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(Image: © Shawn Heinrichs for the Pew Environment Group)

Aggressive overfishing threatens to push some shark species to extinction, and a new study puts annual shark deaths at 100 million.

"Our analysis shows that about one in 15 sharks gets killed by fisheries every year," study leader Boris Worm, a professor of biology at Canada's Dalhousie University, said in a statement. "With an increasing demand for their fins, sharks are more vulnerable today than ever before."

Based on available data for shark deaths and estimates of unreported illegal catches, the researchers estimated that 100 million sharks were killed in 2000 and 97 million in 2010. But since scientists lack sufficient data on shark catches, they say the real number of annual shark deaths could possibly be between 63 million and 273 million.

Sharks are fished for their meat, liver oil, cartilage and valuable fins, which are hacked off, often from live sharks, to be used in shark fin soup, an ancient and prized delicacy in East Asia. Since sharks have slow growth and reproductive rates, it can be tough for their populations to bounce back from big losses.

Conservationists say the depletion of shark populations is concerning because as apex predators, they help balance ecosystems in the world's oceans. [ On the Brink: A Gallery of Wild Sharks]

"In working with tiger sharks, we've seen that if we don't have enough of these predators around, it causes cascading changes in the ecosystem, that trickle all the way down to marine plants," said study researcher Mike Heithaus, a Florida International University biologist.

On March 3, hundreds of delegates from 177 different countries will descend on Bangkok for the meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). On the agenda will be increased trade protection for five species of sharks - the oceanic whitetip, porbeagle and three types of hammerheads - which are hunted for their fins.

"A simple vote 'yes' to support their listing could turn things around for some of the world's most threatened shark species," Elizabeth Wilson, manager of global shark conservation at the Pew Charitable Trusts' environmental organization, said in a statement today. "Countries should seize this opportunity to protect these top predators from extinction."

Sharks have a PR problem that might be hurting their chances of survival. A study out last year found that a majority of the media coverage they get involves shark attacks on humans, which doesn't reflect how rare these scary encounters are. In 2012, there were 80 confirmed shark attacks worldwide, but only seven of them were deadly, according to the University of Florida's International Shark Attack File.

The new research was detailed online in the journal Marine Policy.

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100 Million Sharks Killed Each Year, Study Finds

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(Image: © Shawn Heinrichs for the Pew Environment Group) Aggressive overfishing threatens to push some shark species to extinction, and a new study puts annual shark deaths at 100 million. "Our analysis shows that about one in 15 sharks gets killed by fisheries every year," study leader Boris Worm, a professor of biology at Canada's Dalhousie University, said in a statement.

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Other reasons why sharks are getting extinct

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Other reasons why sharks are getting extinct

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Sharks are endangered as an exclusive result of human impacts and activities. Today, the main shark threats include commercial shark finning (for traditional medicine and shark fin soup) and entanglement in commercial fishing gear.

Sharks are apex predators, meaning they sit at the top of their food chain, and they play an important role in the overall health of the oceans. Other shark threats include habitat degradation and climate change.

The entire ocean ecosystem is affected by declining shark populations. Sharks are long-lived, mature late, and they produce few young (pups), making them especially vulnerable to exploitation.

In the March 30 issue of the journal Science, researchers reported a 1970 - 2005 study on populations of 11 great shark species. In every instance, samples showed a drastic decline in the 35-year study window. The Sandbar Shark showed the smallest observed decline at -87%. Meanwhile, the other 10 remaining species, including Hammerhead Sharks, Bull Sharks, and Dusky Sharks have each declined by - 99%.

What does a decline in shark populations mean?

Scientists have observed that ecosystems are essentially a fragile network of actors each playing a unique role in the creation of balance. When one actor (a predator in this instance) is removed from an ecosystem, the next-in-line actors blossom, albeit temporarily. Their population can rise so swiftly that they often overeat their prey to the point of extinction. The result, and without any food left to eat, is a form of unintentional suicide.

Status of SEEtheWILD's Featured Shark Species:

Commercial Fishing

The biggest threat to sharks, skates, and rays is overfishing. Shark fins are particularly sought after for both traditional Chinese medicine and shark fin soup - considered a delicacy in Asia. Watch a 5min video on Shark Finning by Tulley Beard.

