Shark Nets Persuasive Speech

English Oral

Contention:

That shark nets should be removed from Australian beaches.

Hook:

Picture this

You are a 200-year-old endangered Hawksbill Sea Turtle twisting yourself into a foreign knot. Thrashing for freedom, panic sets in as your realise you are helpless in your bending cage. The ocean turns from turquoise green to Prussian blue as the sun slowly pierces the shadows of your watery grave. Bubbles rush from your mouth like stolen phantoms as you begin to contemplate your own mortality. Slowly suffocating, hope begins to fade. Deeper and deeper you sink into unconsciousness. Euphoria sets in as your panic begins to ease, in your mind you remember freedom, just a memory but not so long ago, is this death? Is this a good death? You take one last breath, and let go of

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