grow, simply by cruising between ocean depths and the shallows.
Every year around 600 000 shark divers travel the world to witness these magnificent creatures in their natural surroundings.
Even after they die of natural causes, sharks and rays contribute so much to the marine ecosystems!
Up to 100 million sharks and rays are caught each year across the globe,
whether on purpose in targeted fisheries or by accident, as
bycatch, in fisheries targeting other species.
Most fisheries where sharks and rays are caught are unmanaged and for
example, lack catch limits. As a consequence, these animals often end up
being fished faster than they can reproduce.