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Bhavya Puri

Shark fin soup alters an ecosystem - CNN - 0 views

articles.cnn.com/...shark-populations-top-predator

finning shark ecosystem soup fin

shared by Bhavya Puri on 15 Nov 10 - No Cached
  • There is however, a creature far more predacious than the shark: Humans.
  • Yet, in a relatively short period of time, humans and their technological arsenal have driven most shark populations to the verge of extinction.
  • These are ecosystems that have evolved over millions and millions of years," said Knights. "As soon as you start to take out an important part of it, it's like a brick wall, you take out bricks [and] eventually it's going to collapse."
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • What is rarely reported is that worldwide, sharks kill an average of 10 people every year. It's usually when people venture into a shark's habitat and not the other way around. By contrast, humans kill around 100 million sharks every year - a number that has ballooned in recent years because of the enormous demand for shark fins to make shark fin soup.
  • Shark fin soup is a delicacy reserved for the wealthy on special occasions and it has been part of Chinese culture for centuries. For years, only rich Chinese mostly in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore consumed it, so the impact on the overall shark population was negligible
  • Over the last decade, the exploding middle class in China has changed the fate of the shark.
Bhavya Puri

Shark fin soup alters an ecosystem - Page 3 - CNN - 0 views

articles.cnn.com/...3

soup ecosystem sharks humane shark

shared by Bhavya Puri on 15 Nov 10 - No Cached
  • Located 300 miles off the coast of Costa Rica, the only way to get to this uninhabited islet in the eastern Pacific is by boat. Cocos Island, recently declared a national park, is a nearly pristine and richly preserved ecosystem where thousands of sharks have roamed for centuries. Scientists think there are more sharks there than any other place on Earth
  • "Can you imagine if it was Yellowstone Park and people were shooting up grizzlies? No one would ever get away with it. But this ocean, because it's out of sight, out of mind, [shark finning] carries on," said Knights.
Bhavya Puri

Shark fin soup alters an ecosystem - Page 2 - CNN - 0 views

articles.cnn.com/...2

ecosystem soup fin shark finning

shared by Bhavya Puri on 15 Nov 10 - No Cached
  • Shark finning is not illegal. Taiwan has no law against fins taken from international waters coming into its ports. However, Taiwan does have what it calls a "plan of action" that requires the bodies of the sharks the fins came from to be accounted for and not dumped into the sea.
  • but identifying them and monitoring them and having a regulated fishery is virtually impossible."
  • Taiwan is not alone. Shark finning thrives off weak regulations around the world and only a few countries demand that sharks arrive in port with fins attached.
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  • The fin is one of the most expensive pound-for-pound item from the sea. And the beauty about the fin is that it's very compact ... it doesn't take up your hull and you can make a lot of money from it,"
  • ins can sell for $500 per pound, according to WildAid, which is campaigning for a global ban on shark finning.In recent years, Cocos Island has become another battleground in the fight to save the shark. Ads by GoogleShark Breaching and DivesGreat White Shark Breaching and Cage Diving Trips Gansbaai www.sharkdivingunlimited.com<<<123>>> We recommend You might like: Push begins to halt Pacific shark finning - CNN CNN.comSharks endangered by a bowl of soup CNN OpinionShark researchers study oil impact CNN USMan saves Australian woman during shark attack CNN World onmousedo
Bhavya Puri

Sharks are more important to us alive - 0 views

www.sharksavers.org/...sharks-are-important.html

shared by Bhavya Puri on 18 Nov 10 - No Cached
  • The fact is only 5 people in the entire world will die from a shark wound in an average year, whereas many millions of people swim in the oceans where sharks live. Can you think of any way to die that is as rare than that? Death from bicycle accidents, dog bites, snake bites, or other accidents are many times more common.
  • They tend to eat very efficiently, going after the old, sick, or slower fish in a population that they prey upon, keeping that population healthier. Sharks groom many populations of marine life to the right size so that those prey species don’t cause harm to the ecosystem by becoming too populous.
  • Of the 14 species of marine life that those sharks used to eat, 12 became more plentiful and caused great damage to the ecosystem.
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  • But, people like bay scallops, too! The scallop fishery, which had been thriving for over 100 years, was virtually gone, with scallop catch dropping to only 13% of its high point2. And, scallops were also no longer there to perform their function of filtering and cleaning the ocean water.
  • Life within the oceans, covering 2/3rds of our planet, has enjoyed a relationship with sharks for about 450 million years.
  • They may be all gone within only 10 or 20 years.
Bhavya Puri

Sharks : Humane Society International - 0 views

www.hsi.org/sharks

ecosystem soup sharks humane shark

shared by Bhavya Puri on 15 Nov 10 - No Cached
  • Though considered the great predators of the sea, the hundreds of species of sharks have more to fear from mankind than vice versa. Vital to healthy oceans, these animals are being overfished. Demand for shark fin soup, a delicacy in Asia, is one reason for the killing. Fins are severed from live sharks for trade.
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