A deep dive into the worlds most misunderstood creature
Imagine toasty warm… radiant… bright: Sunny. Sandy. A shell-covered beach… A jump into the ocean… A relaxing swim– BUT– all of a sudden down, deep down in the depths below you spy a dark ominous shadow. Panic immediately seizes your heart and the word “Shark!” swarms your mind. After that split second you begin to realize it’s just a large fish. The truth is that the odds of that nightmare moment you built in your head only has a 1 in 3.7 million chance of occurring. A statistic that has been blown wildly out of proportion by the media. We have been conditioned to dread them. But before we allow that fear to take hold of us, we have to ask: What is the real threat– sharks or us?
So why does this fear plague everyone? For decades society has grown up consuming media portraying a twisted image of sharks– Jaws, 47 meters down, and Sharknado. These films have all created a warped perception around them that have struck fear in the hearts of millions around the world. This fear has built a society with very little sympathy for the 100 million sharks killed by humans each year.
Sharks guard our oceans. As apex predators, they are crucial in maintaining the balance of the marine ecosystem. They work as population control by preying on any animals that are weak, sick, and overabundant. This prevents the overpopulation of one species that may throw the ecosystem off balance. Sharks not only control the prey population, but also protect coral reefs. If the number of sharks is down in a reef it causes a significant rise in the number of mid-level predators. An overabundance of mid-level predators leads to the decline of herbivores, allowing algae to overwhelm corals. When sharks prey on the weak and sick, it prevents the prey from reproducing. This works as natural selection and only the strongest may escape the jaws of the sharks. This strengthens the fish population and reduces the number of ill that may pass disease onto others. Sharks command a presence of fear throughout the ocean that promotes biodiversity. Their presence influences where animals dwell and keeps them from dominating areas which allows many species to coexist and create a healthy habitat. Sharks not only aid the ocean but the climate as well. They enhance blue carbon, carbon stored in oceans, by maintaining the ecosystem. By helping the ocean store carbon, they mitigate the effects of climate change.
Despite being the apex predator, sharks face their greatest threat from humans. One-third of all known shark species are at risk of extinction. The perpetrator? Overfishing. It claims the lives of 274,000 sharks every day. The global abundance of sharks has decreased 71% in the last 50 years. Roughly 73 million sharks per year are taken just for their fins. Shark fin soup, a delicacy throughout Asia, is a status symbol. Sharks targeted for their fins aren’t killed, instead their fins are sliced off and thrown back into the ocean. Without their fins they will sink to the ocean floor and slowly suffocate. It is the complete destruction of 400 million years of evolution for soup. Bycatching, the unintentional catching of non-target fish, steals the lives of 80 million sharks annually. Sharks caught often die in the nets from stress or suffocation. Their brutal end serves no need for survival, only profit.
Sharks are critical to the ocean. Their absence will lead to a potential collapse of the food web and widespread damage to the ocean. Coral reefs will begin to degrade, destroying homes for countless species. Sharks have roamed the seas for over 400 million years but in just a few decades we have pushed them to the brink of extinction. We can no longer stand by and watch as sharks are being hunted in their home. Not only is this an environmental failure, it is also an ethical one.
If we continue allowing misinformation to strike fear in our hearts, we risk losing these awe inspiring creatures. It’s time to acknowledge the injustice. Sharks deserve better. We can do better. It is time to make a choice– fear them, or fight for them. They are not the villains of any story– we are. But this doesn’t have to define us. Everyone can do their part by educating others on the massacre occuring. Share the truth. Show others the importance and beauty of sharks. Because if the ocean’s top predator is dying by our hands, what does that make us?
Works cited
https://www.seasidesustainability.org/post/creature-made-killer-demonization-of-sharks-in-media
https://sharkchampions.org.au/sharks-the-impacts-of-overfishing
https://www.sharks.org/massacre-for-soup
https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/sharks-are-key-to-the-health-of-our-oceans-and-climate
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