More than a quarter of sharks and rays in the northeast Atlantic are threatened with extinction because of overfishing, a study has shown.

Porbeagle sharks and spiny dogfish are among the most threatened species yet they remain two of the most hunted species in European waters.

Common skate, which little more than a century ago were one of the most populous fish off British shores, rank alongside them as critically endangered in the northeast Atlantic region.

Of the 116 species of shark, rays and chimaeras, which are known collectively as chondrichthyan fish, 7 per cent are critically endangered in the region, 7 per cent are endangered and 12 per cent are classified as vulnerable.

The figures were released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) amid calls by conservationists for more protection to be given to the animals.

Sonja Fordham, of the IUCN shark advisory group and the Shark Alliance, highlighted overfishing as the chief cause of the decline and she said that too little is done to protect them.

Britain and Sweden are the only two countries in the region to offer full protection for any shark or ray species — notably the angel shark in English waters — but the number covered by legislation remains low.

Sharks and rays have a slow reproduction rate so are especially slow to replenish lost numbers and, Ms Fordham said, European governments all too frequently ignore scientific advice on sustainable catch levels for the few species for which quotas apply.

Gulper sharks are another of the critically endangered species and are one of a number of deep-water sharks that are sought for liver oil for use in cosmetics.

Among the species in trouble because of a failure to set catch limits are two species of guitarfish, rays that are prized for their fins, which are served up in the Asian delicacy shark fin soup. In the northeast Atlantic they are endangered.

Two types of sawfish, the common and the smalltooth, were listed as critically endangered but none have been caught in the region for years and they are believed by many scientists to have disappeared from the northeast Atlantic.

The basking shark, though increasingly common off the British coast, was classified as endangered for the region and is under greater threat in the northeast Atlantic region than anywhere else. Worldwide it is listed as vulnerable.

Ms Fordham said that fishing for threatened sharks and rays should be halted immediately but she pointed out that there are species, including a number of cat sharks, smooth hounds, and smaller species of rays, that are abundant enough to be fished.

She added: “Officials should heed the dire warnings of this report and act to protect threatened sharks and rays at national, regional and international levels.

“Such action is immediately possible and absolutely necessary to change the current course toward extinction of these remarkable ocean animals.”

The 26 per cent under threat in the region is more than a third higher than the worldwide figure of 18 per cent of the 1,038 species but several regions have yet to undergo detailed analysis.

Only two chondrichthyan species — the common thresher and the starry ray — are faring better in the northeast Atlantic than in the rest of the world.

Claudine Gibson, the lead author for the IUCN report, The Conservation Status of Northeast Atlantic Chondrichthyans, said: “From angel sharks to devil rays, northeast Atlantic populations of these vulnerable species are in serious trouble, more so than in many other parts of the world.

“Most sharks and rays are exceptionally vulnerable to overfishing because of their tendency to grow slowly, mature late and produce few young. Those at greatest risk of extinction in the northeast Atlantic include heavily fished, large sharks and rays, like porbeagle and common skate, as well as commercially valuable deep-water sharks and spiny dogfish.”

Times recommends

• Energy-saving ideas from switched-on professor
• Rooks are as clever with tools as chimpanzees
• Burping of the lambs blows roast off menu