I was able to find and compile a list of a few links to videos on the topic of shark finning that I think really demonstrate the horrific reality of what happens because of shark finning. I hope everyone takes a look at these videos and is moved by what they see. Shark finning is real, its horrible, it is happening now and there is no better time to put a stop to it than right now.
1) "Shark Fin Frontier"- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zep7B1esW-M
2) "Stop Shark Finning"- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFQX04kERoI
3) "The Horrifying Truth About Shark Finning"- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd_VoVOYg9g
Saturday, November 29, 2008
The Heath Dangers of Shark Fin Soup
Although shark fin soup is quite popular and is a delicacy in Asian countries it has no nutritional benefit and is actually proven to be harmful to your health in the long run. There are many claims that shark fin soup may help with arthritis but in addition to helping with arthritis shark fins are full of the harmful poison mercury ("Shark Fin Soup- An Eco-Catastrophe?", SFGate.com). Also shark fins supposedly have little or no nutritional value ("An Eco-Catastrophe?).
According to a news article featured on Chinadaily.com, the high levels of mercury found in the expensive shark fin soup may actually lead to sterility. In addition to sterility "shark fin [soup] can also cause central nervous system problems and kidney diseases" ("Watch Out For Shark Fin Soup", Chinadaily.com). The mercury levels in shark meat are derived from the ocean's food chain. "Lots of marine organisms have been contaminated by mercury polluted sea water" and because the shark is at the very top of the oceans food chain it eats "numerous polluted small fishes and organisms" thus leaving the shark highly contaminated ("Watch Out").
With there being numerous health downsides to eating shark fin soup it quickly becomes obvious how unnecessary it is to eat this soup. If enough people can be turned away from the soup due to its health side-effects then we can greatly diminish the demand for shark fins, thus reducing the need to kill for their fins. So, is killing vast numbers of sharks to eat their mercury riddled fins worth risking our oceans' Eco-systems for? Or worth pushing sharks to the brink of extinction? I didn't think so.
About Saving the Sharks and Ending Shark Finning
In many Asian countries shark fin soup is a delicacy that is eaten on special occasions. While it may seem harmless considering it is a cultural delicacy, it is in fact having a profound and negative effect on shark populations and the eco-systems of our oceans. Shark finning is the act of catching sharks just to take their valuable fins, which are frequently eaten in soup. Once they get the fins they dump the shark back into the ocean because the body is not worth much and therefore not worth dragging back to shore. Without their fins the sharks are now no longer able to swim, and as a result of the finning they sink to the bottom and suffer a slow and agonizing death. In some cases the sharks "slowly sink toward the bottom where [they are] eaten alive by other fish" ("Shark Education- Shark Finning Facts", Sharkwater). This slow death is inhumane and needs to be stopped. The fins are essential tools that are utilized by the shark and without its fins it can't survive. When it comes down to it, it is all a battle between culture and nature, and this is a battle nature needs to win for the sake of our oceans.
In approximately one decade experts predict that as a result of shark finning most species of sharks will be extinct. Also, an estimated 99% percent of the shark is thrown away which is extremely "wasteful of protein and other shark-based products" ("Shark Education"), and it threatens to disupt the balance of the oceans eco-systems. All of these costs are unacceptable, especially when all that is gained from this terrible act is soup and money. In many Far Eastern countries shark fin soup is used as a "traditional means of honouring special guests or occasions" ("Finning FAQs", Stop Shark Finning Factsheet) and "a single Whale Shark pectoral fin can sell for up to US$15,000" (Finning FAQs).
In this blog we will team up together to spread the word about the horrors of shark finning and to further the fight to end shark finning. There is no justification for the killing of sharks in order to obtain their fins and then to leave them to die out at sea. This trade needs to be stopped before it is too late and we destroy our oceanic eco-systems and deplete our shark populations to the point of extinction.
In approximately one decade experts predict that as a result of shark finning most species of sharks will be extinct. Also, an estimated 99% percent of the shark is thrown away which is extremely "wasteful of protein and other shark-based products" ("Shark Education"), and it threatens to disupt the balance of the oceans eco-systems. All of these costs are unacceptable, especially when all that is gained from this terrible act is soup and money. In many Far Eastern countries shark fin soup is used as a "traditional means of honouring special guests or occasions" ("Finning FAQs", Stop Shark Finning Factsheet) and "a single Whale Shark pectoral fin can sell for up to US$15,000" (Finning FAQs).
In this blog we will team up together to spread the word about the horrors of shark finning and to further the fight to end shark finning. There is no justification for the killing of sharks in order to obtain their fins and then to leave them to die out at sea. This trade needs to be stopped before it is too late and we destroy our oceanic eco-systems and deplete our shark populations to the point of extinction.
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