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Sharks Need Protection —From People

Eight species could get protection

By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff

Posted Mar 15, 2010 3:42 PM CDT
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(Newser) – Sharks are fearsome predators, but they are no match for fishermen. Caught and eaten in soup or used in skin-care products and nutritional supplements, sharks are in danger of extinction. They may get help at this week's Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. One proposal would protect eight species, though enforcement will be difficult, given the booming, unregulated Hong Kong market and the Chinese middle class's nearly insatiable desire for shark-fin soup.

Demand for fin soup has created a wasteful practice known as "finning"—fisherman simply cut the fin off and discard the rest of the animal. Failing to protect sharks could have devastating consequences for the ecosystem because they're at the top of the food chain, so their absence can create unpredictable ripple effects. The provisions at CITES would require export permits for shark fisherman, while pending US legislation would restrict finning, Fast Company reports.

A Great White Shark is attracted by a lure on the 'Shark Lady Adventure Tour' on October 19, 2009 in Gansbaai, South Africa.
A Great White Shark is attracted by a lure on the 'Shark Lady Adventure Tour' on October 19, 2009 in Gansbaai, South Africa.   (Getty Images)
A Great White Shark is attracted by a lure on the 'Shark Lady Adventure Tour' on October 19, 2009 in Gansbaai, South Africa.
A Great White Shark is attracted by a lure on the 'Shark Lady Adventure Tour' on October 19, 2009 in Gansbaai, South Africa.   (Getty Images)
A Great White Shark is attracted by a lure on the 'Shark Lady Adventure Tour' on October 19, 2009 in Gansbaai, South Africa.
A Great White Shark is attracted by a lure on the 'Shark Lady Adventure Tour' on October 19, 2009 in Gansbaai, South Africa.   (Getty Images)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 16 comments
Landshark
Mar 16, 2010 1:59 AM CDT
The model Sharks have settled into over the last 400 million years is one on the female taking 12-14 years before they are sexually mature. That's why the shark population have been decimated so badly...they have not needed to adapt for a while...and the populations cannot recover quickly with the relentless pressure put upon them since we decided shark was on the menu.

Add to that this brutal practice...God dammut, I actually wrote my congressman and that little hotty January Jones has been working her @ss off...fingers crossed.

http://vimeo.com/4891090
derni
Mar 16, 2010 12:51 AM CDT
sharks also escape diseases such as cancer...so if we can establish how they do this we might be able to replicate it in the human body..so don't be so quick to eat that shark!
Robert_Dada
Mar 15, 2010 11:20 PM CDT
Let's cut the hands and feet off of the people who practice this wasteful act of gluttony and throw the hands/feet into the ocean for shark food and discard the rest of their still alive bodies in landfills.
Green • World

 
China • endangered species • ocean • fishing • Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species • commercial fishing • sharks • CITES • finning

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