Commercial shark-finning is where sharks are caught, their fins cut off, and body discarded. Shark finning kills an estimated 100 million sharks per year.

Bycatch

Commercial fisheries are also having a major impact. Bycatch is the unintentional capture of a non-target species. Fisheries targeting tuna and billfish, in particular, have a high impact on sharks.

Rays and skates are also under threat from unintentional capture in commercial fisheries. They are greatly impacted by bottom trawl fisheries as they are mainly bottom dwellers. Bottom-dwelling sharks are also impacted by this fishery.

Habitat Degradation

All sharks depend on healthy ecosystems to survive and find prey. Habitat degradation includes effects from climate change, pollution, and destruction of areas, such as mangroves and reefs. These areas are used for both breeding and finding prey, and they provide protected habitat for young sharks pups.

Find out more about:

Shark Fin Soup Photo Credit: John Thompson via Flikr

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Shark Threats | Fishing, Bycatch, and Habitat Degradation

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Sharks are endangered as an exclusive result of human impacts and activities. Today, the main shark threats include commercial shark finning (for traditional medicine and shark fin soup) and entanglement in commercial fishing gear. Sharks are apex predators, meaning they sit at the top of their food chain, and they play an important role in the overall health of the oceans.

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Sharks mistake people for seals that's why they kill people by accident

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if shark are extinct there will be lots of seal and the seal will eat the fish and when the fish are extinct coral reef will extinct too, and when coral reef it will killed all the sea animal

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Hi guys, this is a good website of shark extinction. By the way, it is in chinese so please use google translate to translate it
－http://shayu.h.baike.com/article-112395.html

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Now people are sharks predator but now people are still scared of shark. We shouldn't be scared of shark, sharks should be scared of us, because in one hour we killed 15.7k shark. But shark kill 14 people in a year

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This sighting is a test of sharks and that is a very rare shark that is big, but it is not a megalodon. It already extinct. This is a rare specie of shark because this specie of shark lives down deep and not really come out.

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sorry if it is in Thai but this article is about protecting a shark for 10 weeks

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sorry if it is in Thai but this article is about protecting a shark for 10 weeks

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(did not lie)

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Breed, Rescue & Protect

โครงการเพาะพันธุ์ ช่วยเหลือและปกป้อง
การอนุรักษ์เป็นหัวใจสำคัญของ SEA LIFE Bangkok Ocean World โดยมีกลยุทธ์หลักของการอนุรักษ์ คือ การเพาะพันธุ์
ช่วยเหลือ และปกป้อง

ปัจจุบัน เราทำงานร่วมกับองค์กรทางทะเลและองค์กรเฉพาะทางจำนวนมากอย่างใกล้ชิด อาทิ WDC (Whale and Dolphin Conservation); สมาคมการอนุรักษ์ทางทะเล Earth Sea and Sky and The Seahorse Trust.

การเพาะพันธุ์

โครงการเพาะพันธุ์ของ SEA LIFE Bangkok Ocean World มากกว่า 50 โครงการดำเนินงานอย่างต่อเนื่องทั่วโลก ตั้งแต่การเพาะพันธุ์ฉลามและม้าน้ำไปจนถึงเพนกวินและแมวน้ำ ความสำเร็จของโครงการทำให้เกิดสัตว์รุ่นแรกจากการเพาะพันธุ์จำนวนมาก รวมไปถึงสายพันธุ์สัตว์น้ำหายากต่าง ๆ เช่น วีดดี้ ซีดราก้อน รุ่นที่ 2 โดยโครงการเพาะพันธุ์ของ SEA LIFE ยังสะท้อนให้เห็นถึงความสำคัญของสถานที่ตั้ง เช่น การขยายพันธุ์ของปะการังแข็งที่เฮลซิงกิ และการขยายพันธุ์ของฉลามกับกระเบนอีกหลายสายพันธุ์ที่บิลลุนด์ประเทศเดนมาร์ก รวมทั้งการเพาะพันธุ์ คิงส์ เพนกวิน ที่ SEA LIFE ที่เคลลี่ ทาร์ลตันในนิวซีแลนด์ เป็นต้น

