Although the media portrays sharks as a threat, there’s only an average of 5-10 human fatalities per year due to shark attacks… You’re more likely to be killed hornets, wasps, bees or dogs.
Yet an estimated 73 million sharks are killed yearly – from habitat loss, pollution, overfishing, and most of all, shark finning. This gross hunting encourages fishermen to hunt the sharks, cut off their fins, and toss them back into the ocean where they can no longer swim… leaving them to die on the ocean floor. Painfully and slowly. This billion dollar industry is disturbing – it would be pretty much be equivalent to if we were chopping off a deer’s 4 legs and leaving them in the woods.
Shark Fin Soup is a Chinese Delicacy – and with prices that average over $100, it’s a status symbol for weddings and business meetings. Yet the shark fins have no nutritional or medicinal value. Ironically, the shark fins don’t even have flavor and are purely in there for the… status.
Because of shark’s slow reproductive process, we could wipe out the populations in 10-20 years if shark finning continues at the current rate! What would happen if sharks die? As top of the food chains/apex predators, sharks keep every other species in the food chain in balance, weeding out the sick, injured and dying so that populations of fish stay strong and healthy. Otherwise, the entire balance of the ocean’s food chain is in danger.
For example, Shark Savers previewed this during a scientific study in the mid-Atlantic US when 11 species of sharks were nearly eliminated. 12 of the 14 species those sharks once fed on became so plentiful that they damaged the ecosystem, including wiping out the species farther down the food chain on which they preyed. The negative effects trickle down.
Luckily legislation and bans are increasing – there’s a bill in California to ban the sale and possession of shark fins. Celebs including Leonardo DiCaprio, Scarlett Johansson, basketball player Yao Ming & pop star Ke$ha are all supporting the CA law. Hawaii has already passed the ban with fines up to $50,000 + a year in prison to offenders. Outside the US, Chile and other countries have started passing Shark Finning bans.
Happy Shark Week!
Posted by Julie
Catch up on the latest sustainability news: City ordinance to impound cars of illegal dumpers.…
Feeling the heat? Learn how heat alerts can help you beat it and protect your…
The Sunrise Philly Director shares her vision, challenges, and what keeps her going in the…
Catch up on the latest sustainability news: Stopping in bike lanes now ticketed. PPA began…
An app created to help users find drinking water in the city has expanded to…
Once home to oil refineries, this island is off-limit to (most) humans and now a…