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Home/ 10th Grade Research Project 2010/ Contents contributed and discussions participated by Bhavya Puri

Contents contributed and discussions participated by Bhavya Puri

Bhavya Puri

Top 10 Predators: Creature Countdowns: Animal Planet - 0 views

  • This animal is No. 1 on our countdown for its remarkable predatory abilities. With its streamlined body and strong jaws, the great white is a powerful animal: a fast swimmer and an agile aquatic acrobat able to leap high out of the water to surprise its prey. The great white shark also has multiple rows of sharp serrated teeth, each being replaced as soon as one is lost.
Bhavya Puri

Sharks are more important to us alive - 0 views

  • 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

What Are Shark Fins Used for? | eHow.com - 0 views

  • In Mexico, the use of shark fin is widely accepted as an alternative medicine for prostate cancer,
  • The Chinese use shark fin as a type of health tonic comparable to the consumption of chicken soup
  • high levels of mercury that are often found in shark meat can actually cause infertility,
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  • main ingredient in a delicacy that has been consumed in China since 960 A.D.
  • status symbol than a gastronomic delight
Bhavya Puri

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

  • 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

Sharks : Humane Society International - 0 views

  • 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.
Bhavya Puri

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

  • 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

Shark fin soup alters an ecosystem - CNN - 0 views

  • 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."
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  • 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: Trade and Environment Database (TED) - 0 views

  • Because of demand for shark meat and for fins used in shark's fin soup, shark have come under heavy pressure from harvesters in North American waters.
  • Many sharks are now being killed. The meat of the shark itself, which can be expensive, is not the part of the animal with the greatest economic value. Half of the shark's value is in the fins which are largely sent to Asia to make shark-fin soup.
  • Shark cartilige, thought to cure cancer, has led to a boom in poruidct sales.
Bhavya Puri

IUCN - Sir Peter Scott Fund project: Shark meat trade, West Africa - 0 views

  • Shark-finning in West Africa is an unsustainable fishing practice that is endangering local shark populations. Certain species no longer exist in areas of their former range whilst others have entirely disappeared from the sub-region.
  • Industrial and small scale fisheries in West Africa have increased their fishing efforts to meet the demands for this product in Asian markets, whilst shark meat is also bought locally. 
Bhavya Puri

Boycott these Chinese Restaurants - 0 views

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    Avoid these restaurants - they sell shark fin soup
Bhavya Puri

Shark Fin Soup - 0 views

  • It has a very high level of mercury and the United States Environmental protection agency advises women and young children to stay clear of it. Click here to see the levels of mercury found in shark compared to other fish.
  • 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. This equates to an immense number of sharks being taken from the ocean.
  • harks take anything from 7 to over 20 years to reach maturity, meaning that it takes populations a long time to recover; the current demand for their fins makes it impossible for populations to return to previous levels.
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    It has a very high level of mercury and the United States Environmental protection agency advises women and young children to stay clear of it.
Bhavya Puri

38 Million Sharks Killed for Fins Annually, Experts Estimate - 0 views

  • Demand for that crucial ingredient has led to the killing of a median of about 38 million sharks a year, according to a new study that offers what may be the first reliable estimates of the number of sharks killed for their fins.
  • Some conservationists, however, put the number at closer to a hundred million
  • To make matters murkier, most fisheries-management groups give little attention to sharks, because they are often considered bycatch—fish caught by accident—given their low value per pound.
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    Nicholas Bakalar
Bhavya Puri

Shark Fin Soup Facts - 0 views

  • But we’re not paying enough attention to what we are taking out of our oceans – sharks – and they’re being killed at the rate of up to 73 million per year.
  • You may not really care much about sharks but our oceans account for about half of the planet’s oxygen supply and sharks play a key role in maintaining the health of the oceans.
  • 73 million sharks a year are being served up to make celebration soup.
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  • If you feel this way, you’re not alone, but it might surprise you to know that although there are more than 350 distinct species of sharks, only a few even bother with humans. The giant Whale Shark doesn’t even have teeth.
  • As of late 2009, the world’s population of sharks had already diminished by 50 to 75%.
  • A North Atlantic population survey reports as much as an 89% decrease.
  • show that for the 181 species of sharks for which they have adequate data, over 64% of those populations are noted as “threatened” or “vulnerable”. Of those, over 21% are categorized as “endangered” or worse. At least one species is already listed as “extinct in the wild.”
  • Sharks are pulled onto fishing boats where their fins are cut off and their bodies are thrown back into the ocean as waste. A large percentage of these animals are still alive and suffocate. Even though less than 5% of the shark is fin, the rest is usually thrown away because of the economics of it. Shark meat must be properly refrigerated and takes up a lot of space on a boat. Fins, however, can be cut off, bundled, and hung to dry in large nets. It is the fin that produces the largest profit by far and can be sold for hundreds of dollars per pound.
Bhavya Puri

Shark Education - Shark Finning Facts - 0 views

  • Education
  • Shark specialists estimate that 100 million sharks are killed for their fins, annually.
  • One pound of dried shark fin can retail for $300 or more. It's a multi-billion dollar industry
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  • Loss and devastation of shark populations around the world. Experts estimate that within a decade, most species of sharks will be lost because of longlining.
  • Unsustainable fishery. The massive quantity of sharks harvested and lack of selection deplete shark populations faster than their reproductive abilities can replenish populations.
  • Each country with a coastline is responsible for laws and regulations pertaining to fishing in their waters.
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    Talks about why Shark Finning is bad and a bit about shark finning
Bhavya Puri

STOP SHARK FINNING - 0 views

  • Since the 1970s the populations of several species have been decimated by over 95%
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    Why shark finning is bad and a bit more about Shark fin soup
Bhavya Puri

STOP SHARK FINNING - 0 views

  • Shark finning is the practice of slicing off the shark's fins while the shark is still alive and throwing the rest of its body back into the ocean where it can take days to die what must be an agonising death.
  • Shark fin soup, which can easily cost $100 a bowl, is often served at wedding celebrations so that the hosts can impress their guests with their affluence. Because there is such a high demand for shark fins, traders can make a lot of money from shark fin, but it is the restaurant owners who really "make a killing" in this foul trade.
  • 3 sharks are being killed every second so people can use their fins to make shark fin soup.
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  • Tens of millions of sharks are slaughtered every year to satisfy the demand for shark fin soup; at least 8,000 tonnes of shark fins are shipped to restaurants around the world.
  • Shark populations take a long time to recover as they can take over seven years to reach maturity and they only raise one or two pups a year. Twenty species of sharks are listed as endangered by the World Conservation Union (IUCN).
    • Bhavya Puri
       
      Good Statistics of amount of shark species that are currently vulnerable/endangered
  • In a few years many species of shark could become extinct if action is not taken immediately. Populations of many shark species have fallen by over 90%. 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%.
  • once they are gone, all hell will break loose. For example along the US East Coast where large sharks such as black tip and tiger sharks have been virtually elimated, there have been declines in shellfish numbers and a reduction in water quality (shellfish filter sea water).
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