Commercial overfishing is a problem that is often discussed and scrutinized, with improvements made to fishery sustainability and methods of practice. While this may be considered progress, few species suffer the same peril that the sharks of our oceans do. Sharks are the apex predators of our waters, and if we continue our ways we run the risk of threatening our entire oceanic food chain. One may ask how this has become such a real possibility, and the answer is both simple and disturbing – shark finning.
The act of shark finning is gruesome, shocking, and extremely wasteful. When a shark is caught, all of its fins are sliced off and the shark is dumped overboard, often still alive. They sink to the ocean floor and die slowly by bleeding to death or drowning. Since the actual shark meat is not nearly as valuable, that is why the carcass is dumped after the fins are removed, which allows for more storage space and more mass slaughter. About 95% of the shark …show more content…
The answer is shark fin soup. This tasteless soup sells for more than $100 a bowl, and is thought to be an Asian delicacy, often served at weddings and other special events. (Platt, 2010) False claims of improved health benefits also boost sales, with fictitious links to improved kidney health and boosted fertility, when in fact nothing could be further from the truth. (Support Our Sharks, 2011) Shark fin contains high levels of toxic mercury, which has been associated with infertility in several different studies. (Choy, 2002)
An estimated 73 million sharks are killed each year due to this barbaric act, with industrial long-line techniques that are frighteningly efficient. (Randolph, 2013) The IUCN Shark Specialist Group released an eye opening report in January 2014 detailing what effect we have had on the shark population thus far, outlining that 74 different species of shark are considered threatened –
• 48 species classified as vulnerable (50% decrease over past 10
The act of shark finning is gruesome, shocking, and extremely wasteful. When a shark is caught, all of its fins are sliced off and the shark is dumped overboard, often still alive. They sink to the ocean floor and die slowly by bleeding to death or drowning. Since the actual shark meat is not nearly as valuable, that is why the carcass is dumped after the fins are removed, which allows for more storage space and more mass slaughter. About 95% of the shark …show more content…
The answer is shark fin soup. This tasteless soup sells for more than $100 a bowl, and is thought to be an Asian delicacy, often served at weddings and other special events. (Platt, 2010) False claims of improved health benefits also boost sales, with fictitious links to improved kidney health and boosted fertility, when in fact nothing could be further from the truth. (Support Our Sharks, 2011) Shark fin contains high levels of toxic mercury, which has been associated with infertility in several different studies. (Choy, 2002)
An estimated 73 million sharks are killed each year due to this barbaric act, with industrial long-line techniques that are frighteningly efficient. (Randolph, 2013) The IUCN Shark Specialist Group released an eye opening report in January 2014 detailing what effect we have had on the shark population thus far, outlining that 74 different species of shark are considered threatened –
• 48 species classified as vulnerable (50% decrease over past 10