There has been a long time misconception on the threat that sharks have on humans. Originally developed after the release of the movie Jaws, the fear of being subject to a shark attack has escalated, causing humans to view sharks as an imminent threat to their lives. Due to their high status, sharks have been a desired delicacy for several years. Shark fins are mainly used in a popular Chinese dish known as shark fin soup, which originates back to Chinese emperors who saw it as an honorable and potentially healthy dish. Currently over 100 million sharks are being taken from the ocean each year due to shark hunting/finning (Shark Hunting – an Indiscriminate Trade). Drastically decreasing the amount of sharks can lead to a possible extinction which brings extreme danger to not only other marine life, but to humans and the overall ecosystem as well. Shark finning/hunting must be strictly prohibited to prevent an otherwise inevitable extinction of sharks. Sharks …show more content…
However, sharks are not an imminent danger to humans. Only on rare occasions there are incidents, and regardless humans are most likely not the sharks intended prey. About six people are killed by sharks per year, while humans kill over 100 million sharks a year. Who is the real danger? Oceana, a foundation developed by a group of other leading foundations known as The Pew Charitable Trusts, Oak Foundation, Marisla Foundation (formerly Homeland Foundation), and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund discuss that there are over 500 species of sharks in the world, and only about twelve can be potentially harmful to humans. Also, humans are not sharks preferred prey, and humans are often mistaken as different sea creatures. While humans may have an irrational fear of sharks, the chance of someone in the ocean getting killed by a shark is extremely slim. Thus, trying to justify the murder of millions of sharks is
Sharks have also been subjected to medical research, games and competitions, jewellery, souvenirs and cosmetics. We need to take into consideration that sharks play a vital role in the natural world that we live in. it is imperative that we look after these majestic creatures and ensure they remain protected. We need to be aware of the dangers of sharks, swim in protected areas where there are shark nets, and do not swim after dark in the sea (especially not alone) as the sea is the sharks home. Humans should also be wearing wet suits as protection in the ocean. The sea is where they live, they swim freely and they eat – they do not particularly target humans but rather prey on food that is available to them in their habitat.
Australian beaches are some of the best in the world and WA beaches are some of the best in Australia. But this may soon no longer be a view held by everyone if the WA government continues to support and allow the shark culling off Perth's major beaches. Hi I'm Maya Koentgen, a marine biologist, ecologist and fellow beach user, and I'm here to tell you why shark culling needs to stop. At the moment hundreds of innocent sharks are being caught and killed and why? Because they are simply swimming in their own homes that us humans have invaded.
The bull shark may be responsible for many shark attacks in the world but I believe that we have no right to kill them. Sharks are very important to animals food cycles and if the food cycles get messed up it can greatly effect the world. In fact, the bull shark is more vulnerable to human impact due to their ability to live in fresh and salt water but many sharks that are killed are for either shark fin soup or their liver oil. The sharks liver oil has many uses now but it started as a machine lubricant. Another way that sharks die is by recreational fishing. The sharks can get caught up in the fishermen's nets and eventually suffocate and die. As an environmental community, I feel like we need to inform people about shark habits and how to keep sharks safe. The water is their home and we are
Shark fin soup is a very big part of the Chinese and the Chinese think it shouldn’t be interfered with. The reason Madison is trying to ban shark meat is because, she is trying to save and sustain the amount of sharks in the ocean. Unlike maybe chickens which we have plenty of and do not need to save, plus chickens are not dangerous to our health.
Information (sub-point): The solution to the problem of shark finning is to sign petitions and force the government to pass legislature that will ban shark finning, as well as ban the import of shark fins. In 2000, Bill Clinton signed the Shark Finning Prohibition Act of 2000 (SFPA), which “banned finning on any fishing vessel within United States territorial waters, and on all U.S.-flagged fishing vessels in international waters” (Speigel, 2011). Currently, it is also illegal to hunt sharks in many parts around the world due to various restrictions set by other government, but it is not illegal to import and sell shark fins. Finding shark fins in the US can be as easy as walking into an Asian restaurant and ordering shark fin soup. If we truly want to make a difference, and see a rise in the shark populations around the world, we need to ban the sell and trade of shark fins
We will need to give an end to these shark species that have and are still being the reasons for deaths of human beings. In 2016, there has been up to 26 shark attacks with two of them being fatal. Just less than a month ago a 17 year old girl was mauled by a shark while surfing with her dad. What if you were at the beach with your son or daughter, your partner or
Sharks have been on this earth for nearly 450 billion years. To put that into perspective, the first modern humans date back to about 60,000 years ago ("Our Mission: To save Sharks and Mantas”). Since then, both humans and sharks have evolved into the predatory mammals they are today. However, with the quick development of humans, civilization and technology, humans have not been able to fully understand the ways of sharks, although the motives of other human celebrities have been easy to understand and decipher. Because shark attacks have been becoming more televised, and sharks have been known to be more of a “threat” to humans, shark research foundations, such as the Shark Research Institute and the Pelagic Shark Research Foundation, have been created to help give an understanding to these creatures. Over 100 million sharks are being killed each year, and there is a counter on the Bite-Back Shark and Marine Conservation website. As one spends more time on the home page, the number on the counter is constantly increasing, showing how many sharks are slaughtered in the year to come (“Bite-Back – Shark and Marine Conservation”). Even with research to show that sharks are valuable to the ocean and vulnerable, there are people that think otherwise (“The Pelagic Shark ...
