Global warming and overfishing threaten to deplete shark populations worldwide.
Adding to the extinction list of pink-bellied dolphins and various flora is the shark. The lion of the sea. Monster, majestic, epitomized in Jaws as an almost unstoppable force, these pop culture finned fishies are in imminent danger of mass extinction. 50%- and that’s just the major species.
The forerunners are in danger: Great Whites, supposed man-killers; great-but-gentle Whale Sharks; seemingly mischievous Mako Sharks; oddly named Nurse Sharks; kites; Manta rays, and the great giant devilrays. Cartilaginous creatures are in for a shock.
Exposed to the mass media with numerous shark movies, these underwater torpedoes once incited the fear of generations. Water became its battleground, and news of shark bites, and deaths, were killed for beachside hotels and sandy spots. But even these supposed killers are being slaughtered, with carelessly tossed nets, global pollution, and increasing water temperatures.
Increased fishing in deep-water zones and further offshore net-tossing now intrude on the what were havens for sharks. But nets often tangle up the sharp-toothed critters, resulting in injuries. Stories of fishers reeling in sharks, cutting of their fins for soup, and kicking them back into the water ring too true nowadays. Shark fin soup often condemns a shark to death.
Rising temperatures not only threaten their food supply, but the ability to circulate blood efficiently. As sharks are exothermic, or unable to produce body heat, slight alterations in degrees can effectively cripple, if not eradicate, entire species.
Ignoring shark deaths caused by boats and forced poor diet (yarns of sharks swallowing tires, metal, and license plates are common), sharks are hunted for sport and decoration. Like hunters who used to enjoy the “thirst of the hunt”, taking down a Great White is the equivalent of spearing the Caledonian boar. What’s even more inexcusable is the hunting of sharks for their teeth, for display as gaudy furniture with no meaning but aesthetics. At least gamers derive pleasure from their sport- affluent elitists whom hang shark teeth on walls only further tales of ostentation and excess.
Talk of “minimizing incidental bycatching of sharks and rays, establishing and enforcing science-based catch limits for sharks and rays, while improving controlled monitoring systems certainly sound nice. But with the world already stressing over food shortages, disasters, international economy and civil rights in countries across the globe, hell, the shark’ll be lucky to even reach the World’s Top 100 Problems list.
Good luck, Jaws.
