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According to new study almost 100 million of sharks are being killed annually.

Research conducted from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, indicate that between 2000 and 2010 63 to 273 million sharks were killed each year.

This is an alarming number which could put many species into extinction.

The rate of commercial fishing is far more than what many populations need to recover. They are being caught at an average rate that is 30 percent to 60 percent higher than they can sustain.

Sharks are also caught accidentally by vessels looking for tuna, swordfish and other species.

"There's a staggering number of sharks being caught every year and the number is way too high considering the biology of species," study's lead researcher Boris Worm said.

The researchers, investigating information from roughly 100 papers, estimated global reported catches, unreported landings, discards and finning totaled 97 million fish caught in 2010. In the end, they discovered that the fishing is not only not sustainable, but that it may drive sharks to extinction.

The number is only little bit less than the estimated 100 million caught in 2000, and the 2010 figure could in fact be as high as 273 million, the study said.

Several areas including Europe, US, Canada and Australia have come up with anti-finning legislation but the practice aren't slowing down in most other parts of the world.

The Conference on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) lists three shark species, the basking shark, the great white shark, and the whale shark, as species that need strict control in order to sustain stable populations.

Also, recently The California Department of Fish and wildlife just announced that great white sharks are now a protected species off of the coast of California. Anyone caught harming or catching the sharks could face fines and jail time. Currently, there are only roughly 340 great whites in California and the Northwestern Pacific region.

In the 1990s, the increase of shark fining increased along with appetites for shark fin soup, which can cost up to $100 in some of Hong Kong’s big restaurants.

The findings were published in the journal Marine Policy.