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Greenland sharks (Somniosus microcephalus) are not classified as Endangered worldwide. The IUCN lists them as Vulnerable (2020), a threatened category one step below Endangered. Canada’s 2025 assessment lists the species as Special Concern. Their greatest documented threat is accidental capture in trawl, demersal longline and gillnet fisheries. Because Greenland sharks grow very slowly, may mature only after a century and can live for several centuries, even modest losses of adults can affect the population for generations.
There is no reliable global count of mature Greenland sharks. Scientists also cannot state a dependable percentage decline. Arctic warming and changing sea ice may add pressure by altering habitat and prey, but the direct effect on the species remains uncertain.
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What conservation status do Greenland sharks have?
Conservation labels answer different questions depending on the organisation and geographic scope. The IUCN’s global reassessment in 2020 changed Greenland sharks from Near Threatened to Vulnerable. Vulnerable is one of the IUCN’s threatened categories, but it is not the same classification as Endangered.
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| Assessment | Result | Scope and date |
|---|---|---|
| IUCN Red List | Vulnerable | Global assessment, 2020 reassessment |
| COSEWIC | Special Concern | Canadian assessment, 2025 |
These labels should not be read as proof that Greenland shark numbers are stable. They reflect the evidence available for each assessment and the uncertainty surrounding abundance, age structure, reproduction and long-term trends.
How many Greenland sharks are left?
No reliable estimate exists for the global number of mature Greenland sharks. The 2025 Canadian assessment records mature-individual abundance as unknown, and it did not conduct a quantitative extinction analysis. A precise population total would therefore be misleading.
Available decline estimates range from 1% to 100%. That unusually broad range does not mean scientists believe every value is equally likely. It shows how strongly the result depends on poorly known demographic inputs, including:
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- Age at sexual maturity
- Fecundity and litter production
- Gestation length
- The interval between reproductive events
- Natural and fishing-related mortality
- The number and age distribution of sharks in different regions
Greenland sharks live across Arctic and sub-Arctic waters, where they are difficult to survey. They spend much of their lives at depths and in remote areas, and fisheries records do not consistently identify every shark that is captured. Incomplete observer coverage, logbooks and geographic reporting also mean that recorded captures cannot be treated as a complete census.
The most defensible answer to “How many are left?” is therefore that the number of mature animals is unknown. Researchers can document threats and estimate some catches, but they cannot convert those figures into a trustworthy worldwide headcount.
Why are Greenland sharks so vulnerable to losses?
They grow exceptionally slowly
Greenland sharks have one of the slowest growth patterns known among vertebrates. A slow-growing animal replaces lost adults very gradually, so a population exposed to repeated fishing mortality may take many decades to recover even if captures later decline.
They mature very late
NOAA reports that Greenland sharks may not reach sexual maturity until they are more than a century old. COSEWIC uses an approximate maturity age of 150 years in its Canadian assessment. Exact timing is uncertain, but either estimate means that many sharks removed from the population are likely to die long before reproducing.
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They can live for centuries
Carbon dating of eye-lens proteins led NOAA to estimate that one 5-metre female was 272 to 512 years old. That is an estimate for an individual, not a claim that every Greenland shark reaches those ages. It does, however, demonstrate the species’ extraordinary longevity.
COSEWIC estimates a generation time of approximately 150 to 200 years. A generation time this long changes how conservation trends should be interpreted: a short series of surveys may cover only a small fraction of one reproductive cycle.
“The remarkably slow growth, late maturity (approximately 150 years), and longevity, make it vulnerable to overfishing.” — Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, 2025
These traits create a form of biological exposure. Fishing that removes a mature female can eliminate reproductive potential that would otherwise have contributed over a very long period. Even when a fishery catches relatively few Greenland sharks compared with its target species, the impact can be disproportionate because replacement is so slow.
What is killing Greenland sharks?
Accidental capture in commercial fisheries
COSEWIC identifies human activities as the most significant threat. Greenland sharks are incidentally caught throughout their range in:
- Bottom trawls, which drag nets near the seafloor
- Demersal longlines, which set baited hooks along the bottom
- Gillnets, which can entangle sharks that encounter the mesh
A 2025 Government of Canada and COSEWIC estimate puts global bycatch at at least 3,500 Greenland sharks per year. “At least” is important: incomplete observer coverage, logbooks and geographic reporting probably make this a gross underestimate.
