Well first of all, how did the Science Department ever find this? http://www.countdown2010.net/daversity
Second, yeah so the title is a quote from the video. If you've never seen it before or you're not even bothering to click on the link, it's actually a pretty funny presentation with talking animals with french accents teaching each other about the importance of The Web of Life.
OKAY. SO. Like what these talking animals said in the video, when humans take away natural habitats, it causes animals or plant species to become endangered or extinct because our actions alter The Web of Life. We could simply affect, for example, sharks, just by capturing and maybe, possibly...by killing them. Well SOME people in Asia don't kill them right away; they cut off their fins and leave them to die.
http://www.cleanfish.com/blog/saving-sharks-preserving-culture
Shark Finning Endangers Marine Ecosystems
Sharks Face Extinction due to Criminal Fin Trade
- Apr 24, 2009 Jennifer Copley
- Shark - Rosevita, Morguefile
- AdoptaShark.com. (2009). “FAQ.” Iemanya Oceanica.
- BBCNews.co.uk. (22 May 2008). “Sharks Swim Closer to Extinction.”
- Benchley, Peter. (1995). “Misunderstood Monsters.” Smithsonian Institute, SharkFriends.com.
- Burgess, George H., International Shark Attack File, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida. (n.d.). “Reducing the Risk of a Shark Encounter: Advice to Aquatic Recreationists” and “How, When, & Where Sharks Attack.” FLMNH.UFL.edu.
- Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Shark Attack File. (1991). “Shark Attacks in Perspective.” [Reprinted, with emendations, from: Burgess, G.H. 1991. Shark attack and the International Shark Attack File, pp. 101-105. In: Gruber, S.H. (ed.). 1990. Discovering Sharks, American Littoral Society, Highlands, New Jersey]. FLMNH.UFL.edu.
- IRIN, Humanitarian News and Analysis, a project of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. (4 December 2008). “Madagascar: Too Few Sharks is a Bad Thing.” IRINNews.org.
- Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. (2009). “Defending Sharks.” SeaShepherd.org.
- Sharkwater.com. (2009). “Shark Education.”
- Tobin, Barry, Australian Institute of Marine Science (2008). “Dangerous Marine Mammals of Northern Australia: Sharks.” AIMS.gov.au.
Desperately endangered, sharks may become extinct in the near future if current fishing practices persist, and their loss would be devastating to marine ecosystems.
Despite their reputation as man eaters, the reality is that approximately 10 people worldwide die from shark attacks on average each year according to Barry Tobin of the Australian Institute of Marine Science. In fact, more people die in vending-machine-related mishaps than are killed by sharks.
Shark Products
Shark finning is a multi-billion dollar industry, with a single pound of dried fin retailing for more than $300. The fins are used to make shark fin soup and traditional medicines. In some cases sharks are also killed to make shark’s tooth jewellery, belts, wallets, and cosmetic products. In addition, shark cartilage has been sold as an ineffective cure for cancer. There is absolutely no scientific evidence that shark products provide any medicinal benefits to humans.
Shark fin soup can cost up to $400 per bowl. The shark fin doesn’t even add any flavour to the soup; it is actually flavoured with other types of meat. Although shark fin soup is sold widely in Asia where it is considered a prestige product, the name translates to “fish wing soup” and so many consumers don’t know that it contains shark, or that the industry supports cruel and ecologically dangerous practices.
Shark Finning
Each year 100-200 million sharks of all species and ages are killed for their fins. After their fins have been sliced off, live sharks are tossed back into the ocean where, unable to swim, they sink to the bottom. A finned shark can take days to die and will either bleed to death or be eaten alive by other animals.
Sharks are not the only victims of the finning industry. Some shark finners cut up dolphins to use as shark bait, and dolphins, whales, albatrosses, and turtles are caught in the longline nets used for shark fishing.
Because of finning, experts have estimated that the majority of shark species, which have been around for more than 400 million years, will become extinct within a decade. Removal of a top predator could destabilize marine ecosystems, as well as removing a needed food staple for those in developing countries.
The Effects of Removing Sharks With finning, nearly all of the shark is thrown back into the ocean, while people who rely on shark meat for sustenance are deprived of needed protein. In addition, the finning industry is controlled by criminal interests and threatens sustainable, traditional fishing operations.
Sharks are vitally important to marine ecosystems because they remove diseased animals and maintain the ocean’s balance of predators and prey. Marine ecosystems are critical to human life, and it is not yet known what the full impact of the loss of sharks might be for humans, but there are some early indications of impending widespread disaster.
Some shark species have had their populations reduced by up to 95%, and in certain places this imbalance is already threatening sustainable industry. For example, the loss of sharks has led to an explosion in the octopus population, and because octopuses prey on lobsters, Tasmania’s lobster fishery has collapsed. Other such trickle-down effects are being felt in a variety of locations, endangering the livelihoods of those in many sustainable fishing communities.
References:
- Alright. So the writer, Jennifer Copley, a freelance writer, researcher, and editor with 20 years of experience, did show a lot of bias within the article. She mainly just talked about the negative impacts of shark finning. The article evokes an emotion of being against shark finning from beginning to end. This article was written by the writer to provide awareness to the readers that sharks will be extinct in the near future if current fishing practices persist. The writer was also trying to say that fin trades are really not necessary. Sharks, despite being known as "man eaters," only an average of 10 people die from shark attacks annually. The fact that the writer requests the immediate attention of the public demonstrates her concerns for the issue.
In China, shark fin soup, or Emperor's soup, is a special delicacy thought to be a source of good health... How terribly wrong they are. Eating shark fin soup can actually cause health problems. If people would just watch the Discovery Channel once in a while, or read or something, maybe they'd know that some fish have poisonous mercury in them. They swim in polluted bodies of water and the mercury is absorbed in their bodies. As fish eat other fish, the mercury accumulates and concentrates further up the food chain. So since sharks are at the top of the food chain, no doubt they have more mercury in their bodies than any other fish. They also keep the populations of other fish healthy and in proper proportion for their ecosystem. Populations of sharks are already down by 95% or more in just the last 20 years in large parts of the oceans. What's making this problem worse is that sharks reproduce very slowly. They take years to reach sexual maturity and reproduce just a few young. The population of any species should increase and decrease over years as nature would balance itself every time. But since our bad actions interferes with all this balancing thing, it is becoming more and more difficult for nature to do this on its own.
Sources:
http://sharkangels.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=97&Itemid=165
http://jennifercopley.suite101.com/shark-finning-endangers-marine-ecosystems-a112178
http://articles.cnn.com/2008-12-10/world/pip.shark.finning_1_shark-fin-shark-populations-top-predator?_s=PM:WORLD
- "We Are Who We Are"
- Now, if it isn't so obvious enough, humans are, well... Selfish. We only centre our attention to what nature can do for us and we don't ever bother thinking how we can reciprocate the situation for the sake of the environment and all other living things in the world. We don't THINK before we DO so the rest have to suffer from the consequences. I know everyone at this point would be thinking about trying to prevent these consequences from happening: recycling so we don't create more landfills, preserving endangered animals so they don't become extinct... But hey, guess what? It's already begun and I think the best thing we can do is try and not make it worse.
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