New Hope in the Battle Against Shark Finning

     In China, a bowl of shark fin soup can sell for over $100 and it is used to show respect to a guest. Because of the high demand for this delicacy many shark populations have become decimated and many species have become endangered. For example, in the last 25 years the population of the hammer head shark in the west Atlantic ocean has decreased by 89%. This number is shocking and unacceptable to me. I think that the companies and fishermen who fin sharks should stop their highly destructive method of fishing and the sell of shark fins should be banned or highly limited. According to an article by the New York Times online, many new laws are being put into place to stop shark finning and help control shark population numbers. These actions include banning the sale of shark fins in Hawaii, Oregon, Washington and some parts of Canada. I see this as a huge step froward and a glimmer of hope for the decimated shark populations.
      Even in countries with a high demand for shark fin soup people are taking action to save sharks, an essential part of the marine ecosystem and a beautiful and intelligent predator. In China, retired basketball super star Yao Ming has taken a stand against shark finning in campaigns and ads. The conservation group WildAid has also taken a stand to help end shark finning. Because of these recent efforts sales have been reduces in Singapore and Taiwan and the Chinese version of Ebay, called Ali Baba, will no longer allow for the sale of shark fins on their website. This is a great thing and it shows that shark finning can be reduced. The more people are informed about the problem and realize the consequences the more shark finning can be reduced.
 
     Commercial made by WildAid and Yao Ming


      However we still need more companies and organizations to push fir saving the sharks! Which can be a difficult task given their antagonistic image. In the article Marine ecologist John Bruno points out “These bans go part way, but you’re still allowed to fish sharks without a permit. In North Carolina, there are shark derbies for fun, where they are hung by their tails. We think it’s O.K. to do that with this ocean predator, but we wouldn’t dream of doing it to a terrestrial animal like a bear.” My hope is that people will learn to love and respect sharks and help stop the massive slaughter of sharks for soup.

 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/11/science/earth/11shark.html?_r=1

Ban Shark Finning

Shark. Just the word strikes up fear inside of many people. We think of Jaws and horrifying attack stories. But when I hear the word "shark" I think of a magnificent, infatuating, apex predator. Sharks are not mindless killing machines, Southcoast Style points out that people have a 1 in 63 chance of dying from the flu compared to a 1 in 11 million chance of being killed by a shark.They also reveal that "Over 17,000 people die from falls each year. That’s a 1 in 218 chance over your lifetime, compared to a 1 in 11 million chance of being killed by a shark." Sharks are not out to get humans and humans are not an appealing meal to sharks. As my oceanography teacher pointed out to me, humans are too bony and it takes too much energy to dine on a human. I hope I can show you why shark finning should be stopped and laws should be put into place controlling the practice. 

flickr.com from StormyDog

Shark finning is the practice of cutting off a shark's fins and then throwing the sharks body back into the water. These sharks are then eaten by other fish or drown because oxygen is not flowing over their gills (sharks must be in motion constantly).The rest of the shark's body is practically useless in the market because shark meat is not in high demand where as shark finning is a multi-billion dollar industry. Most of these sharks are caught by longline fishing which is a very effect method of catching sharks that is causing drastic species number drops due to overfishing. So why cut off a shark's fin? For shark fin soup, a delicacy in many Asian cultures. Since the advent of new and improved fishing techniques shark finning has only increased. This is a practice that must be stopped because sharks are vital to the ecosystem and because it is simply inhumane.It is shocking to me that people can cut off all of a living creature's fins and then throw it back into the ocean for dead. This is having a huge impact on sharks species numbers and experts have estimated that most species of sharks will be lost within a decade if the practice of longline shark fishing is continued. This fact was the most shocking to me: For every human that is killed by a shark humans kill about 2 million sharks. Shark finning has been banned in California and I think that it should be banned everywhere or at least controlled for a start. It could be controlled by requiring fishermen to bring the entire shark into port (then they wouldn't have room for as many) and also require them to record information about the sharks such as species and sex. Then after it is controlled it could eventually become completely banned. Shark finning is inhumane and a waste of resources and it should be stopped.

http://www.sharkwater.com/education.htm
http://southcoaststyle.co.za/shark-attack-facts-how-likely-are-you-to-get-attacked-by-a-shark

Mangroves and Shrimp Farming

photo by halseike flickr.com

Although it may seem at a glance that a mangrove forest is just a bunch of trees with crazy tangled roots mangrove forest are actually a very thriving and important marine ecosystem. The mangroves are very important because there are not many other large plants that can live in salt water. The mangroves help to prevent erosion and protect from storm winds. Mangroves are often referred to as a "nursery" because so many species of marine life chose to lay their eggs in the shelter of the mangroves inter-tangled roots. However, commercial shrimp farming is beginning to threaten this fragile environment through deforestation. This leaves many marine species without a safe place to lay their eggs or a safe shelter from large predators. According to Wikipedia about 35% of the mangrove's area has been lost in the last few decades and "The United Nations Environment Program also estimated shrimp farming causes a quarter of the destruction of mangrove forests."

This video shows the importance of mangrove forests and briefly discusses Florida's mangrove protection laws.

I think that mangroves should be protected worldwide and shrimp farming companies should replant mangroves once their shrimp farms have died off.


A lot of commercial shrimp farming happens in Latin America, Africa and Pacific islands. To put in a shrimp farm mangroves must often be destroyed. These farms can be up to 1,000 hectares in size (1 hectare=2.74 acres). However, because of the nature of shrimp farming, disease and pollution quickly wipe out large shrimp farms.Once disease has wiped out a farm the mangroves are often not replanted. This is causing a large problem within mangrove populations. As the demand for shrimp grows more mangroves are cut down and not replaced. This has huge ecological consequences from reductions in species numbers to increased erosion. All that needs to be done to start rebuilding the mangrove ecosystem is reforestation. Laws that require commercial shrimp farming agencies should be put into place in all major shrimp farming areas. Hopefully as the effects of losing mangroves become more apparent more countries will make and enforce these laws.

http://mangroveactionproject.org/issues/shrimp-farming/shrimp-farming
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangrove