Sharks aren’t our enemies

Not everybody will like you and you can never please everyone.

Sharks (and dolphins) will surely find this statement true. Sharks have survived for 450 million years. Human beings have been treating sharks as either predators or money makers for centuries. We have this assumption that they like killing human beings but actually people get killed by car accidents more often than by sharks. Drivers, aka human beings, are far more dangerous and vicious. Fishermen see shark fins as free resources from the ocean that will never deplete. Any shark is taken regardless of age, size or species. They capture the sharks, cut off their fins and toss them back into the water. This is commonly known as shark finning. The sharks are still alive but because they cannot swim anymore, they sink to the bottom of the ocean where they will be eaten alive by other fish or left to die slowly.

Shark finning has increased over the last few centuries due to the increasing demand for shark fins for shark fin soup, supplements and other traditional cures. Shark specialists estimate that 100 million sharks are killed for their fins every year. One pound of dried shark fin can be as expensive as US$300 or more. Where does the demand come from? Unfortunately and sadly, most demand comes from this part of the world, especially where Chinese populations are. Hong Kong is the world’s largest trading centre of shark fins, accounting for 50-80% of the global trade, according to WWF Hong Kong. Shark fins have absolutely no taste but Chinese use it in banquets and important meals thinking that it is a symbol of status and wealth.

You may ask, why does it matter and who cares? Here’s why.

• Most species of sharks will be lost because of longlining. It negatively affects collection of data for marine research.
• Shark finning threatens the stability of marine ecosystems.
• Shark finning also threatens traditional sustainable fisheries because local waters are invaded by large, foreign fishing vessels.
• Shark finning violates the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and is contrary to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s International Plan for the Conservation and Management of Sharks.
• Cutting a body part off of any fish, mammal or animal and leaving it to die is inhumane and totally unnecessary.

If you are not convinced yet, watch SharkWater, an award-winning documentary that features Rob Stewart exposing the exploitation and corruption surrounding the world’s shark populations in the marine reserves of Cocos Island, Costa Rica and the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. Stewart teams up with renegade conservationist Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society to battle against shark poachers in Guatemala, resulting in pirate boat rammings, gunboat chases, mafia espionage, corrupt court systems and attempted murder charges, forcing them to flee for their lives.

Sharks aren’t our enemies. They need our help. If you are a consumer, stop eating shark fins; if you are a restaurant owner, join WWF for the shark fin ban; if you are a warrior, join or donate to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and other non-profit organizations to help stop longlining and corruption.