Article published: October 3, 2011
New York Times
Picture: This picture shows the fin of a shark cut off. It might be a graphic picture, but this picture represents the topic well because some people might not realize how serious a problem like this is until they see what is actually happening.
Summary: Throughout different parts of the world, sharks are being killed just for their fins. Due to this, the population of sharks have decreased incredibly, causing them to become a threatened species. If sharks became extinct, many problems could arise and effect the marine food chain extremely. More than 70 million die each year for their fins. Killing sharks just for their fin is called “Finning”. People across nations will continue doing this, unless there is some government movement to stop the finning of the sharks. Since 2000, the U.S has banned shark finning, but still allow shark fishing. In some areas the sale of shark fins is banned, especially in places like, California, Washington, Oregon, and Hawaii. Some places like China and East Asia on the other hand have a harder time restricting the shark finning considering the extreme popularity for shark fin soup and other foods. Eventually though, we hope that shark finning can be banned all over.
Opinion/ Reflection
This article took me by surprise considering I had no idea that sharks were a threatened species. I never knew “finning” was so popular either. I think that a topic like this should be much more publicized then it is in order to get the attention of more people and actually get some people to listen. I personally don't like seafood, and when I hear stories about shark fin soup, it disgusts me. I don't think such horrible things should be done to sharks just to make soup out of their fin. This should be put to a stop.
Questions
1.) Why is shark finning so popular?
2.) What is another way besides banning that could help save more sharks?
3.) Where is shark finning actually banned?
4.) How could the extinction of sharks effect the marine food chain?
5.) Why do you think there is more of a passion of shark finning in Asia and not in the United States?
Summary: Throughout different parts of the world, sharks are being killed just for their fins. Due to this, the population of sharks have decreased incredibly, causing them to become a threatened species. If sharks became extinct, many problems could arise and effect the marine food chain extremely. More than 70 million die each year for their fins. Killing sharks just for their fin is called “Finning”. People across nations will continue doing this, unless there is some government movement to stop the finning of the sharks. Since 2000, the U.S has banned shark finning, but still allow shark fishing. In some areas the sale of shark fins is banned, especially in places like, California, Washington, Oregon, and Hawaii. Some places like China and East Asia on the other hand have a harder time restricting the shark finning considering the extreme popularity for shark fin soup and other foods. Eventually though, we hope that shark finning can be banned all over.
Opinion/ Reflection
This article took me by surprise considering I had no idea that sharks were a threatened species. I never knew “finning” was so popular either. I think that a topic like this should be much more publicized then it is in order to get the attention of more people and actually get some people to listen. I personally don't like seafood, and when I hear stories about shark fin soup, it disgusts me. I don't think such horrible things should be done to sharks just to make soup out of their fin. This should be put to a stop.
Questions
1.) Why is shark finning so popular?
2.) What is another way besides banning that could help save more sharks?
3.) Where is shark finning actually banned?
4.) How could the extinction of sharks effect the marine food chain?
5.) Why do you think there is more of a passion of shark finning in Asia and not in the United States?
This is so surprising to me! I really did not know that sharks were endangered. I think that land animals have more of a priority over those in the sea. However, I was pleased to see that some states here have taken action, by banning the ability to sell shark fins. I still do not feel this is enough. I think countries in Asia should be doing more to prevent this extinction, considering they are the primary killers. I do not think it matters that this is what they eat because the shark is important to the food chain in the ocean. People there need to make a sacrafice for the greater good. The number of sharks killed each year also startled me, considering The WWF reports that 4,00 elephants are peached each year, and we hear much more about them. Sharks should be more protected globally, no matter how "good" they taste. The picture gave me a wake up call. What they are doing is brutal.
ReplyDeleteHere is an article expanding on this. It shows that after the shark's fins are removed, they throw the body back in the water to die. Even though these fins are a pleaser in Asia, they may even contain high mercury levels, which is dangerous to your health. There is also a video to watch for further information about the finning process.
http://www.hsi.org/issues/shark_finning/
3 further questions:
Is Asia taking any steps towards laws preventing this? What sharks are specifically targeted? What is the significance of the shark fin to Asians-Is there a reason they are so traditional?
