sharks under threat

Original article (1) and (2) 

The fierce monster in the movie “Jaws” gave the shark, a mysterious predator of the deep, a bad name and now the hunter is the hunted. 

Thanks to shark movies like “Jaws”, “Dark Water” etc people have become terrified to enter the water in fear they will be attacked or eaten by a shark.  The study of the effects of scary movies has mainly been concentrated on how these types of programs effect children, however in recent studies the effects on adults has been measured and the results profound.  Whilst many of these symptoms are minor, the fact is that these movies can have such an affect on an individual that they continue to  avoid the situations portrayed in the movies and/or demonise similar objects and characters into adulthood.  The effect of these movies and the unknown have added to the fear of sharks and allowed for the absent killing of these wonders of the sea.  What is highly amusing is that people don’t stay inside or avoid flowers because of bees or run screaming from coconut trees even though  more people die from bee stings and coconuts falling on their heads than from shark attacks .  What is not funny, but heart breaking, is that because of people’s fear of these creatures, the plummeting population numbers and brutal and wasteful killings are overlooked.  Some staggering statistics are:

• 100 million sharks are slaughtered each year with almost all of these killings for the shark fins

• Shark finning targets only 2 – 5 per cent of the shark’s body mass and wastes the remaining 95 per cent.
  (the picture below show what is used…)

•  Most shark fining occurs on-board with the fins being removed whilst the animal is still alive with a sharp blade.  The shark’s finless body is then dumped overboard and, being unable to swim, it drowns (as sharks need to swim forward to receive the oxygen from the water) or dies of starvation.  

Sharks go from this….

To being hacked brutally for their fins

To this….  Shark fins sell for around $700US per kilo

To this…..  Shark fin soup.  The bowl below is worth around $100US

Hong Kong imports 70% of shark fins in the world and with it’s current economic boom the demand for shark fins is predicted to increase by 5% per year.  This, along with other human actions, will force a predator that has been around since the time of the dinosaur to become extinct in 7 to 10 years…unless we do something.

The dramatic decrease in shark populations are creating catastrophic results in marine ecosystems.  The loss of the apex predator is travelling down the food chain and is set to devastate the marine ecosystem. 

For more information have a look at my other blog entry “Don’t think DANGER, think ENDANGERED” and jump onto a few of these sites…they are both interesting and devastating!

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061204123545.htm

http://www.sharkattacks.com/sharksvictims.htm

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/innews/Aussiewhale2005.html

http://www.umich.edu/~urecord/9899/Mar29_99/9.htm

 http://www.greenpeace.org/australia/news-and-events/news/overfishing/shark-fin-mystery

 http://www.bite-back.com/sharks/index.html

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