Personal Project Blog on Shark Awareness - Are sharks really what we think they are ?

                    Sharks are dated back to a time when even dinosaurs weren’t present and these historic gifts of nature are what we humans are afraid of. For you, a shark would probably mean Danger, Death, Devastation, and we would probably consider these creatures to be barbaric. Humans are generally afraid of sharks, and why shouldn’t they be? Sharks hurt us humans for food right?

            Most shark attacks are committed by the bull shark because of their notorious and aggressive behavior. There are also reports of attacks from the Great White, but that is very unintentional, because the Great Whites are very curious animals and would only gently bite a human to see if it is edible, but this gentle bite from this 6-metre giant can prove fatal to any human. Also, the Great Whites are very shy and like to stay away from humans and boats. Considering the amount of attacks per year worldwide, that is around 10-15 shark attacks annually. And, come to think of it, more people die from falling coconuts than shark attacks (around 150 people die from falling coconuts annually, worldwide). That’s around 10-15 times the amount of people who die from shark attacks. Infact, even railways and highways claim more lives than sharks!

            Secondly, a surfer on their surf board looks like a seal from below. Thus, a shark would mistake the surfer for its favourite prey, the Seal. So, you blame an animal that has no knowledge of optical illusion for killing someone… Why not blame yourself for emulating its favorite prey?

            Look at these facts, and think again. Are we frightening ourselves for nothing?

            Their numbers are dropping fast. We kill about 100 million sharks a year. Also, every second I spent typing here, somewhere in the world, 3 sharks were being killed. And for what exactly? For the ever-so popular 'Shark Fin Soup'. That is quite barbaric of us actually, because the only role a shark fin has in that soup, is to add texture. Shark fins are not edible; they are not tasty. They contain high levels of fatal toxins like mercury and we still kill around so many sharks each year for that. Shark fins can easily be replaced by some other material, and by reducing and finally stopping the consumption of Shark fins, we will eventually stop the killing of these poor sharks.

            A fact that most of us tend to overlook is that Shark is the top predator of the ocean, and the loss of these predators would cost us the loss of the whole ecosystem.

            An example to support that statement would be, when China wanted to increase the population of tuna, they started fishing Sharks to a greater extent. When the population of Sharks started declining, they saw a positive correlation with the population of the tuna, i.e., even the population of the tuna started declining. This is because with the decline of shark population, there were more predators of tuna, and these predators were increasing in population because there were fewer sharks to feed on them, therefore the result.

            Another example to support that statement would be the phytoplankton. Sharks feed on tiny fish in the ocean, and these tiny fish feed on something called the phytoplankton. This, phytoplankton, is one of the main contributors of the oxygen in the atmosphere, contributors of the oxygen that we breathe. With the overfishing of the Sharks, the tiny fish that feed on that phytoplankton have overpopulated the ocean so much so that the phytoplankton is almost over. That, is the reason to why there is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere than there was before…

            Even after all this proof, instead of saving these poor harmless creatures, we greedy humans kill more for their fins. The fishermen catch these animals, fin them, and then dispose them back in the sea, alive, struggling to live, to breathe, and then because of lack of oxygen getting into their bodies because of their disability to move around, they die.

            After visiting the Deira Fish Market for some insight on the situation with sharks, this is the conclusion I have come to. Adult sharks aren’t the only fished sharks in the UAE. Even though illegal (with a Dubai Municipality sign board), baby sharks are caught and sold. Some even when unborn! Also, statistically, we kill about 70,000,000 times the amount of sharks, that sharks kill humans; we still claim to be afraid of these creatures.

            Finally, think one last time. Who should be afraid of whom? Should we be afraid of these harmless creatures, and continue killing them because of our fright, or should they be frightened of us, in the way we mindlessly and barbarically kill these creatures without giving it a proper thought?

            From all the proof I have given you, do you still think that sharks are what we always thought they were? Or have your views changed?

            Sharks have walked thus far into the evolution cycle, only to be ruthlessly eliminated by a younger species. We can do something to stop it, something to keep this blue life alive for the future generations to see. But are you ready to take that step forward?

- Simran R. Sampat