However, no matter how negatively portrayed, sharks mistakenly kill an average of five humans annually compared to 35 humans killed by dogs every year (Mother Nature Network). Statistically, you have a 1 in 84 chance of dying from a car crash compared to the 1 in 3,700,000 chance of being killed from a shark attack (Human Shark Bait). In reality sharks are one of the most misunderstood creatures on the planet. However, humans continue to declare them as murderers. The result is that people are blinded to the atrocities performed on sharks and are less likely to know about the dangers facing sharks today.
Even though humans get injured and occasionally killed by sharks, this is much more uncommon than many people think. In the video, "Great White Predator," it states, "[Sharks] mainly eat one thing: seals," (“National Geographic”). Shark attacks are much less likely to occur than people may think. In fact, Peter Benchley says, "Around the world many, many more people die every year from bee stings, snakebites, falling off ladders, or drowning in bathtubs than from shark attack[s]," (“Great White Sharks”). People have a greater chance of dying while doing everyday chores than from sharks.
As I mentioned earlier, Sharks maintain the balance of the entire marine ecosystem! If the ocean’s ecosystem were to collapse, it would greatly affect life even on the surface. Sharks tend to eat fish who are much slower and sickly therefore they keep the population of fish in a healthier state. We depend on the oceans for the oxygen that we breathe because of certain species in the ocean that produce oxygen such as Phytoplankton, if Sharks were to be extinct, we would lose a great amount of the oxygen on Earth because the balance of living Phytoplankton and other species would not be enough. Furthermore, Sharks have been maintaining the balance of our ecosystem for 400 million years, if these sharks were to be gone, who would balance this heavy task? A number of scientific studies demonstrate that depletion of Sharks results in the loss of important fish and shellfish species from the food chain, including key fisheries such as tuna, which help the health o...
Sharks kill an average of about 12 humans per year. Humans kill an average of about 11,417 sharks per hour. Unfortunately, that number may not stop growing unless action is taken. Shark slaughter is becoming an ever expanding issue that could have devastating effects if it is not stopped. As a result of a tremendous increase of demand in shark fins in recent years, sharks are being finned and thrown back into the water where they are left to suffer an excruciating death which can take days to occur. Not only is the act cruel, but it also disrupts the natural ecosystem and may cause irreparable damage. Due to all of these effects, shark slaughter needs to be stopped, sooner than later.
In 2015 only 59 shark attacks have occurred around the world compared to the millions of sharks killed by humans every year. Due to these accidental shark attacks people tend to think that sharks, especially Great Whites are evil creatures with malice intentions when attacks do occur; but, on the contrary that is wrong. Sharks are not the only beautiful and unique creatures in the ocean, they also play a vital role in our ecosystem; however, due to human interference they might not be around much longer, through awareness sharks can be protected from endangerment.
When most people hear the word "shark", the image of a vicious killing machine pops into their head. They picture something out of the movie Jaws, where a massive Great White shark terrorizes an entire beach and eats dozens of people. However, this fictional story is nothing more than Hollywood entertainment. In the real world, the tables are turned. Humans are the ones who kill sharks, and not just by the dozens. It has been estimated that over 100 million sharks are killed every year by humans (http://www.iflscience.com). Some estimates claim that the actual number of sharks killed every year could be as high as 273 million (http://www.iflscience.com). In this research paper, I will inform you of the many ways that sharks are being killed,
Thesis: Sharks should be conserved because they are an important part of the ocean, attacks are often incidental, and human behavior influences the behavior of sharks.
Everyone knows someone who is afraid of sharks. They might even advocate for the killing of sharks when they hurt someone or wonder why they exist on the first place. Every summer, shark attacks are a hot topic. There are news articles every summer about at least one person spotting a shark close to shore, and it seems like every other summer there is a blockbuster film about surviving a shark attack. Everyone knows that sharks are predators, but not everyone knows that sharks are on the decline. This is because of many reasons such fishing, and specific shark killings. Sharks are essential to our marine ecosystems, and the continued culling of them can cause the extinction of the species as well as a devastated ecosystem within our oceans.