Did you know that sharks kill about 12 people per year, while humans kill 11,417 sharks per hour? Much of the slaughtering is because of shark finning. Humans are the real killers between the two. Many sharks actually think that a human on a surfboard is an injured seal, which is their favorite snack. Do you ever wonder why many shark attacks occur with only an arm or leg missing from the person? This is because sharks do not prefer the taste of humans; therefore, they do not come back to eat the rest of the humans once they discovered they didn’t taste like a seal. A majority of the people that die from shark attacks, die from the loss of blood. Shark finning is when a person slices off the shark’s fin while the shark is still alive. Then, they throw the body back into the ocean where it can take up to a full day to die. The equivalent of a fin on a human would be a human’s arms. Imagine if somebody ganged up on you in an alley, cut off both your arms, then left you there for a day until you bled out, and no one could help you. This is a similar pain of what the sharks feel. People need to be more aware of the slaughtering and abuse that is going on in the world, and they should not shield others from the disturbing truth that humans are the real killers of the world.
The shark population is dropping significantly. According to http://www.stopsharkfinning.net , “Since 1972 the number of blacktip sharks has fallen by 93%, tiger sharks by 97% and bull sharks, dusky sharks and smooth hammerheads by 99%.” Those 5 species of sharks are only a few of many species that are quickly depleting in numbers. Sharks have been around for over 450 million years that scientists know of, but they could be gone within a few decades.
Wait, so why does shark population matter for humans? Shark population is extremely important for humans and animals. Without sharks, the entire ocean’s ecosystem would be a disaster! One of the many reasons that Seaworld and Busch Gardens Camp taught, is that sharks tend to eat efficiently and go after the sick, weak, and older prey. By eliminating the sick animals and fish, the ocean’s ecosystem can remain healthy. The ocean has an intricate web of a food chain, and removing the top predator of that web causes the whole structure to collapse. The populations of seals and many more animals would skyrocket! They would eventually eat all the fish, which would then jeopardize the animals that the fish clean, plants, other organisms, and more. Humans need the ocean to be healthy for a food source, to be able to swim and surf or for other recreational purposes, to obtain water that we filter to drink, and many more reasons. The ocean covers ⅔ of the Earth, and humans shouldn’t disrupt the balance of over half the planet. People that fin sharks and leave them there to die are digging a deep hole that could end up jeopardizing every species on Earth and turning the ocean into a complete wasteland.
A small act that everybody can do is to stop eating at places that have shark fin soup. If a person feels strongly enough about shark finning, they could even stop eating seafood altogether. www.stopsharkfinning.net said, “A survey in 2006 by Wild Aid and the Chinese Wildlife Association showed that 35% of participants had consumed shark fin soup in the previous year.” Contact the manager of the restaurant and show them other alternatives they could have instead of soup containing the cruel use of finning sharks. Make sure the manager knows the reason behind your choice to not eat there. Clearly state that as long as there is shark fin soup, you and other people you know will not eat there because of it. If enough people would do this small act, it would definitely gain the manager’s attention, change the menu, and save thousands of sharks by the hour.
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