The extinction of sharks - How exactly does it affect human life?

Hawaii voted on a bill for ocean health and resiliency while  the U.S. Senate passed the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act.

Now comes the biggest question that needs to be answered- Why these acts? What was the need for an act to eliminate shark fin sales? What will happen if Sharks disappear?

Let’s know about the ocean food chain first.

There are Coral reefs that are present under the surface of the ocean. Algae grows on those Coral reefs and which in turn are consumed by certain category of fish. These fish are consumed by other large predatory fish. Ultimately, these large predatory fish are consumed by the sharks. 

Sharks are the top predators in the ocean. They eat large predatory fish species which feed on small fish species. These fish eat up the algae that are present on the coral reefs. The coral reefs need to photosynthesize and if they are covered by algae, it will lead to degradation and death. Now why are the coral reefs important?

The coral reefs are important for the ecosystem as: 

• they provided much needed oxygen like any other plants to the ocean life
• they balance the carbon and nitrogen content in the ocean
• they protect the coast lines from storms and strong waves
• they provide good habitat and essential nutrients for the marine life

Picture credit: Unsplash: Diogo Hungria

·      So now do you get it? To protect the coral reefs and the planet we need to protect sharks.

      Why are sharks declining in number?

There are several reasons for the declining number of sharks such as overfishing, bycatch, destruction of habitat, illegal finning of sharks, pollution, climatic changes, and disruption of ocean ecosystem. Among them overfishing and illegal finning can be immediately controlled. Each year 100 million sharks are being killed. Most of the killing takes place because of shark fin soup and of habitat destruction.

Overfishing of sharks are harmful as sharks have low reproduction rate. It takes years for a newly born shark to reach to its productive age. At the same time when fishermen spread their nets over the ocean, the large predatory fishes, sharks and rays get caught in the nets eventually. These sharks are taken for illegal finning. This again contributes to the reducing number of sharks in today's world.

Shark fins are a delicacy of the royalty and supposed to have curative properties. Shark finning is the act of removing the fins from the sharks and discarding the rest of the body back into the ocean. Fins are the most profitable part of the shark's body and their bodies are also not preferable as they become heavy in the fishing vessels and container. Thus their bodies are discarded back in the ocean. It becomes hard for these sharks to survive in the ocean and they either die or are become prey to other predators. Even though shark fins are sold across the US, shark finning was made illegal in the US waters.

How does the extinction of sharks affect human life?

• Imbalanced food chain

Excess of algae will impact the level of oxygen that is present under the ocean. Algae suck the oxygen present in the ocean. Low oxygen levels will impact the marine life and will lead to the death of the marine creatures.

• Uncured diseases

Many diseases would go uncured without sharks. There is an instance where an antibiotic was found in the liver of sharks and was found to cure a number of diseases like Dengue and Hepatitis. An optometric research is also underway to find if the cornea transplants can be possible from sharks to humans.

• Increase in global warming:

Sharks hold a lot of carbon in their bodies and when they die they sink to the bottom of the ocean where they move the carbon to the bottom of the ocean. The dead sharks are then eaten by the sea scavengers. This keeps carbon out of the atmosphere. Now, if sharks grow extinct, the level of carbon will also move up. This again, will impose a threat on the marine life. 

• Sharks are crucial to our survival:

As it is being found, that the oceans produce more amount of oxygen than any other rain forest and also helps in reducing the carbon dioxide levels (as discussed above). This helps in controlling the climatic changes and the temperature.

Conclusion:

Sharks play a crucial role in regulating the oceans and maintaining a healthy balance of the marine life. Extinction of sharks also leads to economic instability as the fisheries would collapse and there would be death of the coral reefs. The death of the coral reefs will affect the food chain as they are being consumed by the herbivorous fish in the sea.

 

Picture credit: Unsplash: Markus Spiske

Sharks are being fished at a faster rate, and if this continues in no time sharks will disappear. The sharks have a low reproduction rate and this fact should be taken care of while doing fishing and shark finning. Now, it is our turn to take care of our ecosystem, our sharks.