ในปี 2012 เพียงปีเดียว เราได้เพาะพันธุ์สัตว์นานาชนิดมากกว่า 5,600 ตัวจาก 64 สายพันธุ์ รวมทั้ง เพนกวินเจนทู วีดดี้ ซีดราก้อน สไปนี่ ซีดราก้อน ฉลาม 6 สายพันธุ์ หมึกโคลนและอื่น ๆ อีกมากมาย

การช่วยเหลือ

SEA LIFE Bangkok Aquarium มีบทบาทที่สำคัญในการช่วยเหลือ ฟื้นฟู และปล่อยสัตว์ทะเลกลับสู่แหล่งธรรมชาติ ทั้งในอุทยานสัตว์น้ำของเราเอง หรือเป็นส่วนหนึ่งของโครงการช่วยเหลือสัตว์ของหน่วยงานเฉพาะทางอื่น ๆ รวมทั้งมีส่วนร่วมในการช่วยพาสัตว์ต่าง ๆ กลับคืนสู่ธรรมชาติในทุกโอกาสที่ทำได้

เราได้ช่วยเหลือสัตว์สายพันธุ์ต่าง ๆ กว่า 7 สายพันธุ์ในปี 2012 (โดยมุ่งมั่นจะเพิ่มเป็น 10 สายพันธุ์ในปี 2016) อันได้แก่

การช่วยเหลือและรักษาแมวน้ำที่เจ็บป่วยและบาดเจ็บในพื้นที่คุ้มครองแมวน้ำของเราในสหราชอาณาจักร

โครงการช่วยเหลือเต่าทะเลในแซคินโธส (ที่บริหารและดำเนินการโดย Earth Sea and Sky) และในออสเตรเลียและ นิวซีแลนด์ เราได้ช่วยเหลือเต่า 53 ตัวในปี 2012

การดูแลโลมาไร้ครีบในปูซานซึ่งเป็นส่วนหนึ่งของโครงการช่วยเหลือที่ก่อตั้งขึ้นโดย CRI (Korea's Cetacean Research Institute ) หรือสถาบันการวิจัยเกี่ยวกับสัตว์ทะเลที่เลี้ยงลูกด้วยนมของประเทศเกาหลี โครงการช่วยเหลือของเราได้นำโลมาทั้งสองมาอยู่ภายใต้การดูแลของโครงการช่วยเหลือ ฟื้นฟูและปล่อยสัตว์ทะเลกลับสู่ธรรมชาติ เนื่องจากสัตว์เหล่านี้แม้จะอยู่ในตามธรรมชาติก็นับวันจะลดจำนวนลงอย่างมาก โดยมีความเสี่ยงที่จะบังเอิญติดอวนจับปลาของชาวประมงท้องถิ่น ดังนั้น ความช่วยเหลือจากโครงการนี้จึงมีบทบาทและถือเป็นการดำเนินงานที่สำคัญมากสำหรับภูมิภาคนี้

ในปี 2012 เราได้พาแมวน้ำและเต่าที่ได้รับการดูแลและรักษาจนแข็งแรง จำนวนกว่า 110 ตัวกลับคืนสู่ที่อยู่ตามธรรมชาติ

ในปี 2014 เราวางแผนที่จะเพิ่มบุคลากรในทีมงานช่วยชีวิตสัตว์ โดยทีมงานนี้จะสามารถเดินทางไปยังพื้นที่ประสบภัยพิบัติทั่วโลกได้ทันทีในยามจำเป็น เพื่อร่วมกับทีมงานที่มีส่วนรับผิดชอบโดยตรง ในการดูแลและช่วยเหลือสัตว์น้ำและแนวชายฝั่งที่ได้รับผลกระทบรุนแรงจากมลภาวะสิ่งแวดล้อม

