Research Paper On Shark Finning

Over seventy-three million sharks are killed a year due to shark finning. Shark finning is the process of removing shark fins at sea and discarding the shark’s body into the ocean while they are still alive. Sharks are a vital component of the ecosystem where shark finning threatens the stability of the food chain. Shark finning is diminishing not only the sharks, but the quality to sustain life among the bodies of water. Putting sharks to their death is inhumane by severely disrupting or unbalancing the environment. Shark finning needs to be banned all around the world.
Globally sharks are viewed as predators to human beings. Movies produced in Hollywood, such as the Jaws series, the Sharknado series, and The Shallows, perceive sharks as killers. These movies falsely depict the nature of shark behavior, because people who want to make money encourage others to harm sharks. The team behind creating a movie does not acknowledge the issues of sharks being hunted down only for their fins and movies convince people that fewer sharks living in the world will reduce the threat that sharks pose to humans. Humans have given sharks a terrible
reputation, sharks should not be cut up for the usage of three to four percent of their body to be used in soup while the rest of the shark is discarded.
Roughly one hundred million sharks are killed annually to meet the intensifying demand of shark fin soup. This meal is considered a delicacy among many countries in Asia, especially served at weddings and New Year celebrations. Shark fin soup is not a necessity in order to survive. Shark fins are in very high demand. Fins cost one hundred dollars a pound or more. The high demand seems to continually drive up the price.
Throughout the years people have reviewed this situation and eventually a government became involved. In 2000, sharking finning was prohibited in the United States and became a federal law under the Shark Finning Prohibition Act. The Shark Conservation Act was passed in 2010 by the United States Congress to strengthen the ban on shark finning. This act prohibits any person from removing, transferring, or possessing shark fins unless attached to a carcass. (National Marine Fisheries Service) These acts have only been passed in the United States, but this situation still occurs worldwide today, especially in Asia.
In the summer of 2016, fishermen brought sharks to the surface, sliced off their fins and sent the sharks back into the water to sink and drown. Once the limit of shark fins is reached for the day, they are laid out in the sun to dry up. From there, the fins can be stored for years before boiled into soup. (Erik Vance)
As people persistently slaughter sharks for their fins, the consequence will lead to extinction. Future generations will not have the opportunity of seeing a shark in the ocean as they are on their way to becoming extinct. These animals will simply be another topic taught in school where many will not understand the impact that the sharks have had on ecology as they will no longer exist. The degradation of sharks negatively affects the ecosystem of the ocean. The declining shark population leads to an unhealthy ocean where sea life will no longer be in balance and the entire ocean will have an unbalanced food chain. Daniel Pauly a fisheries scientist interviewed by National Geographic said, “it is not enough to eliminate finning from the radar of Western organizations. It may continue under the radar until the last shark is caught.” An issue of the degradation of sharks affects the life among the ocean. The declining shark population results in an unhealthy ocean where other fish will no longer occupy the ocean because of the food chain. Sharks are at the top of the food chain in the ocean, without having sharks swim around meticulous situations will be seen noticed. Rapid growth of certain marine life will overpopulate and critically impact other animals within the ocean.
Significant changes in the ocean will negatively impact humans, because humans depend on an abundant amount of food coming from the sea. Without a healthy ocean, humans will definitely suffer.
Benefits of shark finning have been part of many cultures for thousands of years.
When shark finning first became popular, the main priority was to supply food for the family and the rest of the community. Now, shark fins are in high demand because of the unique flavor.
Soup is often served for special occasions and it is believed by many to give one virility and longer life. (Seastewards) Robert Paine who is the President of the Marine Ecology Research Society exclaimed, “The shark fin market has consequently boomed in China and Hong Kong together trading tens of thousands of tons every year, with Japan and even Spain not falling far behind.” Shark fins are one of the leading items being sold in Asian countries, and since they have been able to bolster their economies there is little incentive for them stop or limit this
practice.
Shark finning is an environmental and an economic issue that needs be addressed in order to preserve our ocean’s ecosystem. Without a healthy sea, our food supply will be threatened. Without enough food, humans will be threatened. We need to start thinking long term and determine where the ocean’s ecosystem will be in the next one hundred years if we do not change our practice of shark finning. With no change, we may be dooming human existence on earth. It can be observed in nature that animals take no more than what they need to survive. This does not seem to hold true for humans. They are greedy and take much more than they need to survive. They take everything they want and this seems to be a practice that will have to change if we do not want to destroy the earth. We can start by saving the sharks.