Sharks existed long before dinosaurs lived. Sharks are fish, not mammals like whales and dolphins are, but unlike most fish, sharks don’t have any bones. Instead, their skeletons are made of cartilage, which is not hard or brittle as bones. Another interesting fact about sharks is that they cannot swim backwards. Some kinds of sharks are only a few inches long, about the size of a person’s hand. Certain sharks, however, can grow to be bigger than a school bus! Some species, such as the great white shark, are well known through movies, books, television documentaries, etc. And are considered pretty scary by most people. Shark’s huge mouth and sharp, pointy teeth make them dangerous opponents. Fear, however, hasn’t stop people from hunting sharks. Many products are made from sharks, using their meet, skin, oil, teeth and jaws. Their fins are also considered a delicacy, and are served up in such dishes as shark’s fin soup. Fishermen have been known to cut of only the fins of sharks and then throw the rest back into the water to die. Many scientists agree that humans are greater threats to sharks than sharks are to humans.
Sharks have far more reason to fear humans than the other way around. Every year, people kill more than 100 million sharks (www.findarticle.com/p/), primarily as a result of huge industrial fishing operations that are devastating our oceans. Over fishing and "by catch" (accidental catch in fishing gear) are threatening the very existence of sharks in all our oceans. This fishing pressure is exacerbated by a growing demand for shark fins, skin (leather), meat, cartilage and oil that is driving ever-higher harvest levels for many large sharks, including Angel Sharks, Lemon Sharks, Blue Sharks, and gentle giants like the Whale and Basking sharks. Over hundreds of millions of years, these awesome creatures have evolved into the top predators in an array of marine environments and play an irreplaceable role in them. The huge numbers of sharks killed each year are especially alarming because many shark species grow and reproduce very slowly, making it difficult for populations to bounce back easily from large decline.
The reason for which the great white sharks are hunted is first, for the trade of their valuable jaws and the fins, which are popular for making appetizing soup, which fetch lot of money. The fins of the white sharks are amputated and the remaining body is dumped into the ocean. The fins are cut when the shark is alive and this represent one of the man’s cruel nature. Second is breeding, according to (www.Grayreef.noaa.gov) sharks have very slow reproduction rate and that’s mean they are facing huge risk by hunting them. Third reason is the increase of human population, which is dramatically, decreased the shark’s food. People nowadays using the sources unsustainably, and that means catching tons of fishes and shrimps, so what did we leave for the sharks to survive? We have to start doing several things to save the sharks in Florida like, making strict laws and enforcing them, huge fine, increasing the tax on the shrimps and the seafood companies as well as more research programs.
These sharks mainly feed on other whales and if these white sharks get extinct which are at the top of food chain, then this could be devastating effect on the ocean’s ecosystem. Its the time of exigency to protect great white shark because the name of this species is listed in 2000 ICUN World Conservation Union Red list of threatened species (www.caske2000.org). Animals too have rights and this has to be realized especially in the light of the fact that human existence is a part and parcel of nature, which is the ultimate controlling force. Men may have gained independence to support themselves but ecology still demands a harmonious relation between the animal Kingdom and human existence to sustain its balance; Man does not have any right to perturb the ecosystem of animals. Slow Breeding of these white sharks is another reason besides hunting. “Female White Sharks appear to give birth only every other year. The annual reproduction rate therefore is only 2-6 pups per year, a very slow reproductive rate. Slow reproduction rates are why sharks are very vulnerable to over fishing.”(www.grayreef.noaa.gov). In the coastal areas of Florida, there was reduction in shark feeding due to increase of human population. People feared this practice would increase the accidents. A bill was also passed to prohibit this, but this was rejected by Florida Fish &Wildlife Conservation Commission because they felt the accidents due to inshore feeding was very rare.
Coastal areas are the reproduction habitat of Great white sharks and when they come to coastal areas to breed or in search of prey, humans for commercial target hunt these sharks and for sport fishing. For the commercial purpose these White sharks are kept in captivity to breed, this shows the avarice nature of humans. But this cannot be practiced in future because white sharks have to move freely to breathe and its nature in captivity is unpredictable.
“ In the United States, the majority of shark attacks are reported in Florida. The states of California and Hawaii” (www.prbo.org), where ocean recreation is also extremely popular, have long histories of fatal and non-fatal encounters with sharks. Most attacks occur in waters near shore, typically inside of a sand bar or between sandbars where sharks may be trapped at low tide. Beaches with steep drop offs are also common attack sites. Fish tend to congregate in these areas, which attracts sharks. Seal and sea lion rookeries also attract sharks, such as the White, which feed upon the new-borns and individuals concentrated in one area. Shark attacks on humans appear to result from two basic circumstances: aggression or feeding. The behavior of sharks is poorly understood, but it is believed that during periods of breeding or, more aggressive actions may be displayed and attacks may be more prevalent. Sharks may also attack when a possible threat to their own lives is perceived. Although highly adapted, sharks may mistake humans for other sources of prey. Splashing bathers may create circumstances somewhat like splashing, schooling fish. When viewed from below, “the image of a human on a surf or boogie board may match the silhouette of a seal, sea lion, or sea turtle. In water that is murky, the possibility of such a mistaken identity increases”(www.sharkfoundation.com).
