Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Introduction to shark finning
Introduction to shark finning
Introduction to shark finning
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Introduction to shark finning
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, …show more content…
On the contrary, this belief is completely false. A shark 's fin is composed of cartilage. This is the same cartilage that can be found in humans, and it has no medicinal benefits whatsoever. The fact that the shark 's fin lacks any real use in medicine only amplifies the disgrace that the practice of shark finning is.
So if shark finning is such a horrible practice, then why does it still continue? The reason is quite simple: money. It 's mind boggling to see what people will do for a simple piece of paper, and shark finning is no exception. It is estimated that the fins of a shark can sell for up to $500 per pound! With these kind of profit margins, it 's no wonder that restaurants in China still sell shark fin soup.
In 2012, a survey revealed that only six percent of luxury hotels in China have ceased serving shark fin soup (http://ocean.si.edu/). The worst part about the distressing fact is that this survey was given after these hotels were informed of the inevitable problems that come with over-fishing sharks. Despite conservationists best efforts, it appears as though the culture of consuming shark fin soup is branded too deeply into China 's history for it to give up shark fin soup
…show more content…
Jacks and snappers feed primarily and smaller, herbivorous fish. These herbivorous fish, such as the parrot fish, feed on the algae that is constantly growing around these coral reefs. The algae needs shallow water and sunlight in order to survive, and a coral reef is the perfect place.
Without sharks to keep the jack and snapper populations in check, their populations flourish. When the jack and snapper populations flourish, they eat too many of the herbivorous fish. With too few herbivorous fish, algae soon overtakes the coral; out-competing it until very little, if any, remains. This is why eliminating sharks from the food chain would have devastating effects on the surrounding environment, as well as the ocean as a whole.
This problem doesn 't only apply to coral reefs, however. It has actually been observed on the east coast of the United States. This hits quite close to home for those of us living in eastern North Carolina. In this particular case of reduced shark populations, it isn 't coral that suffers, but commercially valuable shellfish populations
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...
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
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
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...
This article discusses how important the organisms symbiotic with coral reefs are, as well as how important coral reefs are to our environment. Also explained is how natural and non natural things things like hurricanes and overfishing affects them. A study is quoted about how water acidity also plays a role in the bleaching of corals. Lastly, restoration and conservation efforts are discussed and how we could possibly help our oceans.
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.
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
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 ...
In Chinese tradition, Shark fin soup is called as “a celebration soup”, which people eat it to celebrate in various occasions. Moreover, people also believed that shark fin consisted of diverse nutrition values which provide them virility, wealth, and power(Wolchover, 2011). These beliefs lead to the beginning of poaching for sharks, the top of food chain in the sea world. Surprisingly, although people are aware of the decreasing number of sharks since the old days, around hundred million of sharks are still hunted each year(Heltus, 2013), to be served on luxury tables surrounded by those believers in things that they do not even prove whether the belief is reliable. Therefore, in the generation that people are mostly educated, sharks should no longer have to be continuously killed for their fins.
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.
Palumbi, Stephen and Anthony, Palumbi “Forget 'Shark Week': They aren't the only fish in the sea.” latimes.com. Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2014. Web. 2 Feb. 2014
Richmond, R. H. 1993. “Coral Reefs: Present problems and Future Concerns Resulting form Anthropogenic Disturbance.” American Zoologist. V33: P524-536.
When most people think of sharks, a scenario pops in their head. A huge, creature, with monstrous teeth swimming directly at them, in the depths of the ocean, with its mouth open, about to sink its jaws right into their body. People`s fears of shark are heightened because of what is shown in the media and reports, but in reality, sharks show little to no threat to humans. People have the misconception that all sharks are huge with big teeth and want to eat them. Little is actually known about the diversity of one of the most feared creatures that roam the sea.
If the coral reefs were to become extinct, then future generations would not have the benefits that these animals have to offer, such as possible medicines, pest control, and carbon dioxide control. Fisheries are also contributed by corals and if they were eliminated would reduce the food source greatly. By not preserving corals, we are taking food directly out of our grandchildren's mouths. With the technology that is rapidly being discovered, we learn more and more about what we can do with bone structure and hard corals. Right now we are doing restructuring procedures and learning that bone tissue and blood vessels spread into the coral graft and eventually bone replaces most of the coral implant.