Apex predator to Soup
The waters around the UK are regularly visited by up to twenty one different species of Shark throughout the year.
The Supreme Apex Predator:
Sharks have been around for over three hundred million years; The modern shark are highly evolved and have been unchanged for over one hundred million years. Human beings on the other hand have been around for little over one hundred thousand years and we are still evolving. Sharks are fish, and have little or no bone what-so-ever. Their skeleton consists of cartilage, similar to the top part of the human ear or nose.
There are over three hundred and sixty different kind of sharks, (not including Rays, Skates and Chimaeras which are a relative, being cartilaginous fish). One of the smallest being the Pygmy shark which is no more than 20 centimetres in length to the largest fish in the world the Whale-shark, which can reach staggering 12 metres; a fact made even more incredible when you remember that tiny plankton are its staple diet.
The general public have a fear and usually a total misconception about these amazing fish due largely to false press reports, Hollywood images, books and hear-say.
Perspective:
In fact 80% of sharks are totally harmless less than a metre in length and eat small fishes, crustaceans and invertebrates. A Shark will only attack if threatened or hungry. Humans are not on the menu unless we are mistaken for their natural food in murky water or on the surface where the Shark can only see shadows.
Globally there are about seventy reported shark attacks a year with about five or six being fatal but almost 200 people each year die from being struck by lightning; 600 people a year just falling out of bed; 2,800 from choking and 40,000 from snake bites. In fact you are more likely to suffer fatal injury from a bee sting.!
Quite possibly this unfounded information has contributed to the almost total annihilation of many species of Shark. It is estimated that around 70 million sharks are captured and killed annually, Not just for food (including shark fin soup) but as by-catch by fishermen trawling for other fish or trapped in tuna nets.
Shark fin soup:
One of the main reasons Sharks populations have been decimated in recent years is the appetite for the Chinese delicacy Shark Fin Soup. This dish is seen as a status symbol by rich Chinese and as China grows economically, the lust to prove one’s riches grows.
This trend has seen an ever increasing decline in Shark stocks.
Shark Fin Soup is considered beneficial to the health in many Asian countries. Also it is believed to prevent cancer, and be an aphrodisiac, although there is no scientific proof of these claims.
The way the sharks are captured and have their fins removed with a red hot blade and then thrown back into the sea, still alive, but unable to move and subsequently suffer an awful death, has had many claiming that this practice is unlawful and barbaric.
Shark fins may be sold for anything up to $500.
Impact:
Sharks are extremely vulnerable to over fishing due the fact they can take up to and over seven years to reach sexual maturity and do not give birth to hundreds of offspring like most other fish do.
Many species are now threatened and some are on the Global ICUN Red List, they include; The Blue Shark, Long Fin Mako, Great White Shark, Salmon Shark, Megamouth, Big eyed Sand-tiger and Crocodile Shark. Other sharks which find themselves on the endangered list are The Short Fin Mako, Thresher, Porbeagle and Silky shark are also in a real danger of extinction.
Adapted from : ArticlesBase.com – The Myths of the Shark!
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