🤯 Did You Know (click to read)
Basking sharks are currently listed as Endangered globally on the IUCN Red List.
In the mid-20th century, targeted fisheries in parts of the northeastern Atlantic removed thousands of basking sharks each year for their oil-rich livers. Because the species matures slowly and reproduces infrequently, these harvests caused steep regional population declines.
💥 Impact (click to read)
Unlike faster-reproducing fish stocks, basking sharks cannot rebound quickly from exploitation. A single removed breeding female may represent years of lost reproductive potential due to their suspected multi-year gestation and low litter sizes.
The collapse of local populations highlighted how even non-aggressive filter feeders can be driven toward vulnerability when industrial demand meets slow life history. Modern conservation frameworks now recognize them as globally threatened, reflecting the long shadow of historical overharvesting.
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