The Plight Of The Shark

Its interesting how terrified people are of sharks. When, interesting enough, we don’t stop and think of how terrified the sharks are of us. Why can we say so? Conversely, the shark is under attack by man. Each year 100 million sharks are being caught. They are so many that if we put each one from nose to tail, they can circle the earth 5 times! Its not just their death rates that is scary, but its their low birth rates, slowness in maturing, and long gestation as well. Let us not forget the pollution of their nursery grounds. All this adds to the sharks rapidly declining population. Once depleted, it would take years for it to replace itself. The majority of sharks are captured for their fins, which are highly prized by some Asians for their supposed medicinal and aphrodisiac properties. Shark-fin soup is an expensive delicacy that can cost up to $150 a bowl! Supply the lucrative Asian market has led to the cruel and wasteful practice of “fining”- slicing off fins of a life shark and throwing it back into the ocean to die of starvation or drowning. Shark fishing is unregulated in many countries. But, because the government has considered this problem as a major issue, they decided to take some action. So, after a ten year debate, Mexico, a major shark-fishing nation, where over 30,000 tons a year are harvested, recently passed a law prohibiting shark fishing. In other countries it has been banned. Still, some people keep murdering these amazing animals. Organizations have asked the government for more to be done, as far as laws go. This amazing, sea monster will not be here for the next generation if we don’t do anything about it. Please, I beg to stop the murder of sharks.