“We have been hating sharks on general principles for centuries, and in some ways they have deserved it; but now it is high time that they should pay up.” This was a 1928 invitation to harvest sharks in Scientific Monthly (now Science). This mentality has been accepted by generations of fishermen and fishery managers. However, modern scientific consensus shows many of the world’s shark stocks have decreased to unprecedented levels. The magnitude, timing, causes, and consequences of this decline have been the subject of intense debate fueled primarily by a lack of historical base-line data. Read more...