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.
One of the governments main reasons for culling the sharks is because they are coming in too close to the shores and becoming a potential threat to swimmers. But why is this happening? This is due to a change in shark feeding habits, but because they are eating more human of course not! Rather because us humans are over fishing and eliminating the fish/food sources of which sharks normally feed on. This is forcing sharks to come in closer to find food. Us as humans have forced sharks to come in closer and are now killing sharks because of our a...
However, the fact is, and statistics prove that over 100 million sharks are killed every year (according to the Sea Shepherd website), all around the world and for what reason? Shark culling and the hunting of sharks as a solution to beach safety has not been well received by the Australian public. Whilst it is very clear that we need a solution to protect our bathers and surfers, the Herald Sun reported that 82 percent of all respondents to their
So why do we need sharks? Well, Sharks help keep the ocean healthy and clean for over 450 million years. They also help remove half of the worlds green house gases and produces oxygen more than all of the rainforest's combined! Sharks are just as important as all the trees in the world because they have one thing in common, provide us with oxygen. Without the sharks help we wouldn't be able to get rid as much of the greenhouse gases as we want to, which means global warming would have a lower rate of happening faster. Most importantly they provide us with food. How? They would usually eat the old, sick or slower fish in the population of the ocean to the right size so the prey species don't cause harm to ecosystem by becoming to populated. They are also at the top of the food web. If all the sharks went extinct the entire food web would collapse causing many other species of fish to disappear. So instead of killing the sharks, we could lure them away to somewhere else. As they have a huge impact to the environment.
As they are at the top of the food chain, sharks play a very important role in the oceans in a way that an average fish does not. Sharks keep populations of other fish healthy and in proper proportion for their ecosystem. By preying on the old, sick or slower fish in a population, they prevent the spread of disease and prevent outbreaks that could be devastating. According to Ransom Myers from Shark savers, “sharks may be gone within the next decades if we continue to kill them, resulting in the loss of important foods that we depend on for survival, causing a marine ecosystem imbalance.” At the same time, I accept that shark nets could be useful, especially in shark infested areas that have been renowned as spots where many attacks have occurred, but I still believe, as you would, that scientists should spend more resources on working out why it is becoming more common for sharks to be entering shallower waters, looking for food – namely seals, who just happen to look like
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
Sarai Michel English 9HP, Period 4 When I was six years old, my parents took me to SeaWorld for the first time. I remember clearly watching the Shamu show and sitting in the splash zone, ending up soaked in water by the end. But I also distinctly remember wondering how an animal so big and beautiful could ever be happy in such a small tank, so far away from home. The animals could never possibly experience the joy they would have out in the wild where they belonged.
Specific Purpose: To persuade the audience to go online and sign a petition to help stop shark killings and to support the entire Racing Extinction cause in order to save species around the world from going extinct.
Everybody has one thing in the world that they feel strongly about. Weather if it is a stuffed animal, person, or a job. We all praise something. I believe that we need to stop whaling. Every day whale after whale die. Why? Just because people want their meat and to make oil and some money. We need to find a way to stop these terrible Pandemic. There has to be another way to make money and oil than killing this marvelous animal. If this was happening to you what would you want to do to stop this?
Everyone who has gotten to experience the fun of going to SeaWorld will always remember Shamu and his friends doing amazing tricks in the water, but as an innocent little kid, you don’t know any better than to admire such intelligent animals. But what you don’t know as a little kid, is what goes on outside of the show. Trust me, it is not good. Killer whales should not be kept in captivity because it is inhumane, and they are too big and intelligent for the environment they are put in.
Sharkwater is a documentary. Just like many documentaries it puts forth a strong message by using relevant facts and captivating footage. Sharkwater explores the nature of sharks, how misconception and ill treatment is driving them to the edge of extinction, and how some people are taking a step towards protecting them. The creator of this document did an excellent job went it came to using primary sources and proper facts. In some places of the world shark finning is a full-blown industry that is being protected by the government and was killing thousands of sharks everyday just for the sake of money. In that point of the film you could say a bias opinion was presented. But when the streets of Puerto Rico began to flood with angry protesters
WHAT IS SHARK CULLING Shark culling is killing large sharks that may be dangerous to swimmers on the beach. The Great white shark has been protected in Australian waters since 1998. So, what changed? Since August 2010, 15 people have been killed and 51 have been injured in 2012.
Millions of people visit Sea World each year (The Fate). They crowd into Shamu Stadium to be entertained by the killer whales as they perform. Their eyes widen, and they sit in awe, as these enormous creatures effortlessly propel themselves out of the water. The children in the audience squeal with delight as the orca’s giant tail sends a wave of ice water over the crowd. But these fast-paced, high-spirited shows hide a darker reality. They are designed to mask the reality of the bare, cold concrete walls that the Orcas are forced to call home. It’s time for people to realize the plight of these mammals. Keeping Orcas in captivity is both harmful and cruel.
Hello everyone, thank you all for coming. I am here today to talk about the removal of a number of sharks from the wild. As West Australians you would be aware of the increasing number of fatal shark attacks in our state. In 2015 alone we had five deaths and this year already 3 divers and surfers have lost their lives in shark attacks- these are individual and community-wide tragedies! Whilst a number of initiatives have been discussed and or trialed by our government we need to find an effective solution to prevent further deaths.
Under those circumstances, it is only appropriate to preserve the lives of Sharks and acknowledge their importance to the ecosystem, because without them, the aquatic world may collapse and affect the world on the surface likewise. With the ecosystem gone, the niche of the Sharks are gone too, which lead to depletion of the rest of the marine life. This will cause much economic stress and lead to failure. We must know killing sharks are wrong, and we must stop it.
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.
Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste is shaping up to be a shark slaughterhouse. Every year in the region, more than 3 million sharks http://www.care2.com/causes/killing-sharks-is-bad-news-for-climate-change.html