SEA LIFE Bangkok Ocean World เชื่อว่าสัตว์ทะเลที่เลี้ยงลูกด้วยนมอย่างวาฬและโลมาไม่ควรจะถูกกักขังไว้ และเราเองก็ไม่เคย ตั้งใจที่จะจับมันขังเอาไว้โดยไม่จำเป็น นั่นหมายความว่า เราเชื่อว่าในกรณีที่สัตว์น้ำดังกล่าวถูกจับไว้อยู่แล้วหรือได้รับบาดเจ็บมา ความช่วยเหลือจากหน่วยงานของเราจะเป็นพลังเชิงบวกที่สนับสนุนและช่วยให้สัตว์เหล่านั้นได้รับการดูแลและ รักษาอย่างดีที่สุด รวมทั้งถือเป็นการสร้างโอกาสให้กับเหล่าสัตว์น้ำได้รับการดูแลจนกว่าจะหายเป็นปกติ และสามารถมีชีวิตที่ดีขึ้นในอนาคต

โครงการอนุรักษ์ที่ได้รับการสนับสนุนจาก SEA LIFE Bangkok Ocean World ในปัจจุบัน ได้แก่:

โครงการอนุรักษ์ในท้องถิ่นกว่า 200 โครงการ ในปี 2012 ที่มีความสัมพันธ์กับอุทยานสัตว์น้ำของเรา รวมทั้งการจัดกิจกรรมอนุรักษ์ในระดับชุมชน เช่น การทำความสะอาดชายหาด การดูแลความสะอาดของแม่น้ำ และโครงการเกี่ยวกับสายพันธุ์สัตว์ ต่างๆ เช่น การเพาะเลี้ยงและการแนะนำเต่าน้ำจืดสายพันธุ์ท้องถิ่นให้เป็นที่รู้จักอีกครั้งในตอนกลางของประเทศเยอรมนี

การสนับสนุนเงินทุนสำหรับศูนย์ช่วยเหลือและการอนุรักษ์เต่าในแซคินโธสที่เปิดให้เข้าชมและมีผู้เข้าชมมากว่า 30,000 คน ในปี 2012

การรณณรงค์เพื่อให้เข้มงวดในการบังคับใช้กฎหมายว่าด้วยการล่าฉลามเพื่อเอาหูฉลาม

การติดตั้งสัญญาณติดตามฉลามในสก็อตแลนด์ (ด้วยการให้ข้อมูลสนับสนุนเกี่ยวกับการปกป้องคุ้มครองในเรื่องพื้นที่อนุบาล) และในเมลเบิร์น ประเทศออสเตรเลีย โครงการฉลามสีน้ำเงินในประเทศนิวซีแลนด์

แผนการปัจจุบันรวมไปถึง:

การแนะนำตัวแทน Global Creature Ambassadors ของปีนี้ ทั้ง 9 ชนิด ได้แก่ เต่า กระเบน ม้าน้ำ ฉลาม เพนกวิน แมวน้ำ นาก ปะการัง วาฬและโลมาในปีนี้

การจัดตั้งพื้นที่คุ้มครองสัตว์ทะเล (MPAs / MPZs)

โครงการ Pygmy Manatee ซึ่งเป็นโครงการปกป้องคุ้มครองสัตว์และสิ่งแวดล้อมของสัตว์นั้น ๆ (ที่มีการเชื่อมโยงกับโลมา น้ำจืดที่จะมีการสำรวจต่อไป) - 2013

โครงการติดตั้งสัญญาณติดตามกระเบน - 2013

โครงการติดตั้งสัญญาณติดตามฉลาม

โครงการสำรวจม้าน้ำทั่วโลก

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ซีไลฟ์ แบงคอก โอเชี่ยน เวิลด์

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สยามโอเชี่ยนเวิลด์

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เที่ยวกรุงเทพ

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สถานที่ท่องเที่ยว กรุงเทพ

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ซีไลฟ์ แบงคอก โอเชี่ยน เวิลด์ - SEALIFE Bangkok Ocean World

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โครงการเพาะพันธุ์ ช่วยเหลือและปกป้อง การอนุรักษ์เป็นหัวใจสำคัญของ SEA LIFE Bangkok Ocean World โดยมีกลยุทธ์หลักของการอนุรักษ์ คือ การเพาะพันธุ์ช่วยเหลือ และปกป้อง ปัจจุบัน เราทำงานร่วมกับองค์กรทางทะเลและองค์กรเฉพาะทางจำนวนมากอย่างใกล้ชิด อาทิ WDC (Whale and Dolphin Conservation); สมาคมการอนุรักษ์ทางทะเล Earth Sea and Sky and The Seahorse Trust.

