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 …show more content…
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 of coral reefs. Leading to my next topic, how the extinction of Sharks may provide economic …show more content…
Not only do the methods of removing the fins of a shark are barbaric and horrifying, but also is it ever so useless. The process of shark finning involves slicing a shark's fins and tossing them back into the ocean, to die an excruciating death eaten by other marine life. 99 percent of the shark is not even used, making it a waste of essential protein and nutrients. Shark fins are used to prepare a cultural meal entitled shark soup, it really is tasteless and contains no nutritional value. Sharks are taken in regardless of species, age, and even health. Since it takes 7 to 14 years for Sharks to mature; every year, sharks are being depleted faster than they can reproduce. However, in contrast, there are people who question why we should stop shark finning when cows, pigs and chickens are killed in massive rates. Sharks' bodies are not even fully used like these farm animals, and are not even farmed to begin with. Unlike them, sharks play a very significant role in the ecosystem. All around the world, Sharks are being hunted down in vast numbers that make these fishers/hunters violate international law. They overfish, having unsustainable fishery. Shark finning is not the only unjust case, many people have also been caught longlining (baiting a shark with a hook), where hunters use it for killing sharks as a sport. They have well contributed to the increased killings. Also, the killing of sharks really is not very significant to human health
The Great Shark debate – to cull or not to cull, has been at the forefront of the minds of conservationists, as well as the general population for many decades now. The opinions of everyone are divided, according to their personal experiences, and views on what is right and wrong for the environment.
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
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
It is not hard to think of the Great White Shark as one of the most feared animals
Not only would one of the oldest living creatures on Earth become extinct, but humans would also be affected. Rob Stewart (Sharkwater’s filmmaker) and activist Paul Watson are leading the efforts to protect sharks. Because there are no international regulations to protect sharks, 1.5 million sharks were killed over the course of six days when long line fishing was legal in the Galapagos Islands. During the filming of the documentary, Stewart and Watson helped to make long line fishing in the Galapagos Islands
Great white sharks are the main predators in the ocean. The only things that are responsible for the deaths of sharks are Age, Health, Humans and other sharks. Humans are responsible for 70% of deaths for great white sharks. Today there are more than 440 known species of sharks. Great whites only have 2-12 babies at one time unlike others who have hundreds. Great whites can live up to 60 years old! Great white sharks are phenomenal animals and but still are vulnerable to extinction. Do your part to kill of the rest of them before they kill you!
Studies suggest that a “live shark, over the course of its lifetime, is worth $1.6 million, which is a great deal higher than the $200 the dead shark can sell for” (Fairclough). This statement holds true because of shark ecotourism, or shark-related activities such as shark viewing, is an industry that is expanding rapidly. If people would instead invest in shark ecotourism rather than shark fisheries, business would be far more profitable: “Shark ecotourism currently generates more than $314 million worldwide and is expected grow to $780 million in the next 20 years” (McGuire). For example, “a single whale shark fin can fetch up to $15,000 in some Asian markets,” but in stark contrast, the annual profit made worldwide from whale shark viewing "brings in an estimated $47.5 million” (Williams). When compared whether shark finning or shark tourism reap more profit from an economic standpoint, then it is clear that a live shark is more valuable than its fins. Furthermore, both industry and sharks alike would benefit from shark ecotourism, without the damage caused by shark finning
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.
Shark slaughter has led to shark populations being rapidly decimated all around the globe. Fishermen report that sharks are also getting smaller because they are not being given enough time to fully mature. Although there are other fish that are targeted more than sharks, they are not exactly affected by the kind of endangerment that sharks are currently experiencin...
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.
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.
Hundreds of people, who get in the ocean every year, are almost none that encounter sharks. Even if you're lucky enough to see a shark big enough to bite you, you're much likely to die from a heart attack than getting bit by one. Shark attacks are mistakes and the idea of a shark off every beach waiting for people to come in the water is completely untrue. I will inform you on the background knowledge of sharks and the reasons why humans should not be afraid only aware.
Did you know that more than 90 percent of all organisms that have ever lived on Earth are extinct? According to Pandey, the author of Humans Pushing Marine Life toward ‘Major Extinction’, nearly 10,000 species go extinct each year, and this rate is estimated to be 1,000 times higher than the natural extinction rate (1). Human beings are causing irreversible damage to the oceans and their wildlife, which is being led by two major reasons: Commercial fishing or over-fishing, which damaged the marine environment and caused a loss in the marine life diversity, and pollution, which is a primary way of the extinction causes that drastically modifies the marine life habitat. As a result of the commercial fishing and pollution, many of the marine species will start disappearing of the oceans. Briggs emphasizes that over-fishing “has induced population collapses in many species. So instead of having less than a hundred species at risk, as was the case some 30-40 years ago, there are now a thousand or more (10).”