These great white sharks have a unique way of catching there prey, “Sharks count on the element of surprise as they hunt” (www.prob.org). It goes to the bottom of the sea and look for shapes of seal or sea lion, when they see such shape it moves towards it with great speed and injures its prey with its sharp teethes and allows it to bleed to death and swallows it and it can remain for many days with one large prey Sharks have one of the most highly developed senses of any creature. Their primary sense is the ability to smell. The nostrils can smell a drop of blood in 100 liters (25 gallons) of water. Their next important sense is the ability to detect electric charges. They can pick up electrical charges as small as 0.005 microvolt (www.sharkfondation.com). The electrical field generated by a beating heart or gill action can detect the prey.
Fish in hiding can also be detected this way (www.caske.org). In the baby white shark preys on small fish, shrimps, which helps in maintaining the ecosystem, and by doing so it keeps a check on the population of fish, etc.
The change in behavioral patterns like nesting, migration, food habits are all exemplification of the animal’s unease with their surroundings, altered largely due to man. It is the responsibility of the human race to respect the rights of animals, because man himself is an animal blessed with reasoning powers. His role is to modify nature for improvements, not for personal gains. I believe animals too have the right not to be interfered with, right not to be killed, right to natural habitat and right to be protected against extinction. In recent past, many organizations are coming up with new ideas to protect white sharks. The World Wildlife Foundation is funding work to protect the Great White Shark and other marine wildlife. The project will investigate its distribution and draw up a map of areas important to its survival WWF will then assess the conservation status and management of these areas so we can lobby governments to provide vital protection for the Great White and other marine wildlife “The white shark was protected in Californian waters in 1994, banning commercial and recreational fishing of the species” (www.wwf.org). Florida soon followed suit and, in 1997” (www.wwf.org), hunting was banned throughout Eastern coastal waters and the Gulf of Mexico. In 2004 the white shark was listed under endangered species. This means that a permit is needed to trade in its parts. The new Fishery Management Plan continues the prohibition on the landing and sale of great white throughout its ranges in U.S waters of the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas (www.wwf.org). I believe that the humans are involved in every thing bad or dangerous that touches our environment. The people’s greed will lead us to cut the forest to get wood, burn the oil to have gas, catch shrimp to export it and have money.
According to (G.T.Miller, 1994) the environment is like a circle, and everything inside this circle has a connection with the others. The shark is very important to our environment balance, and we should save it, as well as save the shrimps, witch is the sharks food. Sharks become more important to clean up our seas from sick fishes. These people who are killing the shark to use their fins and dumping their waste in the oceans must be stop, we have to save the sharks in Florida by, making strict laws and enforcing them, educate the people throw the TV and the radio, creating huge fine against the hunters and the commercial user. And as the shrimp become our food in staid of the shark food, which is, cost us more sharks attack, we have to increase the taxes on the seafood companies as well as the price of the shrimp in the market.
Finally, I would like to remind those people about the important scenario, which the shark is playing it in our environmental balance. And it should be more researching programs to avoid any more problems in our environment. And finally support from every body that are involved in this subject or not, because this is our planet and we should save it.
Bibliography
Jay.R(2001,Oct,22).Sharks.RetrievedFeb23,200from (www.grayreef.noaa.gov/tw/shark.html
Brob Organization (1996, Jan, 21) Natural history of the white shark. Retrieved Feb, 23,2005 from (http://www.prbo.org/cms/index.php? mid=215&module=browse)
World wildlife (2003, Sep, 2) Great white shark. Retrieved Feb, 23, 2005 from (http://www.wwf.org.uk/core/wildlife/fs_0000000020.asp)
Shark foundation (1991,Apr) Great white conservation. Retrieved Feb, 23, 2005 from
(http://www.sharkfoundation.com/conservation.htm)
Mexican study (1992, Apr, 16) sharks. Retrieved Feb, 23, 2005 from
(http://www.caske2000.org/sharks/sharks.htm#Attack%20Location)
Jacque-Yves Cousteau, Philippe Cousteau (1970) The shark: Splendid savage of the sea, New York.
Abstract
Sooner or later, people will face huge environmental crisis. Sharks as many species and planet threatened by the greed of humans behavior around the world. People are hunting the sharks to use their fins to prepare shark soup, and you can imagine the number of the people that eating the soup every day! We have to have a strict law and special programs to help the people to understand this problem. Moreover, as long as we save the shark, we are helping our seas balance and the oceans ecosystem because sharks in the top of this chain system. So lets work together and educate our selves to have better life and better environment.
