Sharks are Friends—Not Food!

Sharks have always been pictured as the ruthless, ever-hungry predators that are always lurking just beneath the surface to snap their unsuspecting victims in two. Countless horror movies have been made with sharks in their core, so it comes as no surprise that sharks have always had an unsavory reputation.

While their reputation might be unsavory, however, their fins are apparently another matter. Nowadays, sharks have, among other animals, extinction danger. The fearless rulers of the deep that generations have feared are about to disappear forever because they have become from proud predators to lowly soup ingredients.

Flavorless Fishing

In Asian countries, particularly in China, shark fins are considered as luxurious delicacies, fit only for the likes of emperors and other dignitaries. It’s been served in the courts of the Forbidden Kingdom for centuries, and, as with most of its traditions, this practice continues on to this day. Shark fin meals are still very much in demand in restaurants—a demand that must be supplied constantly.

This demand has led to overfishing of sharks. As only their fins are wanted, they’re most likely left to die after having their fins cut off. A shark needs to be in constant motion to live, so having to swim without fins must be a bit difficult, right? Actually, it’s quite impossible for them to swim without their fins.

It’d have been a bit understandable if shark fins have incredible taste, but did you know that shark fin meat is actually tasteless? It doesn’t have any flavour, which is why the rest of the ingredients have to be seasoned strongly. The reason why shark fin is so desired is because of its chewy, gelatinous texture—and its supposed health benefits.

Doesn’t Hold Water

The Chinese are known for many things, one of which is their vast knowledge in health and medicine, but say what they want about shark fins—there are no studies or scientific evidence to support that shark fins can prevent hypertension and heart disease, much less evidence of them being able to boost the sexual prowess of a person, or to give smoother and younger-looking skin.

In fact, a bowl of shark fin soup contains the same amount of nutrients a bowl of vegetable soup may have, with a few differences in zinc and iron.

However, to harvest the fins of these creatures just for its texture and ungrounded health benefits is an outrage. Humans are killing an entire specie just because of their petty whims.

Sharks play an important role in the ocean’s balance. They’re apex predators—species who are on top of the food chain. They control the population of the other species below their link. Without them, that delicate balance will be broken, and the carefully controlled ecosystem might very well collapse. If that happens, sea creatures aren’t the only ones who’ll be affected—even land animals, and humans, will be affected, too. After all, several land animals get their food from the oceans too, right?

Finished with Fins

The harvesting of shark fins should be stopped! For all animals, extinctiondanger shouldn’t even exist. Everyone needs everyone else to survive. We need to stop hunting sharks and start protecting them and their natural habitat. Remember: sharks are friends, not food!

Do you think sharks should be hunted for food?

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Prelude to the Angel Shark Extinction

The angel shark was once discarded as a nuisance species by halibut gillnet fishermen prior to the 1980s. From several decades of insignificance, the angel sharks extinct classification today was precipitated by its phenomenal distinction as the most sought-after commercial shark species in the Santa Barbara Channel in the 1980s. A big factor in such giant leap in stature is the change in consumer acceptance of sharks as high-quality food fish. Another important influence to such a remarkable change is the concentrated marketing stance by pioneering but innovative food processor and entrepreneur, Michael Wagner.

Wagner coordinated with the local fishermen to stimulate development of angel shark fishery in the Santa Barbara area. The ensuing developments became known in ecosystem history as the prelude to the near extinction of the angel sharks. It may certainly be stated that the rapid growth of the fishery led to the angel sharks extinct status based on a nature conservation body.

Development of any kind has its good and bad side. For the ecological balance, the angel shark industry was a death blow to the Squatinidae family. To the food processing industry, the angel shark phenomenon is a great lesson in operational innovations. Accordingly, growth was premised on two elements:

•     Quality control brought about by the maintenance of shark meat freshness; and

•     Operational efficiency in terms of developing fillet methods acceptable to both distributors and consumers.

As the demand for angel shark meat grew, more and more of them were supplied primarily using the gillnet method. Demand for this shark dramatically ballooned because practically every part of the fish can be used with the exception of the tail and the cartilage. Landings of angel shark exceeded one million pounds in the mid-1980s. It has replaced the thresher shark as the top food shark.

By 1987, landings declined not because demand decreased but because resources were scant. Decline in angel shark population continued brought about by fishery and worsened by the threats from other fusing methods and human activities to their natural habitat. The road to extinction draws near unless conservation efforts are put in place.

By the 1990s, landings steadily dwindled. Meanwhile, research on angel sharks began in the 1980s. Cooperative research and information gathered led to the development of regulatory guidelines in the form of co-management. The industry players were, however, amenable that regulation came in too late- the ecological imbalance was irreversible.

The boom in the shark food processing was not counter-balanced with measures to maintain sustainability. Biological knowledge on the location of the Pacific species revealed that these sharks are endemic to the eastern Pacific Ocean from southern Alaska to the Gulf of California, as well as from Ecuador to Chile. The angel sharks are imperiled by extinction since they have vanished from the identified locations.

The angel sharks are critically endangered to the point of extinction. Man failed to act in time to balance the surge in fishery of the resource. The basic cliché about the crucial need for prevention instead of a cure or intervention, indeed, was not made in due time. The initial decreases in landings hinted of the decline in the particular shark population.