At a glance
- IUCN category
- CR · Critically Endangered
- Animal group
- Fish
- Population trend
- Decreasing
- Last verified
Conservation overview
The tope (school shark) is a slim, migratory coastal shark. It is assessed as Critically Endangered.
It undertakes long migrations and has long been targeted by fisheries.
Range & habitat
Temperate coastal waters worldwide.
Major threats
Threats below are drawn from the authoritative sources listed on this page. For the current, complete assessment, see the IUCN Red List.
- Overfishing for meat, fins, and liver oil
- Bycatch
- Slow reproduction
Why it matters
A migratory coastal shark heavily fished across its range, the tope is a flagship for coordinated international shark management.
Sources
Sources for Tope Shark
- IUCN Red List — look up Tope Shark (authoritative status)
- FishBase
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the tope shark also called the school shark?
It often travels and feeds in groups ('schools') and undertakes long coastal migrations, which historically made it easy to catch in numbers.
Why is the tope shark Critically Endangered?
Published assessments cite overfishing for meat, fins, and liver oil, bycatch, and slow reproduction. See the IUCN Red List for the current assessment.
Last updated: