Shark Killers Essay

651 Words2 Pages

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.

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