The Impact Of Overfishing On Sharks

The ocean is a giant body of water that is home to all types of fish. The ocean provides a rich environment for a plethora of animals from the tiniest of fish to the enormous whale. In the ocean, these creatures live and explore. Some of them must hunt other fish in order to survive, which means that others must try to avoid predators. Nature has provided all of these animals with a unique capability to survive. The ocean abounds with interesting animals of all shapes and sizes that have their unique appearances and habitats at different depths of the sea.

Over the past 75 year the whale shark population in the indo-pacific has reduced 63% while the Atlantic has reduced more than 30% (Pierce, S.J. & Norman, B. 2016). Overall, in the past 75 years the global whale shark’s population has declined by 50% (Pierce, S.J. & Norman B. 2016). Whale sharks are protected species in 13 of 100 countries that they visit every year and is classified as a vulnerable species (Rogers M.

I have swum with Caribbean reef sharks in the Bahamas and have seen how beautiful and strong they truly are first hand. Sharks are a vital part to every ecosystem they are in and currently being killed at a rate that they cannot reproduce at. Alpha predators are a necessary component of eco-systems because they keep the populations of every trophic level below them in check. You can compare an eco-system to a skyscraper; you need every single part so the entire building does not fall apart. Sharks have the task of killing the wounded, old, and sick fish in schools to keep the stocks of fish healthy and plentiful. Andy Dehart, Discovery Channel Shark Advisor, spoke about the North Carolina shark over fishing problem. The shark populations on the East Coast were extremely over-fished which lead to the over population of sting rays, a main food-stock for sharks. The stingrays in turn decimated the shellfish populations on the East Coast, leading to calm and shellfish shortages. This shows that sharks are necessary for every eco-system and their destruction affects us in more ways then we can imagine. Sharks are very at-risk for over-fishing because they take a long time to reach the stage where they can reproduce and in general only have a few pups when they give birth. Most sharks only have one or two pups every time they give birth. These factors make the time-period

Sharks are driven to extinction because people want to eat their fins which serves no purpose to humans; shark fins have no nutritional value or serve any medicinal purpose. Finning is the inhumane practice of cutting off all of the shark’s fins and throwing the body back into the ocean. The sharks either drown are eaten by bigger fish or starve to death. Soon sharks are going to become extinct because of the 100 millions of sharks killed every year. If shark finning continues it will throw off the biodiversity of earth.

In the eyes of society and the public, sharks are viewed as ruthless killers Millions upon millions are killed every year, and fear is a major contributor. The reality is that sharks are very complex creatures, and should be treated as such. They are an intricate part of the ocean’s ecosystem and the ecosystem would be completely thrown off without them. We need to realize that these creatures are invaluable, and that we must conserve these animals. If we do not realize this reality, we could lose sharks forever.

Sharks are enormous mammals that live within the deep ocean waters all over the world. There are several different sharks in many parts of the world depending on temperature, seasons, food and more. Every shark is unique in their own way and every species is unique as well. Although humans view them as vicious creatures that are out to harm us while we are at the beach on a sunny Sunday, these creatures are just trying to live like any other animal in this planet. They each have different defense mechanisms, and physical features that all them to live and continue reproducing. For example, sharks have different type of dorsal fins, teeth, hunting strategies, movement patters, and mating techniques. All of this is important to the survival

The bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) or also named Zambezi shark. The bull shark starts its life when its mother gives birth to about one and thirteen per liter. The mothers give birth around between late spring and early summer. When mating the male nips at the back of the female and grasps one of her pectoral fins in his mouth, this usually leaves a scar for the female called courtship scars. They are immediately on their own and separate from each other. Reproduction with bull sharks doesn’t happen until they are about 10 years old. They are said to be able to live to up to about 25 years. Bull sharks can be found from so many different areas such as worldwide warm waters, shallow waters, and in rivers. They can be in saltwater and in freshwaters.

The Great White Sharks, known mostly because of their white underbellies, are one of the most powerful aquatic animals in the world. They can swim at about 25 Miles Per Hour (40 Kilometers per hour) because of their strong muscles and forceful tails. In addition to that, male Great Whites can grow around 11.5 to 13.1 feet long, while females can grow from 14.8 to 16.4 feet long. This paper will demonstrate how Great White Sharks are an important part of their ecosystem, how their diets work and will adequately describe their habitats.

These predators will eat fish, dolphins, turtles, birds, and other sharks. Bull sharks have a specific technique when they stalk. It is called the bump and bite method, and begins with the shark bumping its prey to disorientate and/or kill. They will then impale its lower jaw into its target, and then swing its head side-to-side with its upper jaw to take tissue from its victim(sharks.org). Sometimes, the sharks will hunt in groups. Bull sharks are territorial and is likely the cause for human attacks. When encountering a bull shark, you will most likely see a remora attached. Bull sharks are near threatened.

The information provided by the journal articles did contribute to the take home message. This topic has made me think differently because usually sharks are looked upon as the predator by humans; however, in this scenario they are the prey. The decreasing numbers of the sharks has also impacted the food chains. There is now more prey with fewer predators and there is a risk that a new predator may evolve targeting other species.

To conclude, the ocean is ultimately the sharks home and it has been for millions of years and we are intruding on it though all of the point brought forward you can clearly see that rouge sharks should be let go sharks kill barley any people compared to a lot of others, they don’t go out of their way to eat humans and the general public is convinced by the media that sharks are evil man eaters this leads me to believe that sharks should be let be evacuate the beach and let the shark move on, once the shark has moved on think of shark prevention tactics such as nets, shark shields, extra patrols

There’s a place in the world that they feed bull sharks, because when they do for the sharks they do not have to hunt. When they are full they do not hurt people. Bull sharks are just looking for food, and when they are fed they are really cool animals.

90-100 million tons are killed and wiped off the planet each year. Consisting of some of the most beautiful creatures on the planet. Fish are a primary food source to 3.5 billion people worldwide and the depletion of the species is leaving millions of people hungry. Over fishing is a huge problem that needs to be stopped.

Human beings can be attacked by sharks. Most shark attacks are caused by particular shark species. They include Carcharodon carcharias, Galeocerdo cuvier, and the Carcharhinus leucas. Historically, shark attacks are on the decline following increased global awareness on the menace. Shark attacks are most common in the United States waters than the rest of the world because of difference in climatic

Also, marine life imbalance may affect the targeted fishing of top predators such as billfish, sharks and tuna that eventually disturbs marine communities. In fact, it is causing increased abundance of smaller marine animals at the bottom of the food chain. This in turn has impacts on the rest of the marine ecosystem, such as the increased growth of algae and threats to coral reef health. Overfishing is also closely tied to by catch, another serious marine threat that causes the needless loss of billions of fish, along with marine turtles and