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Newsela | Greenland sharks claim the crown for longest living vertebrates - 400 years

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Researchers use different technique to determine age of long-living aquatic creatures

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Sharks have been feared hunters ever since people first observed them swimming in the vast ocean. Yet today, sharks are declining rapidly on a global scale because humans have replaced them as the ocean's top predators. One way that humans hunt sharks is by using a practice called shark finning. This is the process of slicing off a shark's fin and discarding the rest of the still-living body, often by dumping it back into the ocean.

Shark fins are tempting targets for fishermen because they have high monetary and cultural value. They are used in a popular dish called shark fin soup, which is a symbol of status in Chinese culture. In the past, Chinese Emperors favored the soup as a dish that honored guests because it was thought to have medicinal benefits and represented a victory against powerful sharks. This popularity has not faded with time and has even expanded with China's growing population. Today shark fin soup is still prevalent and has become a staple for more than just emperors on special occasions. As a result, fishermen have a large incentive to gather and sell shark fins.

Many fishermen prefer to practice shark finning instead of bringing whole sharks to the market because the fins are far more valuable than the rest of the body, sometimes selling for as much as $500 a pound ($1,100 a kilogram). Instead, fishermen choose to keep just the shark fins-only one to five percent of a shark's weight-and throw the rest of the shark away rather than have the less valuable parts take up space on the boat. The finned sharks are often thrown back into the ocean alive, where they do not die peacefully: unable to swim properly and bleeding profusely, they suffocate or die of blood loss.

However, the animal cruelty implications are not the only reason to stop this practice. Another major factor is that shark fisheries-and finning in particular-are having catastrophic effects on shark populations around the world. Approximately 100 million sharks are killed globally each year, and one of the major incentives for this is the shark fin trade. With their slow growth and low reproductive rates, sharks are highly susceptible to extinction, and it is difficult for many shark species to replenish their populations as quickly as they are being diminished. Many species of sharks are currently in danger due to shark finning, including the scalloped hammerhead, which is endangered, and the smooth hammerhead, which is vulnerable according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Between 1.3 and 2.7 million of just these two sharks are killed every year in the shark fin trade, and the northwestern Atlantic population of the scalloped hammerhead declined from around 155,500 in 1981 to 26,500 in 2005. Today, some shark populations have decreased by 60-70% due to human shark fisheries.

Such dramatic population plunges are not only dangerous for sharks but also for entire ecosystems. When shark populations decrease, a ripple effect can spread throughout the rest of the ecosystem. For instance, the loss of the smooth hammerhead caused their prey, rays, to increase. The larger ray population now eats more scallops, clams, and other bivalves. This not only hurts the bivalve populations and therefore the biodiversity of the ecosystem; it also harms human fisheries. Furthermore, many coastal populations make money from the sharks that entice vacationers to their communities for ecotourism. One estimate for hammerhead sharks suggests that a live shark, over the course of its lifetime, is worth $1.6 million, which is a great deal higher than the $200 the dead shark can sell for. A recent study from the University of British Colombia projected that shark ecotourism will be worth more than the global shark fisheries in just a few years.

Progress

Around the world, people are realizing how critical sharks are to ecosystems and people, and officials are beginning to protect sharks on a variety of scales. In early 2013, the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora ( CITES) listed five more species of sharks in its Appendix II, a list of species that are not currently endangered but may become endangered without regulating their trade. Although Appendix II still allows trade in shark fins, the fishing is required to be sustainable, giving the species additional protection. Additionally, many individual countries are making their own protections. For instance, all sharks caught in U.S. waters must be brought to shore with their fins still attached according to the 2010 Shark Conservation Act. Since 1994, 22 countries have placed domestic regulations on shark finning. China is also working towards ending shark finning. To decrease the cultural value of fins, the Chinese government began prohibiting the serving of shark fin soup at official banquets in 2012.