For Canadian fisheries, the detailed assessment estimates approximately 1,688 to 2,208 Greenland sharks annually. This is a fisheries-bycatch estimate, not a count of all Greenland sharks in Canadian waters and not a direct measurement of the national population.
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Directed small-scale fishing
Although accidental capture is the principal documented concern, directed artisanal and small-scale fisheries continue in Iceland and Greenland. The conservation significance of those fisheries depends on how many sharks are taken, the sizes and sexes removed, and whether catches are recorded consistently. The available assessment does not support a precise total for directed removals.
Capture does not end when a shark is released
A retention ban can stop a shark from being landed, but it cannot by itself prove that the animal survives capture. Hauling from depth, time on deck, hook or net injuries, pressure changes and handling may cause delayed mortality. For Greenland sharks, post-release survival is largely unknown. That uncertainty is why bycatch estimates should not be interpreted as equivalent to confirmed deaths, but neither should released sharks automatically be counted as unharmed.
Does climate change affect Greenland sharks?
Climate change is recognised as an additional threat, especially through habitat shifts and temperature extremes. Arctic and sub-Arctic waters are warming faster than the global average, while sea-ice extent and seasonal timing are changing.
Possible effects on habitat and movement
Changes in sea ice could alter where Greenland sharks travel, the depth or temperature conditions they use, and their overlap with fishing gear. A shift in distribution can expose sharks to different fisheries or move them away from areas where existing monitoring is strongest.
Possible effects on prey
Greenland sharks feed within Arctic and sub-Arctic food webs. If warming changes prey abundance, timing or location, sharks may need to travel farther, spend more energy locating food or alter their movements. Those changes could affect body condition and reproduction, although the size and direction of the effects have not been established.
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COSEWIC lists climate change and severe weather as recognised threats but stresses that the species’ sensitivity and adaptive capacity are not well known. Scientists therefore cannot yet give a reliable climate-driven decline percentage. The evidence supports concern about habitat, prey dynamics, distribution, fitness and population dynamics, not a settled forecast of extinction.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Are Greenland sharks protected from fishing?
Canadian rules
Canada’s Fisheries (General) Regulations and groundfish licence conditions prohibit retaining Greenland sharks caught in groundfish fisheries. Fishers must release them alive with as little harm as possible. These rules reduce intentional landing and sale, but they do not prevent every interaction with fishing gear.
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NAFO measures
In 2022, the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) agreed to ban retention of Greenland sharks in all fisheries operating in its regulatory areas. This is a regional measure covering the fisheries and waters under NAFO rules; it is not a worldwide prohibition.
What protection still cannot answer
The key unresolved management question is post-release survival. Existing rules require or encourage live release, yet the proportion of sharks surviving capture remains largely unknown. Effective conservation therefore requires more than a retention ban. Managers also need reliable bycatch reporting, observer coverage, safe release procedures and studies that track outcomes after release.
What would better conservation look like?
Responses can be judged against five practical questions rather than by asking only whether a country has a retention ban.
- Is retention prohibited? A prohibition prevents deliberate landing, but it does not eliminate accidental capture.
- Is bycatch monitored? Observer programmes, electronic monitoring and complete logbooks help reveal how many sharks are caught, where and with which gear.
- Are handling requirements specific? Release-alive rules are more useful when fishers have clear instructions for cutting gear, reducing deck time and returning sharks to the water with minimal injury.
- Is post-release survival measured? Tagging and follow-up studies are needed to distinguish immediate release from actual survival.
- Do management plans account for changing habitat and climate? Fisheries controls may need to adapt if warming shifts sharks or their prey into new areas.
Because Greenland sharks mature so late, management benefits from a precautionary approach. Waiting for a clear population collapse could mean waiting until the animals removed today would otherwise have reproduced many decades from now. At the same time, the lack of a dependable population baseline makes transparent monitoring essential: conservation decisions should distinguish measured catches, estimated catches and unknown quantities.
What the evidence means for the “Endangered” question
Calling Greenland sharks “Endangered” would not match their current global IUCN label. Calling them safe would also be unsupported. The accurate description is that they are Vulnerable globally and assessed as Special Concern in Canada, with a major threat from fisheries bycatch and additional concern about climate-driven habitat and prey changes.
The combination of unknown population size, potentially severe uncertainty in decline estimates, very late maturity and centuries-long lifespan explains why the species can be at meaningful risk even without a confirmed global population collapse. The most urgent information needs are better bycatch accounting, improved survival data after release and long-term monitoring capable of detecting changes in mature sharks.
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