| Sharks: valuable and vulnerable |
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Sharks: valuable and vulnerable |
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Imagine an ocean without sharks. Sadly, this seems more likely by the day as our oceans witness a rapid and global rise in shark fishing, including the widespread and inhumane practice of shark finning.
Shark fins have become one of the world's most precious commodities selling at up to $500 per kilo. Fins from the mighty whale and basking sharks alone can fetch over $10,000 at market. Shark finning may be a multi-billion dollar industry, but it is also largely unmanaged, unchecked and unsustainable.
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Sharks have become a harbinger for and victim of the global overfishing crisis that has seen three quarters of all fish stocks overfished or fished right up to the edge of collapse.
Sharks are extremely vulnerable to fishing impacts. Recent research found that almost one third (32%) of open ocean sharks and rays are threatened with extinction, primarily due to overfishing. Sharks are slow growing and late to mature making them particularly susceptible to and slow to recover from overfishing. Fisheries scientists agree - they are yet to identify a single shark fishery that is sustainable. Put simply, sharks are being caught and killed faster than they can reproduce. |
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The collapse of shark numbers has ripples beyond the future of the species themselves.
Sharks have been swimming in the oceans for over 400 million years and hold the key to survival of marine ecosystems. Sharks have evolved to become the top predators in the oceans. |
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They are keystone species that maintain the balance of prey species and the marine food web. Reducing the numbers of sharks has significant and unpredictable impacts on the ecosystem. Without sharks our marine ecosystems risk collapse.
"If I have one hope, it is that we will come to appreciate and protect these wonderful animals before we manage, through ignorance, stupidity and greed, to wipe them out altogether." - Peter Benchley (author of 'Jaws')
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Take Action
Sign our online petition and tell Australia's Environment Minister, the Hon Peter Garrett, AM, MP, that you object to shark fishing on the Great Barrier Reef by clicking here. |
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