911! SAVE OUR SHARKS

UW360 Posted On September 1, 2024

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Text and images by Annie Crawley

Sharks are still being decimated on an industrial scale, and we must redouble our efforts to stop the killing

Sharks have been the top predators since before dinosaurs roamed the Earth. Unfortunately, people are killing sharks at an alarming, unsustainable rate. We must rise together against the slaughter of these animals and crush the myths surrounding them. We are sounding the alarm around the world with a 9-1-1 emergency call for sharks and rays. To kick off the campaign, here are nine important facts everyone should know.

Shark fins for sale at a traditional Chinese medicine shop in Hong Kong, China.

9 ALARMING FACTS

In less than 50 years, people have fished more than 70 percent of all oceanic shark and ray species from our world’s oceans. Their slow reproduction rates make them even more vulnerable to extinction. Many species are on the brink of extinction.
Selling shark fins and meat around the world is a multi-billion dollar industry.
Hong Kong is the top importer and exporter of shark fins, supplying mainland China, Malaysia, Singapore and others. Singapore is the world’s second-largest importer and exporter of shark fins. While the trade is legal, many endangered species illegally pass through its borders.
Sharks have been apex predators in the ocean for more than 450 million years. Sharks maintain the balance of our ocean’s ecosystems, keeping prey populations in check. Unfortunately, they have been heavily overfished.
As a top predator, sharks often have higher levels of mercury, PCBs, DDT, arsenic, lead and other toxins. People that consume sharks may experience headaches, tremors, birth defects, memory problems, damage to the central nervous system, cancer, brain damage, lung damage, stroke, heart attack or death.
Fisheries deliberately and vaguely mislabel seafood, so many imports and exports labelled as seafood are really often endangered sharks and rays. We know this from DNA barcoding.
Even if you don’t eat seafood, you might still be part of the shark decline. Many brands of sunscreens, anti-aging creams, lotions, hair care products, deodorants, makeup, lip balms, facial cleansers, pills and supplements contain squalene or shark liver oil.
Sharks don’t have swim bladders to aid their buoyancy. Their large, oily livers do that for them and can make up to 25 percent of their body weight. In general, deep sea sharks have a higher content of squalene.
Live sharks and rays are worth far more money than dead on a plate or in a bowl. Sharks are crucial to healthy ocean ecosystems, while shark ecotourism makes big contributions to local economies.

A live shark is worth so much more than a dead one.

1 CRUCIAL MOVEMENT

We do not have 50 years to act and reverse the damage people have caused to the declining populations of sharks and rays. We must act now, uniting as one voice. Public awareness drives corporate and policy change.