IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered. Added to endangered species list in 2007 due to overexploitation. One major source of their decline has been contamination in the North-Eastern Mediterranean. Due to agricultural, industrial and urban wastes, the Mediterranean has seen an untick in the amount of toxic heavy metals. The metals most present are Iron (Fe), Zinc (Zn), and Mercury (Hg). These metals have been found in dangerous quantities in Angelsharks gills, liver and muscle tissues.
