We’ve all heard the iconic tune: duunnndunnn... duuuunnnn duun... duuunnnnnnnn dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dundunnnnnnnnnnn dunnnn. I’m sure your heart is racing with just hearing it. This misconception about our species evokes such a strong response from humans that just saying a couple of dunnnn duns in the right way immediately brings up my image. Or really, some scary version of myself:
Yup, that’s me. Actually, it’s just a terrible picture of me. So let’s replace that picture with something a little more flattering, not to mention friendlier.
Much better. So, you must be wondering, why on earth is a shark writing a blog post? And better yet, why should you care? Well, I’m here to tell you why. Sharks have been misconstrued as evil, dangerous, man-eating creatures ever since the movie Jaws was released. I would like to set the record straight. We did not suddenly show up, disrupt your lives and eat you. We have been around for over 400 million years, while you humans (or actually the ancestors of modern day humans) have been here for about 6 million years. That’s a 394 million year gap but hey, whose counting? It’s a harsh reality, but you are the ones doing the damage, not us. Sharks have been known to bite, on average, 50 people each year, only killing about 10 people per year. Shark attacks are dangerous, yes, but we only attack if provoked or if we confuse you with our prey. In contrast to us killing about 10 of you per year, you kill up to 100 million sharks per year. Why so many? Some of us get stuck in the fishing nets and are left to die. Most of us are used to make shark fin soup, a delicacy in China. At first, the meal was quite rare, but now with the technology you have available to kill so many of us each day, the meal is becoming more available and common.
Why should you care about this? Morally and ethically, you should care. The way we are killed is barbaric. We are captured in fishing nets, called long-lines, and hauled onto deck by fishermen. Then, while still alive, you slice off our fins and tail and throw us back overboard, still alive and suffering. This is barbaric. And for what? For soup. We are portrayed as destructive, dangerous and innately evil animals while you cut us apart still alive. We grow slowly and do not have many offspring. We cannot reproduce fast enough to compensate for the millions killed each year. For one second, try to place yourselves in our situation. Imagine being snatched from your home, having your limbs cut off while still alive, and put back in your home to suffer and die an unbearably painful death. If someone did this, even just once, to their own species, the perpetrator would be punished and brought to justice. It would be inexcusable if it happened to you but it happens to us every day, 365 days a year. Millions of sharks are killed in the most inhumane way, with no regard for our lives. Biologically, we are just as sensitive as you. We have pain receptors and nerves; we feel each minute of our torturous end. All because in your society, or predominantly in the society of one country, you enjoy one type of soup. One delicacy has impacted the entire ecosystem of the oceans, not to mention it has called into question the ethics and moral standards of the human race.
Ok, so let’s say that you don’t care that you are cutting us up still alive and dumping our mutilated bodies back in the ocean to suffer until we die….for soup. We will go extinct, and this will have many repercussions. If you kill us, we won’t feed on enough stingrays and other predators. Their numbers will grow, causing whatever they eat to decrease in numbers. This causes the prey of the stingray’s prey to increase, and so on. The entire balance of the ecosystem will be unstable. Some species will grow, causing others to die, upsetting the fragile ecosystem. Whether you like it or not, this will affect you. This is called “the cascade effect” and ultimately will destroy the health of coral reefs.
This is my home. This ecosystem is in danger of being completely demolished because of your actions.
My home is beautiful and I have a right to live here. A sociologist, Michael Mayerfeld Bell, came up with the term the beauty of ecology. This term refers to the right of every living thing to “a home, a habitat, that is sustainably beautiful and beautifully sustainable" (Bell, 34). We have a right to our home; we occupied this planet millions of years before you ever did. We are not man-hungry, satanic animals. We are just trying to survive like everyone else.
You have allowed one soup to destroy our ecosystem and endanger our species, putting many species at risk. I’ll leave you to ponder this: if you allow one soup primarily in one country, out of 196 countries, to create so much turmoil and be so destructive, what will you allow to happen to items desired by multiple countries? Will you do something about this, or will you ignore it? Will you investigate the ramifications and inquire about your actions or will you continue to disregard life and continue on your selfish and materialistic warpath?
Sources:
Earle, Sylvia A. The World Is Blue: How Our Fate and the Ocean's Are One. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic, 2009. 62-64. Print.
Earle, Sylvia A. Sea Change: A Message of the Oceans. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1995. 216-17. Print.
Bell, Michael. An Invitation to Environmental Sociology. Thousand Oaks: Pine Forge, 1998. 34. Print.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCfWHqrYUqo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miEX89E-pvM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzlqXMateRE
This was a super interesting and unique read!
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