A recent study published in the journal eLife reveals that millions of sharks are being killed every year, therefore, a quarter of these species are facing a threat of going extinct in coming years.

This study, conducted by 300 researchers from all over the world, took 1,041 species of chondrichthyans into account. Skeletons of Chondrichthyans fish (rays, sharks, chimaeras and skates) are not made of bones but of cartilage.

The study overviewed the conservation status of these species and found that this fish group is the most threatened at present.

"The main threats to chondrichthyans are overexploitation through targeted fisheries and incidental catches (by catch), followed by habitat loss, persecution, and climate change", mentions the report compiled by scientists from 64 countries.

The report includes that the areas of Red Sea and the Indo-Pacific Biodiversity Triangle pose the maximum level of threat to these species. It is noteworthy that Indo-Pacific Biodiversity Triangle is known to be the most diverse area, both culturally and biologically. However, it is also the least regulated area.

The report states that there is a crucial need of international and national actions in the islands of Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, Borneo and the Gulf of Thailand to control the threat for rays and sharks, or else they will go extinct sooner than predicted.