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ights showing the typical targets of finning nearly every fin of a shark is targeted for harvest as highlighted in the diagram the primary and secondary dorsal fins are removed from the top of the shark plus its pectoral fins and in a single cutting motion the pelvic fin anal fin and bottom portion of its caudal fin or tail 18 because the rest of the shark has little value relative to that of its fins sharks are sometimes finned while fishing vessels are still at sea and the finless and often still living shark is thrown back into the sea to free space aboard the vessel 19 in legal contexts the use of the term shark finning can refer specifically to this practice of removing the fins from live sharks and discarding the carcass while still at sea 20 for these legal purposes the removal of fins on land during catch processing is not necessarily considered to be shark finning 20 shark species that are most commonly finned are 2 18 blacktip carcharhinus limbatus blue prionace glauca a species of requiem shark bull carcharhinus leucas a species of requiem shark hammerhead family sphyrnidae oceanic whitetip carcharhinus longimanus a species of requiem shark porbeagle lamna nasus a species of mackerel shark mako isurus oxyrinchus a species of mackerel shark sandbar carcharhinus plumbeus a species of requiem shark silky carcharhinus falciformis a species of requiem shark spinner carcharhinus brevipinna a species of requiem shark thresher family alopiidae tiger galeocerdo cuvier a species of requiem shark great white shark carcharodon carcharias a species of mackerel shark impacts edit on individual sharks edit the sand tiger shark is a large coastal shark that inhabits coastal waters worldwide its numbers have declined significantly and it is now listed as a critically endangered species on the iucn red list 21 when sharks have been finned they are likely to die from lack of oxygen because they are not able to move to filter the water through their gills or are eaten by other fish that have found them defenseless at the bottom of the ocean studies suggest that 73 million sharks are finned each year and scientists have noted that the numbers may be closer to the 100 million mark 16 17 the majority of shark species exhibit slow growth rates and low reproductive rates and the rate of reproduction cannot keep pace with the current mortality rate 22 on shark populations edit some studies suggest 26 to 73 million sharks are harvested annually for fins the annual median for the period from 1996 to 2000 was 38 million which is nearly four times the number recorded by the food and agriculture organization fao of the united nations 23 but considerably lower than the estimates of many conservationists 24 it has been reported that the global shark catch in 2012 was 100 million 25 sharks have a k selection life history which means that they tend to grow slowly reach maturity at a larger size and a later age and have low reproductive rates 26 these traits make them especially vulnerable to overfishing methods such as shark finning recent studies suggest changes in abundance of apex predators may have cascading impacts on a variety of ecological processes numbers of some shark species have dropped as much as 80 over the last 50 years 27 some organizations claim that shark fishing or bycatch the unintentional capture of species by other fisheries is the reason for the decline in some species populations and that the market for fins has very little impact bycatch accounts for an estimated 50 of all sharks taken 19 others suggest that the market for shark fin soup is the main reason for the decline 27 on other populations edit sharks are apex predators and have extensive implications for marine systems and processes particularly coral reefs 28 a report by wildaid on global threats to sharks further explains the importance of these animals 11 fins from sawfish pristidae are highly favored in asian markets and are some of the most valuable shark fins 29 i 23 sawfishes are now protected under the highest protection level of the convention on international trade in endangered species cites appendix i 30 live science said the following the overfishing of sharks has serious effects for the entire marine food chain in some ecosystems a study found that removing sharks from a reef environment in the caribbean had a trickling effect on other species without sharks carnivorous fish that the sharks usually fed on thrived the carnivorous fish in turn preyed on parrotfish that kept the corals clean in time the reefs changed from one dominated by coral to one overrun by algae 16 studies conducted by creel and christianson 2008 have shown that with a decreased population of large sharks there was an increase in marine mammals and reptiles this can cause a plummeting effect within the marine ecosystem they re driven by both consumptive and non consumptive behaviors however we are only starting to understand the role