Cold Blooded Killers
Sharks: Man-eating, stealthy, carnivorous creatures that roam the ocean. What could possibly come in the way of such beasts? Certainly puny humans could not interfere with these brutes. Or could we? It is estimated that over one hundred million sharks are killed each year (Why Are Sharks Endangered). All one hundred million deaths are due to mankind.
There are many ways we, as humans, slaughter sharks. One of them, and by far the worst one, is by finning the shark. Huge fishing corporations are catching sharks and hacking off their fins. The shark, still alive, is then thrown overboard to die a slow, painful death by either starving, being eaten alive by other fish, or even drowning (Finding… End It). Over 95% of many other species of sharks have been decimated since 1970. Despite the fact that shark finning is illegal in many parts of the world; many other countries still allow the finning of sharks. Shark fins have been on high demand in Asian countries and are being used in soups and medical remedies (Why Are Sharks Endangered). Hong Kong handles 50-80 percent of the world trade in shark fin. United states being one of the biggest suppliers in shark fin (Andrews Why We Need Sharks).
Female sharks only give birth to a few sharks in their lifetime. Now when the calves are born, it takes years for them to grow older and mature enough to have babies of their own. Because of this long time frame from birth to maturing, sharks population is not increasing as quickly as sharks are being finned and slaughtered. With the rapid decline of the shark population, these creatures will soon become extinct unless something is done soon.
Another threat is bycatching. Bycatching is the accidental capture of a non-targe...
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...ut what if you already don’t eat anything that contains shark? Look to your products or clothes that you use. Many different kinds cosmetics and leather are made up of some part of the shark (Anderson Uses for Sharks). Even some pet chew toys are made out of shark’s skin. Another helpful tip is to speak up! Help be the voice to save the sharks and our world. There are many different sites to look into if interested. One of them is Shark Angels. Shark Angels is an organization dedicated to saving the sharks and the oceans. They are all about getting the word out globally that sharks are becoming an endangered species in a fun, and positive way.
Out of six billion people in the world, on average per year, only 75 shark attacks are reported. Meanwhile, human beings are slaughtering millions of sharks, and destroying not only their environment, but also our very own.
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.
We all know that there are much bigger threats in the world today. Should we be worried about people's fault of going into the sharks territories? O...
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
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...
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
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
Watching a movie where hundreds of swimmers on a beach are in a complete panic because of shark attacks makes a person scared to swim in an ocean, lake, or even a pond. Not only movies, but also documentaries of shark attacks stress how dangerous sharks are. In reality, are sharks really that dangerous or is it how they are portrayed? Stephen R. Palumbi who is a Professor of Biology at Stanford University and also the Director at the Hopkins Marine Station at Stanford wrote an article about other animals living in the ocean that are more dangerous to humans than sharks. In fact, he has written books about creatures in the water such as The Death and Life of Monterey Bay, and The Evolution Explosion. In addition, his son Anthony R. Palumbi is a novelist and a science writer that has written for Atlantic and other publications (Princeton University Press 1). Together they co- authored an article titled “Forget Shark Week: They aren’t the only fish in the sea” that was published the Los Angeles Times.
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 ...
Shark finning is the practice of slicing off the shark's fins while the shark is still alive and throwing the rest of its body back into the ocean. Sharks thrown in shallow water will fall to the ocean floor die from either bleeding to death or drowning. If the shark is thrown back in deep water they can actually implode due to rapid changes in pressure within the shark’s limp body. They can also die by starving to death, being eaten by other fish. Shark fins are used to make a soup that is considered an Asian "delicacy". The reasons that sharks should be admired and not hunted are almost endless. Despite creating easy income for third world nation’s, shark finnig is a barbaric practice that needs to end
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.
Every year, there are about 100 million Sharks killed, ultimately for its commercial success. Their fins are used as the main ingredient for a dish so-called Shark soup. However, many are unaware of the actual importance of Sharks' existence on Earth. They do a number of things to control and balance aquatic life down below, which in return affects how we live on the surface. Sharks have existed in our world for over 400 million years, if they were to suddenly disappear for industrial purposes, much problems will be encountered throughout the world. We must preserve the lives of Sharks, for many reasons most importantly that shark hunting is morally wrong, it may provide economic failure in a given time, and it may serve a critical unbalance of a healthy environmental state.
...te shark slaughter all around the globe. The easiest way to help stop this is to go to one of the many websites developed for this very reason, and support them. Sharks cannot speak for themselves, so we must speak for them and stop shark slaughter!
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,
They are creatures that have no clue what we are and are afraid of us. Every year, thousands of more people are killed by other people than by sharks; thousand more people are killed in car accidents than by sharks, and more people are killed by lightning strikes than by sharks. Each year humans kill tens of thousands of sharks, yet, there are fewer than 100 shark attacks upon humans. For example, The Great White shark also known as the man-eater, has the greatest reputation for attacking humans. Recent studies of Great Whites show that they mainly feed on sea-mammals. Seen from below the surface a person swimming with a shark looks much like a seal, with arms and legs sticking out. The shark usually surprises its victim, being a person or seal, by one massive bite, and then retreats in order to allow the victim to die before digesting the food. For this reason, many humans survived the attack of a Great White shark if they are saved before being eaten. Not only getting out of the water and be safe, but the result of loss, blood or