Like most large hunters, sharks are slow growing, reach maturity late, and have only a few offspring.

Their large young are usually live-born. Unlike most other fish, which can lay thousands of tiny eggs, sharks produce too few young to compensate for destruction on such a massive scale.

If the slaughter continues unchecked there is no doubt that we'll lose some species altogether, and others will be reduced to near extinction levels within a few decades.

Please download the Common skate (Raja Batis) Species Biodiversity Action Plan (MS WORD format) by clicking here.