Vincent Bergonia

Sharks: More Than What We Think

Sharks are more than just what we see from the media - dangerous, fearless, human tearing beasts in the ocean. When in fact theyre absolutely human-friendly; this means we have no rights to blame these creatures for human deaths. With the extinction of shark species getting closer day by day, the sole flow of the ecosystem is taking a turn for the worse. These creatures deserve our attention to be protected instead of being hunted and sold to numerous amounts of people.

First and foremost, sharks contribute to the biggest role in the ecosystem of the sea. Being apex predators, the vitality of the shark being there to keep the constant flow of energy is crucially important.

(Food Web Diagram of Sharks - Aquaria KLCC) The diagram above depicts the food web of sharks. It shows how if the amount of sharks begin to decline by an incredible amount (or to the point of extinction) that there would be a conflict in the ecosystem due to more of the lower-leveled predators existing. In the case of this happening, the information shows how hunting sharks could potentially lessen the amount of fish humans consume.

Second of all, there are numerous threats that affect the abundance of sharks. The most active and the one causing the biggest impact is the finning of sharks (otherwise known as Shark Finning). The process of finning is an absolutely wasteful and barbaric-like behaviour; hunting sharks to extract their fins and throw their bodies back into the ocean. It is believed that the total amount of sharks traded around the globe is around 26 - 73 million, not including the sharks that dont end up in the trade.

(Shark Finning Infographic - Save Our Seas Foundation/SOSF) Shark Finning has already caused major damage with sharks such as the Pondicherry shark to become critically endangered, listed in the IUCNs (International Union for Conservation of Natures) red list. Last but not least, the number of species of sharks endangered and facing the edge of existence. The Angelshark, Basking shark and the Bizant River shark are just three examples of the 201 species that are endangered (according to the IUCNs Red List as of 2005). Unfortunately, were unable to calculate the exact number of sharks. However, scientists use various methods to make very close estimations, allowing us to figure out how close to extinction they are. Counting sharks individually would take too much time as their distribution is widespread. To add on, there are only a few out of the 300 species of sharks that cause any potential danger to humans.

In conclusion, there is no reason why sharks should be eliminated as they are friends to our system. The shark industry should be stopped in order to protect our precious ecosystem and potential extinction sharks. Activities such as finning should be made illegal to stop the industry from making any more money and continuing with their destructive behaviour.