Yet cultural values are slow to change, even with growing support to ban shark fishing from governments and celebrities. Many restaurants and hotels around the world continue to sell shark fin soup. One 2012 survey found that only six percent of luxury hotels in the Chinese cities of Beijing, Shenzhen, and Fuzhou had stopped serving the dish. To those who feel shark fin soup is a part of their culture, cutting it out of their diets completely is difficult. Some people support (pdf) increasing regulations on shark finning rather than banning it completely or using the whole shark so there is less waste and cruelty. Others remain staunchly against this process, making it difficult to resolve this debate. A variety of approaches may be the key to making progress in the future towards protecting sharks everywhere.

(Fiona Ayerst/Marine Photobank)

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Sharks have been feared hunters ever since people first observed them swimming in the vast ocean. Yet today, sharks are declining rapidly on a global scale because humans have replaced them as the ocean's top predators. One way that humans hunt sharks is by using a practice called shark finning.

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Fins are sliced off of sharks while their live bodies are tossed back into the ocean like trash. Here are 7 reasons why this practice should be banned.

1. Our most ancient species are endangered.

Sharks have existed since before the dinosaurs and pre-date humans by hundreds of millions of years. Once kings of natural selection, sharks are now facing extinction due to finning. Shark populations are extremely vulnerable because they take up to 20 years to reach sexual maturity and produce few young. The current demand for fins makes it impossible to restore populations to previous levels.

Since 1972, the number of Blacktip, Tiger, Bull, Dusky, and Smooth Hammerhead sharks has fallen by over 90%. Already, 18-20 species of sharks are listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

2. The soup isn't that good anyway.

No one is asking people to stop eating delicious soups, and shark fin soup is certainly not one of them. Shark fins are tasteless - fins are full of cartilage, which simply serves as a thickening agent.

The soup has been served for centuries by Chinese at special occasions such as weddings so the hosts can impress their friends with excess wealth, since it can cost up to $100 per bowl. For the most part, the limited number of wealthy Chinese meant that the practice was sustainable, but the rapid growth in the Chinese economy since 1985 is directly correlated with the recent sharp decrease in shark populations.

3. Changing shark populations destabilizes marine ecosystems.

Changes in shark populations alter the ecological dynamics within the entire ocean because sharks are apex predators and play a major role as ecological stabilizers.

The domino effect: decimated Blacktip and Tiger Shark populations along the east coast of the US led to decreased shellfish populations, which led to decreased water quality since shellfish filter water. Another domino effect: fewer sharks increase octopus populations, which decrease lobster populations. At this rate, the oceanic ecosystem that has evolved over millions and millions of years would collapse.

A recent study by the Monterey Bay Aquarium found that more than 75% of people surveyed support a shark finning ban.

4. This isn't just in Asia.

Outside of Asia, California is the largest market for fins. The Shark Finning Prohibition Act of 2000 prohibits the possession of fins without the corresponding carcass in U.S. waters but does not prohibit the importing or distribution of fins, so some of the fins that are legally imported through Los Angeles and San Diego are actually illegally obtained in U.S. waters.

California Assembly Members Fong and Huffman have introduced Assembly Bill 376, a bill to ban the possession, sale, trade, and distribution of shark fins in California. Washington, Hawaii, and the Northern Mariana Islands have already passed a similar law and Oregon and Guam are considering it.

5. Finning cashes in on cruelty.

Now that we've overfished the Bluefin Tuna, industry has turned to the sharks to cash in. Fins are worth up to $600 per pound. What happens when we overfish all of the sharks?

6. It's a wasteful practice.

Usually, only the fin is saved while the rest of the shark's body is chucked overboard. Shark meat isn't popular because of the high ammonia content, meaning that the carcass must move quickly from sea to table with the utmost care to prevent health hazards to the consumer. Shark meat isn't valuable enough for fishermen to carefully store the huge carcasses on their ships.

7. Longlining is killing more than sharks.

A "curtain of death" sweeps through the ocean, catching anything that goes for the bait. These "longlines" are meant to catch tuna and swordfish, but they actually catch anything that takes its bait, including endangered sharks, leatherback and loggerhead turtles, and seabirds (such as albatross). Over 25% of the longline catch is chucked back into the sea, usually left for dead.

In most areas, longlining is perfectly legal and practiced routinely.

