 |
||
Busting myths about shark finning The Sun, 4 Oct 2007 |
||
|
The letter by Cheah Hooi Giam titled "Anti-shark’s fin drive smacks of cultural bias" (Speak Up!, Sept 17) calls for a response. He claims that the campaign is based on personal and cultural bias and not on facts. I would like to set the record straight by stating the facts:
Yes, it is true that an estimated 50% of the world shark catch is believed to be taken accidentally while fishing, which makes it even more important for us to contribute in any way we can to the conservation of these species. Live finning is not a myth and it is cruel. It is happening simply because the fisherman wants to maximize their catch for the day by disposing shark bodies back into the sea and keeping the room on their boat for fins. This is also a reason why many European countries consider that one of the most effective ways to implement a shark finning ban is to require that sharks be landed whole with fins still attached. |
The practice is considered cruel simply because the shark is left to die a slow death, not from bleeding per se but due to drowning as they are unable to swim or circulate water through their gills, which enables them to breathe. The purported medical benefits of shark’s cartilage or any other parts have never been scientifically proven. However, it continues to be sold in most pharmaceutical stores. Why do we want to preserve sharks? Why not have campaigns to save other fishes? The reasons are very clear: Sharks stand as a top predator in the food chain. Their depletion will undoubtedly disturb the ecological balance, and impact humans too. A very recent case is the exploding population of the Humboldt squid in America and other parts of the world. Humboldt squid are diminishing the fish and crustacean populations that have been the lifeline of many people in these places and the reason for this is that they are now free from their top predator and other competitors in the ocean. Guess which animal is the predator of these giant creatures? Their number one predator is the Hammerhead shark. In the Sea of Cortez, the population of hammerhead sharks has dropped by 90% due to over fishing and finning, causing the squid population to explode. Sharks have a very slow reproductive cycle. Hammerhead sharks only reproduce once a year with a gestation period of 10 -12 months. Despite the fact that the litter can contain up to 40 pups, many of these pups are killed long before reaching adulthood. |
Further, the shark’s fins do not have any nutritional benefit. Their main function in the soup is to improve its texture, which can be achieved by other means. Another cause for concern is that fins contain mercury, which poses very real health risks from direct exposure to it or by eating contaminated fish. Mercury occurs naturally and is found in very small amounts in the oceans, rocks and soils. It becomes airborne through natural processes and then circulates in the whole environment. Thai health officials in 2001 reported that the local shark’s fin soup contained mercury levels about 42 times above the safe limit. Although sharks are an important part of the marine ecosystem, research on them is often neglected in favor of the more commercially viable bony fish. In addition to that sharks are often feared for their gruesome image as man-eaters despite the fact that many researchers have safely swum with most sharks in the effort to study them without ever being harmed. The removal of the sharks from our oceans means disturbing the natural ecological balance which has been in place all these years. The balance is there for a reason and when we disturb or destroy it, we are actually cutting one of the very important strands in the web of life. Right now, the sharks need our utmost attention because its has already been proven that their survival will in turn affect our lives, over time.
Khatijah Abdullah |
|
|
||
|
|
||
