Sharks are an amazing creature, having lasted on this planet more than 100 times as long as man, and surviving 5 major extinctions. Why is it that people are so afraid of them? Why is it that at least 90% of the population fear this gentle species? Did you know, on average, sharks have killed less people every year than vending machines? Also, you have a higher chance of being struck by lightening than being bitten by a shark? It’s a shame that one of the world’s longest living and important animals are endangered.

That’s right, over the last 15 – 20 years; man has managed to kill off more than 90% of all sharks. Everyday, thousands of sharks are caught and have their fins cut off only to be thrown back into to drown or bleed to death. Why? Because all over Asia, shark fins are a delicacy. They believe that shark fins have curative properties. One pound of shark fin meat will sell for thousands of dollars there. Even though finning is illegal in some countries, it still happens. The finning industry rakes in billions of dollars at the expense of killing off sharks completely. Everyday, the number of sharks left in the ocean diminishes at an alarming speed.

At this rate, sharks will be extinct. What happens when the animal at the top of the food chain ceases to exist? The number of fish that they eat, the fish that only eat plankton, will start to grow dramatically. Then these fish will consume all this plankton and we will find ourselves deprived of oxygen. Plankton in the ocean generates more than 70% of the air that we breathe.

I think people need to be more educated on this subject as it is an extremely important issue. Personally, it makes me sick to my stomach when I hear about the thousands of sharks being caught everyday just to be stripped of their fins and be thrown back into the ocean and be left to die. Sharks could easily be wiped out within a few years due to human greed.

If what you read here interests you, there is a new movie out there that deals with this exact issue called “Sharkwater”. Great movie, I advise you to go rent it.