Ban Shark Finning Worldwide

A recent study by the Monterey Bay Aquarium found that more than 75% of people surveyed support a shark finning ban. On the other side of the world, China's most powerful television station, CCTV, has donated $70 million in time to air informative commercials about finning. The NBA's most famous Chinese basketball player, Yao Ming, is plastered on San Francisco's MUNI buses as part of WildAid's campaign to end shark finning.

What you can do

On June 10, 2011, the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) will be holding its annual Splash Ball in San Francisco, CA. The theme of this year's ball is Shindig for Sharks to raise awareness about the devastating impact finning on shark populations and the planet. For more information or to buy tickets to the Splash Ball ($95 per ticket), visit the Splash Ball Eventbrite site.

In addition to supporting state bans, visit Stop Shark Finning for ideas about other actions you can take.

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Fins are sliced off of sharks while their live bodies are tossed back into the ocean like trash. Here are 7 reasons why this practice should be banned. 1. Our most ancient species are endangered. Sharks have existed since before the dinosaurs and pre-date humans by hundreds of millions of years.

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Hong Kong's Approach to Dealing with This Problem

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Hong Kong's Approach to Dealing with This Problem

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Researchers estimate that 100 million sharks are killed each year, some 73 million of them for the lucrative trade in shark fins. As demand, mainly from China, has soared, many shark populations have plummeted by as much as 90 percent in recent decades.

"If sharks continue to be overfished at the current rate, it's only a matter of a few years before the targeted species are extinct," according to Richard Thomas, communications director at Traffic, which monitors wildlife trade.

The fins are not cheap. Retailers in Hong Kong charge more than 2,000 Hong Kong dollars, or $260, per "catty," a traditional weight measure commonly used in markets here and equal to a bit more than 600 grams, or 21 ounces. One catty makes about 10 portions of shark's fin soup.

The soup is losing some of its status - slowly.

Several vendors of dried seafood in the bustling Hong Kong neighborhood of Sheung Wan said last week that they now sold significantly less than they had a few years ago.

"People are a lot more aware about protecting the environment," said an employee at one of the dozens of stores in the area. Like others, he declined to give his name, because he was worried about the mounting bad publicity surrounding shark fins here. "There is less demand now," he said.

Hong Kong now has several groups that are opposed to shark finning - the practice of capturing sharks, removing the fins and then throwing them back into the water to die. In May, 12 restaurants and hotels pledged to offer shark-free options for banquets. Alibaba, the Chinese answer to eBay, has banned the sale of the fins on its site.

"Awareness has been rising for the past few years, but it really took off this year," said Andy Cornish at the WWF in Hong Kong.

A proliferation of videos on YouTube - like one of a whale shark that washed up in the Philippines this year, still alive but with its fins cut off - has really pushed the issue mainstream. And it hammered home how the precious fins are harvested.

Sharks are fished in oceans around the world, but Hong Kong is the hub for the trade in their fins, handling between 50 percent and 80 percent of the global market. The fins go on to mainland China or to Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Taiwan. Hong Kong itself is also a major consumer.

Because Hong Kong is generally a trendsetter for upmarket spending in China, attitudes here could well influence consumption in the vastly greater mainland market, experts believe.

But conservationists have also taken their message to the mainland itself. Most prominent is a campaign by WildAid featuring Yao Ming, the National Basketball Association star, who was born in Shanghai. The campaign appears on CCTV, the main state television broadcaster, and on billboards and public screens in major cities.

"Many people in China are simply not aware that shark finning is wasteful, cruel and unsustainable," said Michael Skoletsky, executive director at Shark Savers in New York, which also supports the campaign.

But changing attitudes is an uphill struggle.

A survey by McKinsey, for example, showed last year that even though half of Chinese consumers said they wanted to understand the environmental impact of products they purchased, few actually walk the talk: Fewer than 3 percent ever purchased "green" products.

Even in Hong Kong, where awareness has risen, many restaurants offer a plethora of shark's fin dishes. Among them: Lung King Heen, which has three Michelin stars, and Man Wah in the Mandarin Oriental hotel, though both have also recently introduced shark-free options for banquets.

Only about 5 percent of couples choose shark-free menus at their weddings, according to a survey by a wedding industry group last year.

