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Shark Finning Industry Doing Untold Damage To Species & Ecology Of Oceans

Shark finning; an industry that drags Sharks out of their domain, cuts off their fins (dorsal and pectoral) and then slings them back into the water where they fall to the seabed rotting away before they eventually drown in pain, all so some people can eat Shark Fin Soup!

This industry devastates the global population of Sharks, killing tens of millions each year. Including some of the larger and more slower reproductive species such as the Great White, already an endangered creature in many parts of the world.

How long before man wipes out these dinosaurs of the seas?

Some environmentalists and wildlife welfare sympathizers want the Shark finning industry to be more regulated while some want this barbaric, totally needless and wasteful industry completely outlawed.

Many nations and states have taken notice and have banned the practice or introduced new measures to regulate the industry, but still millions of Sharks are perishing each year and this is not only having an adverse effect on the species but the ecology of the oceans too.

For Sharks act as the ocean's filtering system and play a massive role in the balance of order. Sharks, despite their reputation as killing machines, actually provide a safety net for other species against disease. They prey on sick, aged and dying animals which prevents any disease prevalent in these animals from diluting future gene pools. Many animals existence today can be owed to Sharks.

A Shark-less planet would be a disaster for marine wildlife and the seas itself, not to mention our own future. Sharks are the oldest living creatures on the planet and very rarely, if at all, fall victim to disease and illness.

Cancer, a disease that blights many species, none more so than our own, isn't an issue for Sharks and mankind can perhaps one day, through research, look to Sharks for an answer to a disease (and others) that effects millions of people each year.

Sharks are not only magnificent and beautiful creatures, they are also a vital link in the chain of life, and we must do more to insure their survival by putting an end to Shark finning which only exists to serve a demand to see Shark Fin Soup on our menus. One cannot truly blame those that haul out Sharks from the waters as man has to make a living.

It is those at the end of the spectrum, those who buy Shark Fin Soup that need educated and made aware of what their demand is doing to the species and the planet's well being.

How can you help?

The easiest way to help would be to not eat Shark Fin Soup, but to really put the message across we need to educate the masses, local authorities, governments and our own children and starting now, today! We need to show the world just how beautiful these creatures really are and that they are not blood thirsty killing machines out to get us when we dip our toes into the water.

Because of the negative image we have of Sharks - an image born from "Jaws" mythology - the image of them being slaughtered by machete wielding fisherman doesn't resonate like, say, an image of a Dolphin being cut up would. A creature we associate with intelligence, fun and friendliness. A creature we can jump into the water and frolic with. It is that whole "Jaws" mentality that we need to strike first and foremost because only then, when Sharks are accepted, will mankind truly look upon Shark finning with both disgust and contempt at both ends of the spectrum;
supply and demand.

Shark finning Facts

Tens of millions of Sharks are slaughtered each year for their fins.

Shark finning is a lucrative industry with prices in Asia for a kilo of Shark fins ranging from $80-100 USD.

The Shark finning market is growing by 5% per year.

Some of the harks caught up in Shark finning industry are Great White's (the Ocean's largest predatory fish), the Basking Shark (harmless to man) and the Whale Shark (the largest fish in the ocean and also harmless to man).

Trading of Shark fins in 1980 amounted to 3,000 tons, today it is 22,000 tons and that is expected to reach 30,000 tons by 2015.

The main Shark finning culprits are Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong.

The main demand for Shark fins come from Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Korea and China.

Shark finning is is prohibited in U.S. territorial waters.

Singapore exported $40.6 million USD worth of Shark fins in 2001. Restaurants in Singapore often pay up to $4,000 USD per kilogram of Shark fins.

The following countries have introduced Shark finning restrictions: Canada (1994), Brazil (1998), the U.S. (2000), Spain (2002) and Costa Rica (2005) while certain restrictions were passed in South Africa, England, Mauretania, Mexico, Malta, Namibia, Oman, the Philippines and Israel.

Chris Smith

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