As a result of Jaws and countless other books, films and TV shows, sharks have become one of the most feared creatures on Earth. While we often associate the image of a fin cutting through water with one of the greatest natural dangers to humans, the reality is the situation is very often completely reversed.

With shark fin soup considered an expensive delicacy in many territories - particularly common in Chinese culture - shark finning has exploded in popularity as the fishing industry tries to cash-in on the lucrative market. To save space and transport costs for the vessel, the fin is usually cut off and the (frequently still alive) shark is thrown back into the sea, where they sink and die. For this reason, finning is considered a particularly cruel and wasteful practice.

Although finning has been banned by many countries (although importation often remains legal), the industry is still estimated to be worth upwards of €1 billion a year. To illustrate the scale of the shark slaughtering, Ripetungi and Joe Chernov have come together to produce this frightening infographic. It easily proves how humans are a far greater threat to sharks than the other way around...

(Image source: Ripetungi)