Experts say roughly 100 million sharks are killed each year in commercial fisheries around the globe. Researchers with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature have said roughly one-quarter of the world's sharks and rays are threatened with extinction. People such as founder and CEO of the Virgin Group of companies, Richard Branson, have been trying to save the sharks.
The British Virgin Islands answered the call. The Cabinet of the British Caribbean archipelago of roughly 60 small islands, cays and islets banned commercial fishing of all shark species in the 30,933 square miles of its exclusive economic zone.
The British Virgin Islands are not the first to declare a shark sanctuary. The territory joins Honduras and the Bahamas as the first governments in the Americas to declare shark sanctuaries, while the world's first was created in 2009 by the Pacific nation of Palau.
This is a good start, but people want more. Richard Branson said “The British Virgin Islands has shown leadership here and I urge other countries and territories in the region to follow suit to create a Caribbean-wide sanctuary to protect these magnificent animals.”