sharks play in the ecosystem and natural environments due to the difficulties of studying sharks in their natural habitats a majority of the studies have been conducted in a model of the natural ecosystem ferretti et al 2010 31 vulnerability of sharks edit on the iucn red list there are 39 species of elasmobranchs sharks and rays listed as threatened species critically endangered endangered or vulnerable 32 failed verification sharks are an important part of the ocean ecosystem and are an indicator for ocean health their role keeps the environment healthy because they usually go after the sick weak and slower fish populations due to shark overfishing in many areas in the world sharks are going missing or endangered 33 in 2013 the convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora cites listed the vulnerability of sharks 34 35 appendix i which lists animals that are threatened with extinction lists requiem sharks i e tiger sharks bull sharks etc hammerhead sharks thresher sharks basking sharks mackerel sharks eagle and mobulid rays freshwater stingrays whale sharks 36 sawfishes appendix ii which lists animals that are not necessarily now threatened with extinction but that may become so unless trade is closely controlled lists basking shark cetorhinus maximus great white shark carcharodon carcharias whale shark rhincodon typus a further five species are listed as of 2014 scalloped hammerhead sphyrna lewini great hammerhead shark sphyrna mokarran smooth hammerhead sphyrna zygaena porbeagle lamna nasus oceanic whitetip shark carcharhinus longimanus opposition edit the crew of the sea shepherd conservation society conservation vessel rv ocean warrior witnessed and photographed industrial scale finning within costa rica s cocos island national park protected marine area 37 the practice is featured in the documentary sharks stewards of the reef which contains footage from western australia and central america this documentary also examines shark finning s cultural financial and ecological impacts underwater photographer richard merritt witnessed finning of living sharks in indonesia where he saw immobile finless sharks lying on the sea bed still alive below the fishing boat 38 finning has been witnessed and filmed within a protected marine area in the raja ampat islands of indonesia 39 animal welfare and animal rights groups vigorously oppose finning on moral grounds as the practice gives sharks a large wound causes them to slowly die of starvation or drowning 40 and because finning is one cause for the rapid decline of global shark populations 19 according to canadian journalist geoffrey york shark finning is sometimes linked to organized crime including chinese organized crime syndicates in south africa 12 41 fiji 12 and hawaii 12 opponents also raise questions on the medical harm from the consumption of high levels of toxic mercury reportedly found in shark fins a a multi disciplinary nonprofit 501 c 3 scientific research organization says the reason indulging in this dish can be so harmful is because of bioaccumulation toxins concentrate in animals when they move up the food chain since sharks are some of the largest and longest living species in the ocean they have a high position on the food chain so they consume huge amounts of toxins that have accumulated in their prey 42 shark fin fishing boat off the galapagos ecuador a third of fins imported to hong kong come from europe 43 spain is by far the largest supplier providing between 2 000 and 5 000 metric tons a year 44 45 norway supplies 39 metric tonnes but britain france portugal and italy are also major suppliers 46 hong kong handles at least 50 and possibly up to 80 of the world trade in shark fin with the major suppliers being europe taiwan indonesia singapore united arab emirates united states yemen india japan and mexico 47 according to giam s article 48 sharks are caught in virtually all parts of the world despite the strongly declared objectives of the fisheries commission in brussels there are very few restrictions on fishing for sharks in european waters the meat of dogfishes smoothhounds cat sharks skates and rays is in high demand by european consumers the situation in canada and the united states is similar the blue shark is sought after as a sport fish while the porbeagle mako and spiny dogfish are part of the commercial fishery the truth is this sharks will continue to be caught and killed on a wide scale by the more organized and sophisticated fishing nations targeting shark s fin soup will not stop this accidental catch the fins from these catches will be thrown away or turned into animal feed and fertilizers if shark s fin soup is shunned citation needed the australian naturalist steve irwin was known to walk out of chinese restaurants if he saw shark fin soup on the menu 49 american chef ken hom sees the west doing little to protect stocks of cod and caviar producing sturgeon despite the outcry over shark finning but he also stresses the wastefulness of