Elsewhere, too, shark protection is proving tough.

Last month, Hawaii became the first U.S. state to outlaw shark fins. But, Mr. Skoletsky at Shark Savers said that with all the other issues legislators have to deal with - from unemployment to oil spills - it will be "very hard to get it on the agenda" of other states.

Fergus Fung, founder of WOM, a Hong Kong restaurant guide, said, "Ultimately, we'll see shark's fin consumption phasing off here. But we're still a long way away from sharks' disappearing completely from menus. It's still a very, very big dish."

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Environmental Cost of Shark Finning Is Getting Attention in Hong Kong

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Researchers estimate that 100 million sharks are killed each year, some 73 million of them for the lucrative trade in shark fins. As demand, mainly from China, has soared, many shark populations have plummeted by as much as 90 percent in recent decades.

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Shark eating people people eating sharks

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video sharks don't eat people but we eat sharks #2

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video sharks don't eat people but we eat sharks #2

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Australias Deadliest Shark Coast National Geographic Documentary

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Amazon River Monsters | Journey Into Amazonia | National Geographic Documentary

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Eagle Documentary National Geographic Full

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Shark Documentary National Geographic Shark Wranglers Shark Alley

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Wild Indonesia Land Of Dragons National Geographic

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Nat Geo Wild | Great White Shark Deep  National Geographic Documentary

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Nat Geo Wild | Great White Shark Deep National Geographic Documentary

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Sharks don't eat people but we  eat sharks

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Sharks don't eat people but we  eat sharks

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Did you know that shark did not try to eat us but they though we are seals on the water so they eat people but we cut the shark fin and then we just leave the shark where they are so when they don't move they die

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15.7K shark is killed by human per hour

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Humans kill an astonishing number of sharks every year. Various species are the victims of culling in attempts to make beaches safer, bycatch by commercial fishing vessels, trophy catches and the practice of finning for food.

While it's difficult to know exactly how many sharks are killed annually by humans, a study published last year in the journal Marine Policy attempted to calculate the exploitation rates of sharks in order to assess this dire situation. Using data on shark catches, discards and mortality rates worldwide, the researchers estimated that approximately 100 million sharks are killed per year by humans. However, they add that this is a conservative estimate, and the true number could be as high as 273 million sharks killed annually by humans.

This number might be a little difficult to get your head around, so content marketing wizard Joe Chernov teamed up with Ripetungi to produce this harrowing infographic that compares human induced shark mortality with human deaths from shark attacks.

As pointed out by the collaborators, sharks may be one of the most feared animals on the planet, but by the time you scroll down this graphic, 73 more sharks would have been killed.

Sharks are critical to marine ecosystems; without them the food chain collapses. As explained by Scientific American, they're apex predators that control the density and behavior of their prey, which indirectly affects the abundance of species further down the food web.

Sharks are also economically valuable. While the value of global shark catches is estimated to be around $630 million per year, this figure is steadily declining. In contrast, shark ecotourism generates around $312 million each year worldwide and is predicted to reach around $780 million in 20 years.

The ocean is their home, not ours. Let's make an effort to put our fears behind us and protect these amazing animals.

[Header image "Great White Shark," by Brook Ward, via Flickr, used in accordance with CC BY-NC 2.0]

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How Many Sharks Do Humans Kill Per Hour?

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Humans kill an astonishing number of sharks every year. Various species are the victims of culling in attempts to make beaches safer, bycatch by commercial fishing vessels, trophy catches and the practice of finning for food.

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Most sharks species will drown if they stop moving. Great white, mako and salmon sharks don't have the muscles they need to pump water through their mouth and over their gills. As long as they keep swimming, water keeps moving over their gills, keeping them alive.Not only did sharks first appeared 400 million years ago, they are still here today. They have survived 5 massive planet extinction events. These extinction events killed most life on earth. The last one around 65 million years ago killed the dinosaurs. But not sharks. They were here to stay.While many of us have learned to fear sharks, they’re the ones who should fear us. People are sharks’ most deadliest predator. In fact humans kill more than 100 million sharks each year.the word “shark” may conjure up images of great whites and hammerheads, there are at least 500 shark species (perhaps even more) roaming the world’s oceans today.