Dozens of British insects put on Red List over extinction fears

35 of 283 leaf beetle species found in the UK have been assessed as critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable to extinction

Press Association

Thursday 12 February 2015 15.36 GMT

Dozens of species of insects have been put on a “Red List” over fears they could become extinct in Britain.

Research into two groups of scarce and threatened insects has led to 35 out of 283 species collectively known as leaf beetles being placed on the Red List as critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable to extinction.

Three have already become extinct in Britain in the last 100 years, while seven are considered critically endangered and possibly extinct in Britain as they have not been seen since 1950, the analysis showed.

The second group of insects assessed, stoneflies, which are aquatic species found in rivers and streams, fared slightly better, according to the research by government agency Natural England in collaboration with invertebrate charity Buglife.

Out of 34 species found in Britain, one is extinct, one is vulnerable to extinction and another joins the red list as critically endangered.

Conservationists said both groups of insects are very sensitive to their environment, with leaf beetles often found only on certain plants in particular places while stonefly larvae are affected by types of pollution.

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Online backlash as farm shop sells shark meat from 'vulnerable' animal

An impassioned debate has broken out after the owner of a well known East Devon farm shop decided to sell-off a rare shark which has been identified as being at risk of extinction.

Mat Carter of Greendale Farm Shop at Farringdon near Exeter, has made a remorseful defence of his decision to sell the 250kg, 15ft Thresher Shark after it was landed at Brixham Fish Market as “bycatch” and has apologised for causing offence.

The Common Thresher Shark is registered as “vulnerable” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Red List and noted as a declining species.

The classification falls under the “threatened” banner.

Read more: http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/Online-backlash-farm-shop-sells-shark-meat/story-19933008-detail/story.html#ixzz2hpvRwnUt

Government to impose new limits on shark fishing

The government plans to require almost all sharks landed by recreational fishermen off the Atlantic Coast and the Gulf of Mexico to measure at least 8 feet from nose to fork in the tail, a move that some recreational fishermen said will end their sport but that conservationists say is needed to save an imperiled species.

The debate over how best to protect the dusky shark — which can migrate hundreds of miles in a season but whose juveniles return every summer to the mid-Atlantic — highlights the complicated task of recovering shark species.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has prohibited the catch of dusky sharks since 1999, but scientists found its population to be so depleted that it will take 100 years for it to recover.

The dusky shark, which averages nearly 12 feet in length and 400 pounds, takes two decades to reach sexual maturity and has small litters every three years, which makes it vulnerable to overfishing.

The environmental group WildEarth Guardians has petitioned to list the dusky shark under the Endangered Species Act.

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