harvesting only the fins 50 in 2006 canadian filmmaker and photographer rob stewart created a film sharkwater which exposes the shark fin industry in detail in march 2011 the voa special english service of the voice of america broadcast a 15 minute science program on shark finning citation needed in 2011 british celebrity chef gordon ramsay and his film crew visited costa rica to investigate illegal shark fin trading after investigating the shark fins ramsay was held at gunpoint and doused in gasoline by gangsters for confronting them 51 according to wildaid opposition to shark finning in china has increased as a result of campaigns in a 2008 survey in beijing 89 of respondents supported a ban on shark fin a 2010 poll on sina weibo again indicated strong support for a ban on shark fin sales with 27 370 respondents in favour and only 440 against in an august 2013 survey of respondents from four cities in china 91 supported a government ban on the shark fin trade 52 wildaid noted in 2019 that although shark fin consumption decreased by 80 in mainland china since 2011 there was still large demand for it in hong kong macau and taiwan 8 wildaid ceo peter knights also stated that demand was increasing in thailand vietnam and indonesia 53 reporting edit global shark catch since 1950 source according to giam choo hoo the longest serving member of the convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora animals committee 48 and a representative of the shark fin industry in singapore 54 the perception that it is common practice to kill sharks for only their fins and to cut them off whilst the sharks are still alive is wrong the vast majority of fins in the market are taken from sharks after their death 48 researchers dispute this claim by pointing to the data using a statistical analysis of shark fin industry trade data a 2006 study estimated that between 26 and 73 million sharks are harvested each year worldwide 55 that figure when converted to shark biomass was three to four times higher than the catch recorded in food and agriculture organization capture production statistics the only global database of shark catches 56 according to the researchers this discrepancy may be attributable to factors such as unrecorded shark landings shark biomass recorded in non specific categories and or a high frequency of shark finning and carcass disposal at sea 57 the marine conservationist meliane says moreover landing sharks and rays with fins attached will facilitate species identification promote standardized data collection and reporting of official catch statistics and eliminate potential enforcement loopholes 58 because remains are not always correctly identified reports and statistics from scientists are not always reliable simply put they say that the industry is either under reporting the sharks taken annually or is frequently engaging in the practice of finning according to shark stewards a non profit environmentalist project most shark fins go to hong kong for processing and re exported to china and other countries like the us fins traded as a dried product do not have any documentation of where that shark was captured the species or if it was legally harvested or finned on the high seas as a result many consumers do not know where the fin came from or if it was caught legally or illegally 59 international restrictions edit fresh shark fins drying on a pavement in hong kong in 2013 27 countries and the european union had banned shark finning 60 international waters are unregulated international fishing authorities are considering banning shark fishing and finning in the atlantic ocean and mediterranean sea finning is banned in the eastern pacific 61 but shark fishing and finning continues unabated in most of the pacific and indian ocean 19 in countries such as thailand and singapore public awareness advertisements on finning have reportedly reduced consumption by 25 citation needed there are four main categories of restrictions as follows a shark sanctuary is an area where shark fishing is entirely prohibited this includes commercial fishing of all sharks by catching the possession trade and sale of sharks shark products although these acts against sharks are prohibited within these boundaries nothing is really keeping the sharks within those boundaries they can easily unknowingly swim outside of the protected area and be fished finned or killed as of march 2018 there are 17 shark sanctuaries in the world according to the article shark sanctuaries around the world 62 maldives 353 742 sq mi established in 2010 palau 233 317 sq mi established in 2009 federated states of micronesia 1 155 448 sq mi established in 2015 marshall islands 769 205 sq mi established in 2015 samoa 49 421 sq mi established in 2018 new caledonia 480 697 sq mi established in 2013 cook islands 756 812 sq mi established in 2012 french polynesia 1 840 642 sq mi established in 2012 honduras 92 757 sq mi establi...
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