Just saw Planet in Peril. Everybody should see this fantastic documentary! I was angry, disturbed and shocked to hear about the shark finning practices. Fishermen just cut of fins to living sharks and dump them back into the sea: 100 million sharks are killed each year for these tiny fins! For what?
A traditional shark fin soup!
It’s a shame that the people who eat this shark fin soup don’t think about how it got into their plates! It’s a mindless tradition that will continue ’til there are no sharks left or people change laws and stop consuming it!
Check out StopSharkFinning.net, a campaign to achieve a worldwide ban on shark finning. You can also sign petitions to ask Restaurants to stop serving shark fin soup – this one is for the NY area.
“The consequences of the decline in shark populations on ocean life are immense. The large shark species are “apex” predators, they are ecological stablisers, once they are gone, all hell will break loose. For example along the US East Coast where large sharks such as black tip and tiger sharks have been virtually elimated, there have been declines in shellfish numbers and a reduction in water quality (shellfish filter sea water). Populations of small sharks, rays and skates have increased rapidly, consuming shellfish at an unsustainable rate. If you remove apex predators from an ecosystem the result is the same as removing the foundations from a building – total collapse.” – StopSharkFinning.net.
