Sharks Threatened by Finning
This photo of a freshly cut dorsal fin from a scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini), was taken in 2006 on a long-lined fishing boat in Cocos Island, 300 miles off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Cocos was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site and is the home to one of the world's richest shark populations. It has also become a major target for long-lined shark fishing.
Every year, humans kill an estimated 70 million sharks. The threats we pose are many. By-catch: the accidental killing of sharks in fishing gear intended for other species. Illegal poaching and hunting: selling shark fins for soup and sportfishing for shark-jaw trophies. Nets: placed along coastlines to keep sharks away from beaches. Removing sharks in large numbers can have ripple effects that throw entire ecosystems out of balance.
Discover more about shark biology, habitat, and status in the Great White Shark section, and check out the Smithsonian Ocean Portal's Top 5 Reasons you should Revere, Not Fear, the Shark.
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Comments
(SHARK FIN) A MOST DYNAMIC image... a real "attention getter" for my High School Oceanography students. I'm going to try to save in my files.
Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 03/19/2010 - 2:19am.I love shark fin soup! You should all try it some time...It has a fiberous taste to it. Its a double boune becuase im suppoting the poor! GO SHARK FIN SOUP!
Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 11/29/2010 - 1:35pm.Unbelievable! Sharks are going extinct. Forever. I hope you like eating jellyfish, algae and bacteria, because if sharks are driven to extinction, that is all that will be able to survive in the stinking lifeless sea that remains.
Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 02/13/2011 - 11:04am.ths is a sick and cruel act.
Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 02/08/2011 - 10:31am.C'mon man.
Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 03/22/2011 - 9:43am.Disgusting and cruel!No wonder that their population is declining.
Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 03/24/2011 - 9:27am.How horrible. This truly a crime.
Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 04/28/2011 - 6:40pm.i hate people that hunt sharks grrrrrrrr
Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 06/28/2011 - 8:39am.comment_wrapper_curve

























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