What is Shark Finning?
Shark Finning is the practice of catching a shark, bringing it on board a boat, cutting its fins off while it is still alive, and then throwing it back into the ocean. The shark will then sink to the bottom of the ocean and bleed out., because without the fin it is unable to swim.
This is a wasteful, inhumane practice that is done just to satisfy the demand for shark fins, which is usually only $300 per pound. The meat itself is far less valuable, so more fishermen toss it overboard to create more space for the fins. If something is extremely necessary for our bodies or at least useful, there is usually a high demand, but that is not the case for shark fins. Shark fins have absolutely no nutritional value and are utterly tasteless.This want over need demand is wiping out the shark populations.
Besides having no nutritional value, shark fins can lead to mercury poisoning and have even been linked to Alzheimer's disease.
Other things to watch out for that come from our Sharks.
- shark fins for a bowl of soup
- shark teeth for jewelry
- shark jaws for tourist souvenirs
- shark skin for leather wallets/belts
- shark cartilage capsules and powders for phony medicinal cures
- shark liver oil for cosmetics/skin care products
Shark Finning is a huge threat!
Shark finning is accountable for killing between 88 million to 100 million sharks each year. The exact number will forever be unknown because Shark Finning is illegal in some places and so those hauls aren't accurately counted. Sharks reproduce and mature slowly due to being on top of the food chain, so that means that death rate is currently way higher than the birth rate. For more information on the food chains, and what would happen if sharks were not a part of it, click here.
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