ViceZilla’s Views

After my recent post about the practice of “Shark Finning”, I have received a ton of questions regarding the post. Questions ranged from, “Sharks serve absolutely no purpose to man, so why shouldn’t they be killed”? And, “what’s the concern, it’s just a shark”? And, “Why shouldn’t we kill sharks, they are ‘man-eaters’ after all”? To profound, uneducated statements like, “Sharks breed like rabbits, they’ll be fine”.

I’ll try to answer all of these questions, as well as dispel any “They’ll be fine” myths, and hopefully you will all have a better understanding of the problem we are dealing with.

Firstly let me state a fact about this piece, and my concerns about the finning of sharks.
I am not a mouthpiece for any nature conservancy group. These views and opinions are my own.

OK, with that out of the way let’s get down to facts

Firstly, let”s address “finning”.

Finning is simply just that. The shark is hauled out of the ocean, where it’s dorsal and pectoral fins are sliced off, then it’s tail is removed. The fatally wounded shark is then tossed overboard to suffer before dieing. The sole purpose of finning a shark is of course for it’s fins. Demand for shark fins comes primarily from the market for shark fin soup, a prestigious commodity in many Far Eastern cultures. Originally, shark fin soup was a delicacy reserved for those in high society. As a result shark fin soup rapidly earned a reputation as a dish for the well-to-do, a way of flaunting wealth and status. As a result, tens of thousands of new consumers have aspired to join the ranks of the elite, ordering shark fin soup whenever possible. This has led to a massive rise in demand.

A wet shark fin is less than 5% of the shark’s total weight. So you can see why it’s extremely wasteful to kill an animal for such a small part of it’s body. You can easily compare it to the murder of an elephant just for it’s tusks.

Why are just the fins kept, and not the rest of the shark?

This is easily answered with one word: Money. Shark fins are in high demand, shark meat it not. Sets of shark fins can sell for more than US$700/kg (1 kq=2.2 lbs). By comparison, shark meat typically sells for less than US$10/kg. Recently a single Whale Shark pectoral fin sold for US$15,000!

Sharks are man-eaters, so why shouldn’t we kill them?

Only seven species of shark are known to have attacked humans. These are the Bull, Tiger, Oceanic White Tip, Great White, Blue, Galapagos and Mako.

Of all reported attacks only 1% are fatal. Usually, a shark attack is the result of mistaken identity - the shark believing a swimmer, diver or surfer is natural prey, such as a turtle or seal - and that’s why, often after one bite, the victim is rejected by the shark.

For example, in 2000, there were only 23 “attacks” (with no fatalities) on the 264 million people who entered the water at 68 United States beaches monitored by the U.S. Lifesaving Association. In contrast over the same period of time there were 132 fatalities at the same beaches due to drowning or other causes.
In fact, only 7 of the 390 known shark species have been known to be involved in an “attack” on a human.

It’s not just a “shark”, and they are a vital part of the Oceans’ ecosystem.

Let’s face it; sharks have been around for a long time. They’ve survived for over 400 million years. They have evolved into a species that is at the top of the Ocean”s food chain. Their only real predator is man.

As the apex predator of the Oceans, they help maintain a healthy ecological balance.
In a recent report from Reuters, (which I posted here as well) the over fishing of sharks in the northwest Atlantic waters has led to a population explosion of rays and skates, which the sharks normally prey upon. But without the sharks present, the rays have increased in numbers and are dining on bay scallops, which in turn is dooming the North Carolina bay scallop fishery.

Another example of this “domino effect” on our Ocean’s was a study conducted by Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of San Diego and the Integrative Ecology Group in Seville, Spain, studied intricate predator-prey interactions as part of a detailed food web. It proved that the removal of sharks from the food network caused a domino effect of changes that altered the balance in the reef eco-system.
Without sharks, its carnivorous prey including fish likes groupers, increased in numbers. The exaggerated numbers of these fish in turn hunted on algae eating fish species such as parrotfish. The decline in algae eating fish species resulted in a massive proliferation of algae that transformed the identity of the reef.
In another example marine biologists used complex computer programs to predict the consequences of the removal of the tiger shark from the Hawaiian Reefs they witnessed the increase in the number of reef sharks, turtles, bottom fish and seabirds.
What they didn’t expect to see was the ‘total and rapid crash in the abundance of tuna and jacks’. This was explained by the proliferation of seabirds - prey to the tiger shark - but predator to the tuna and jacks.

And finally, lets address the “they breed like rabbits” myth.
No, sharks do not breed like rabbits. On average, a shark has one or two offspring. The average length of pregnancy is between 9-12 months. Sharks do not breed every year. The biggest problem is that young sharks take an average of 15-20 years to mature before they are ready to produce. The startling number in all of this is that by the time you have read this post, over 25 million sharks have been destroyed since the start of 2007!

That”s over 100 million sharks a year! With such slow reproduction rates, and heavy “finning” pressure from us humans, is it any wonder why shark populations are being decimated?

The answer is simple. Send a message with your wallet, by keeping it closed! The only way to stop the senseless slaughter of these animals for their fins is don’t buy the product. It’s that simple.
Now granted over here in North America, Shark Fin Soup is hardly a best seller at your local fine restaurant. But hopefully, as the education process spreads, people in the countries who view it as a delicacy will come to realize that their “status symbol” soup is not worth the toll it’s having on our Oceans. It really isn’t.

For more information, please visit these sites (or spend some time with Google). And come to your own conclusion.

bite-back.com
sharks.org
sharktrust.org
sharkalliance.org
stopsharkfinning.net
sharkwater.com

Tags: Stop the Finning! //