Opinion/Reflection
ReplyDeleteThis article on "finning" is so incredibly dissapointing. Like Tori, I was also unaware that this was going on in our world. One of my first reactions was- how could anyone like shark soup?! It is so sad that people just take the fin of a shark, and leave the rest to die. I'm sure the people who are taking and selling the fins had no idea what they were actually doing to the marine food chain. As said in the article, the shark is one of the top ocean predators, and without it, it certainly does throw off the ecosystem. I was glad to see that Obama agreed to take part (he signed the law in January) in this awful situation and tried to help out. This was a very interesting article, and i learned so much about how horrible "finning" really is.
Expansion:
I found this awesome website, which its actual website intending on stopping shark finning, it has a lot of usueful information and says how 100,000 sharks are killed per year in Australia. The website also includes a photo, similair to the one Tori found, but with thousands of fins. Its absoloutely mind boggling to see just how many sharks are killed just for their fins. Read More HERE:
http://stopsharkfinning.posterous.com/
This is actually the same website as above but with a different article that actually focuses on the shark fin soup itself. The article states that the soup comes form Chinese origin and the fin of the shark actually has very little flavor.However, shark soup isn't cheap- it costs about $100 per bowl (why would anyone spend that much on a little bowl of soup, and on ruining an ocean food chain?!) Read more about the shark soup HERE:
http://www.stopsharkfinning.net/shark-fin-soup.htm
Question Answering:
1- Shark finning is so popular because people enjoy shark soup which has a key ingredient of shark fin. Also, when selling a shark fin, the consumer can make a good amount of cash.
New Questions:
1. Would you try and taste shark soup? (are you adventurous like that?)
2.How many sharks die per year, just for their fins?
3. In what month did Obama sign the law to bring the sharks to the port with their fins attached?
4. What country agreed to ban shark finning? Why?
Thank you for reading! And remember: "Fish are Friends, Not Food." (Finding Nemo)
Opion/Reflection
ReplyDeleteThis article was very suprising. I never heard of shark finning and never thought that sharks were becoming an endangered species. Honestly, sharks have always been something that scared me, but after reading this I can't help but feel bad for them. One reason as to why I don't like the idea of finning is because the people responsible only take the fin of the shark and then leave the shark to die. I wonder if the people who eat shark fin soup realize what is happening to the sharks. If people don't try to work to stop finning, than the sharks may become a threatened species. I think other nations need to work towards banning finning. The effort towards saving the sharks needs to become a more global issue. After reading this I don't think I would ever want to even try shark fin soup.
Expansion
The article that I found talks about a hotel in Asia that has banned selling shark fin soup. A reason as to why they banned it was to help stop the finning of sharks. More than 90% of the shark fin soup in the world is consumed in China. This ban is amoung the largest ban in Asia.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/01/20/shark-fin-soup-ban-gains-traction-in-asia/
Question
4- If sharks became extinct then the whole marine ecosystem would be hurt. Sharks are a top consumer in the food chain. If sharks became extinct there would be an over-population of fish. There wouldn't be enough food for the fish and the whole ecosystem would become unbalanced. Sharks play a big role in the marine ecosystem.
I have heard of shark finning before but never knew that it was causing sharks to go endangered. I was surprised that people use sharks for soup. I love all animals and when I hear that they are going extinct then that really hurts me. I never want any animal to go away for I think that all animals deserve to survive. If sharks go away then we won't know that they are a keystone animal. I hear that keystone animals keep the environment safe from destroying itself. I think that it is important that we take care of our marine animal friends. I think we should stop giving most of the priority to land animals. I hear that a lot of marine animals are being hunted like whales, seals, and sea otters. I like top predators for it is so interesting how they kill their prey. I have also heard that out of the shark’s fins they make medicine. I think that I don't want to eat the soup or the medicine in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteExpansion
http://www.seashepherd.org/sharks/
This website I found talks about what they actually use the entire shark for. I was surprised at how many thing people could use a shark for. I hope that all parts of the world start banning shark finning. I rather hear a shark attack then sharks becoming extinct. It also says that at least 10 million sharks are killed in a year. I hope it gets better for the sharks.
Question
2- Protesting could help a lot if it helped with human rights it can help animals too. If people protest about it then the government would do something about it. I watched a clip on how in Cuba they have banned shark “finning” because people protested. There are organizations like Sea Shepherd that actually try to stop the killing of sharks and whales. They may do it be force sometimes but it works that’s why we should protest to save the sharks.