Shark Finning Essay

The Great White, up to 21 feet long with razor teeth may seem like a monster but there is much that society does not know. Sharks need to be protected because of the benefits they give humans. Also by tracking sharks is one way researchers can find a way to understand sharaks more.

One of the major problems is shark finning. Shark finning is the practice of removing the shark’s fins after it has been caught. They keep the fins and the body is usually thrown back into the sea, and usually the shark is still alive when this happens. When this is done sharks are not able to swim, and eventually the shark dies from suffocation, blood loss or being eaten another predator. The reason why the fins are kept are because shark fins are one of the most expensive food items in the world and can be worth more than over $400 per kilogram. One of the problems with finning and the selling shark fins is that it has caused a lot of declines in shark populations. Shark finning is unmonitored and unreported so the actual amount of finning is unknown. Finning is done at random and unbiased, they go after any species, sex or size of shark. Research has been done on some of the fins brought in by fisheries and it shows that even fins from great white sharks are appearing in shark fin

Sharks are the top predators. But frankly, they are starting to vanish out of oceans every day. The sharks biggest enemy are humans. Us humans will kill sharks for food. Sometimes people will even take shark teeth and turn them into jewelry. Humans also will cut off the shark’s skin, and turn it into leather. If you find that disturbing, did you know that some individuals will cut out the shark’s liver and make it into a type of medicine?

head of a hammer. Their eyes and nostrils are at the ends of the hammer.

Shark finning is the process of cutting off the fins of a shark and discarding the body at sea (“Stop Shark Finning”, 2009). People catch sharks for its fins, meat, oil, skin and so on. Sharks fins are most commonly used in Asian cooking which is shark fin soup. According to Maddalena, Sommeran and Leander (2007), people have been demanding for shark fins dramatically recently, it is unclear how many sharks are caught annually but some of the conservationists estimate the number to be upwards of 100 million. Besides, shark conservationists are aware about the consequences of the high demand of shark fins, they advocate people to stop killing sharks and eating shark fins. Practice of shark finning is causing imbalance marine ecosystems and it

Arising over 350 million years ago, the shark species has been labeled as a human devourer. Now, with the increase in human population, the demand for shark meat, fins, and cartilage are at an all time high; therefore, the existence of the shark is becoming a concern (Budker 1971). Individuals are conditioned to think of sharks as a negative aspect to the environment, which is prolonging the effort to save shark species from becoming extinct. With that in mind, some private as well as national organizations have accepted the challenge of educating and informing people about the existence of the shark specie and its importance to the sea.

The things that sharks are being killed for is sickening. So far, humans have decimated about 90 percent of the world’s shark populations for the sake of shark tooth jewelry and jaws that tourists buy in massive quantities, sharkskin accessories, phony medicines made from their cartilage, and a huge range of cosmetics, deodorants, moisturizers, sun tan lotions, and lip balms that use shark liver oil as a base because it makes our skin soft. (Check the ingredients of these items before you buy. If they contain “squalene” or “squalane,” leave them on the shelf.) (M. R., Ph. (2015, February 08). The Most Misunderstood Shark Fact Of All Time. From

Whenever you go to the Fish and Chips shop, have you heard about “Flake”? Flakes are a type of shark. They have been killed just for us to eat. The price of them are also increasing. At least 100 million sharks are killed every year. In Eastern parts of Asia, Sharks were being culled for shark fin soup. Dragging out the sharks out of the ocean and cutting off their fins and throwing their dead body back into the ocean is unacceptable. How would you feel if we were dragged out of our home by a random person, got our arm cut off and got put back into our home again? I’m sure that we would all be horrified and terrified by this. It is said that Shark Fin Soup costs around $100 per bowl of soup. There are also some countries that have completely banned shark culling. They are Israel, Ecuador, Mexico, Egypt, Indonesia, Fiji and so on. It is very unfortunate that Australia isn’t a part of this. Sharks also help with ecosystems.

People visceral when they see a shark and they try to capture and kill it. Only some people want to protect sharks. Sharks help by keeping the fish population down First, we can protect sharks by doing little things such as stop finning sharks, picking up our trash. Next people destroy environments by oil spills. Not picking up trash. Last if people don’t stop finning sharks and not throwing their trash away our environment will smell bad and we will have no sharks left.

In the Food Web I displayed previously, the animals that are part of the sharks diet are: smaller sharks, tuna and and marlin. These marine animals that find themselves apart of the sharks' diets will be competing with each other to find food - this is because there would be so many of them, and not as much of their food - because they won't be eaten by the shark. The animals that the marine animals (including tuna, marlin and smaller sharks) eat will decrease extensively, and become near extinct - these being tuna, squid, ocean sunfish, lancet fish, mackerel, amphipods and shrimp. Other animals that share the same diet of these fish may also find that they are not getting enough nutrients to live/survive, because their food is now being shared by lots more fish/marine animals, that, originally, would be eaten by the now culled sharks. With these other animals that share the same diet as the fish, if they don't get enough nutrients to survive, the survival of their species could be uncertain. If those species die out, then other consumers of them could possibly start to decline in numbers as well. Sharks keep the marine environment healthy and productive, therefore without them the ecosystem won't properly function resulting in the unbalance of food webs and food chains. Shark culling can also lead to coral reefs and other animals/species dying off. Shark

Preview statement: Not only is the killing of sharks extremely inhumane, it does more harm than good to our environment.

Shark finning is popular in asia. They cut the fin off of the shark, and then throw the shark back in the water. Since sharks are being killed for just the fin, there are bans against finning. People also started just killing them after the movie Jaws came out(8). It pictured a Great White shark attacking people viciously. It upset people because it was based on a true story, but in the actual occurrence it was a bull shark that attacked the people not the Great White(8). There are many shark sanctuaries set up in the ocean to protect them. They can go there and live without having to worry if they will get caught in a net or get their fins cut off. In many countries there are bans on Great White Shark products. There are many projects in effect for protecting Great White Sharks(Institution, Smithsonian). Great white sharks are illegal to hunt because they are endangered. They also have a short life span of about sixty years, but very few make it to even thirty. There are many signs that say the great white population is increasing slowly but steadily(Institution,

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,

Within 1996-2000, shark fin imports increased by 6%. To get the shark fins, men would catch sharks, cut off their fins, and then throw them back into the water. Are shark fin soup worth killing millions and millions of sharks? There are also many different uses for the different parts of the shark. For example, shark oil can be used for makeup and cosmetics, shark cartilage pills supposedly benefits our health and is old in health food stores, and shark steaks are sold all over the world. Although there are many economic benefits from shark finning, it can also threaten recreational fisheries, and other traditional ways of fishing.

Secondly, I will discuss about the famous shark fin soup. Lastly, I will discuss the possibilities that can happen if sharks are extinct