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Jaws: What Are The Consequences Of Overfishing Sharks?

Decent Essays

Kassadi Zguro

What are the consequences of overfishing sharks?

Thanks to the movie Jaws, many people are scared of sharks. Seeing a fin in the water terrifies all but the most experienced of beach goers. Sadly, this perception means that most do not really care if the sharks are hunted to extinction or not. However, society’s opinion on sharks needs to change if we want any hope of saving the world’s oceans. Sharks, as an apex predator, are an important part of the ocean’s food chain. To understand why we need sharks, we have to first look at what an ecosystem is. An ecosystem, as described by the Mirriam Webster Dictionary, is “a system, or a group of interconnected elements, formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with …show more content…

It was considered a delicacy for hundreds of years, something only emperors and royalty could afford. But now that China is becoming more industrialized more people and hotels can afford the meat needed for the soup at their banquets. It’s become a cultural dish, served at weddings and other special occasions to celebrate. One shark fin can sell for up to $500 a pound. China is the biggest, but there are also shark finning practices in Indonesia, India, and even the United States. However, the fin is the only part of the shark that gets used. Fishermen cut the fin off, usually while the shark is still alive, and throw the rest of the shark back into the ocean as the rest of the meat does not sell. Sharks are protected from being hunted in mostly North America and South America, but there are very few laws around Japan and China to prevent this hunting from happening. (Fairclough, …show more content…

There is a type of manta ray that consumes scallops and other shellfish. Sharks eat these rays, and keep them from overeating the scallops. Coastal areas used by fisherman to sustainably catch scallops and shellfish would be gone in a few years (Myers, R., Baum, J., Shepard, T., Powers, S., & Peterson, C. (2007). Shark attacks are rare, and most are not even fatal. In fact, there are only 70 to 100 shark attacks on average around the world. You are more likely to die from fireworks, drowning, a car accident, or a heart attack than you are a shark bite. Better medical care and faster response times means that if you are bit by a shark there is a high chance that you will survive. Most sharks take one bite as a test, to find out if you are edible or not. If you are not, the shark simply swims away to find a tasty seal or fish to eat instead. (FLMNH Ichthyology Department, 2005). Every animal is important, but sharks are very high up on the list of animals that humans need to protect and save. Without them, our ocean’s ecosystem and coral reefs would be decimated and humans would take a dramatic hit in terms of what we ate and fished. Sharks keep the ocean’s population in check and make sure that there are enough of their prey to sustainably eat while giving us seafood such as scallops and clams. Just because an animal looks scary does not mean that we should be uncaring about its wellbeing and

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