We are emptying the ocean of sharks

It’s all very well fighting to get people in power to listen to what you’re saying and put a stop to shark culling but even if they agree, they have no physical ability to stop the daily goings on of fishermen and individuals who want sharks killed. In my opinion focusing on politics is not the answer: prevention is better than cure.

In order to stop sharks being needlessly killed we need to look at why it is happening and why people are allowing it and that all comes down to perception. People see sharks as evil, monsters and man eaters. This is fuelled and sensationalised by the media, so in order to prevent sharks being killed we must change people’s perception of sharks and in turn their acceptance of this happening.

I believe that in the future people will look back on shark killing and question how on earth it was ever allowed to happen. In the same way that we now look back on slavery, world wars, capital punishment or frontal lobotomies and ask how it was ever possible for mankind to be so short sighted and deem such activities acceptable. I just hope that by the time people finally see sense, it isn’t too late, the damage isn’t irreversible and we aren’t faced with the extinction of sharks.

I could preach all day about why needlessly killing them is so inhumane and wrong and why we need to save sharks and how valuable they are as apex predators which control equilibrium in the ecosystem, but instead I will share some facts, courtesy of Project Aware.

Nearly one out of four shark and ray species is classified by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) as Threatened with extinction. That doesn’t even include almost half of all sharks and ray species whose population status cannot be assessed because of lack of information.

Why do we worry about shark populations? A healthy and abundant ocean depends on predators like sharks keeping ecosystems balanced. And living sharks fuel local economies in some places, like Palau where sharks bring in an estimated $18 million per year through dive tourism.

They may rule the ocean, but sharks are vulnerable. They grow slowly, produce few young, and, as such, are exceptionally susceptible to overexploitation.

Overfishing is driving sharks to the brink - with many populations down by 80 percent. Tens of millions are killed each year for their meat, fins, liver, and other products.

Bycatch– or catching sharks incidentally while fishing for other commercial species – poses a significant threat to sharks. At the same time, new markets for shark products are blurring the line between targeted and accidental catches.

Finning– Shark fins usually fetch a much higher price than shark meat, providing an economic incentive for the wasteful and indefensible practice of “finning” (removing shark fins and discarding the often still alive shark at sea).  Finning is often associated with shark overfishing, especially as keeping only the fins allows fishermen to kill many more sharks in a trip than if they were required to bring back the entire animal.

Shark fishing continues largely unregulated in most of world’s ocean. Yet the future of sharks hinges on holding shark fishing and trade to sustainable levels. The best way to ensure an end to finning is to require that sharks are landed with their fins still “naturally” attached. Fishing limits must be guided by science and reflect a precautionary approach while trade must be controlled and monitored. We must also invest in shark research and catch reporting, and protect vital shark habitats. And last, but most definitely not least, if you choose to eat seafood, refrain from a purchase unless you can be certain that it's coming from a sustainable source.