Man Bites Shark

When sharks bite people, the attacks make news. They are that rare. When people attack sharks, though, the events usually go unnoticed. Environmental campaigners, marine biologists, U.N. officials—even Peter Benchley, the author of the beach-terror novel "Jaws"—are among those who want to change that. They are part of a growing constituency for sharks as alarm grows over a global decline in their numbers.

Many of the world's shark populations are destined for collapse, the experts say, if the current overfishing in many parts of the world continues. Sharks, they fear, are likely to be in the first...