Shark Awareness Day: Not just for fin soup and meat, this fearsome predator is hunted for more shocking reasons
In the marine world, July 14th is celebrated as Shark Awareness Day. Sharks have long been misunderstood and vilified, with some species even being endangered due to humans' hunting practices. After all, what better way to prove your might than hunting the ocean's most feared hunter? However, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the list of endangered shark species is surprisingly long; among approximately 470 species of sharks, 2.4% are listed as Critically Endangered, 3.2% as Endangered, 10.3% Vulnerable, and 14.4% Near Threatened.
Across the globe, nearly 100 million sharks are killed annually, at the shocking rate of 11,000 sharks per hour. The shark fin trade, fuelled by the demand for shark fin soup lovers, is a huge reason why sharks are being killed by the millions. Shark meat is popular in many countries -- the country that consumes most shark meat is Brazil. Moreover, shark skin is used by the fashion industry to make leather products, with Italy being the second biggest importer. Many Korean beauty products also use squalene, a substance from shark liver oil touted for its skin-enhancing benefits, in cosmetic products such as bath oils, hair products, eye makeup, lipstick, suntan and sunscreen products.
Another shocking fact is that you may have ingested shark meat without knowing it. Restaurants often don't disclose that customers are consuming shark meat when it is marketed as fish using other names -- a common example is UK's favorite fish and chips. According to reports, endangered species of shark meat are present in most fish and chip shops in the United Kingdom, where they are marketed as rock salmon. In Australia, shark meat is sold as flake. Meat from rig sharks is sold in New Zealand as lemon fish or spotted dogfish.
The shark fin industry, meanwhile, is largely unregulated. The process of shark finning is the removal of a shark’s fins while it’s fully conscious. After the fins are removed, the shark is simply discarded back into the sea, either fully or nearly dead. The trade does not discriminate between shark species, age, or size. The use of longlines (a lengthy fishing line attached with baited hooks at intervals to create a branch-like effect) is at the root of the majority of shark losses worldwide. Once the shark fins are collected, they are dried and used in an East Asian delicacy known as shark fin soup, which is so popular in Hong Kong that nearly 98 percent of restaurants in the city sell the dish.
Shark fin trade is the most dangerous killer of sharks; shark populations have decreased by 60 to 90 percent in just the last 15 years due to the trade and experts estimate that most shark species will disappear because of longlining within ten years.
When shark populations are threatened, so are the ecosystems of the oceans. Shark populations take a considerable amount of time to recover (as sharks themselves mature within seven to 20 years), and it is nearly impossible for them to bounce back as quickly as they are removed from oceans. Sharks play an integral role in keeping the planet's oceans healthy. They do this by keeping other populations in check and preying on the sick and old. This prevents the spread of disease and improves the gene pool.