The article “Sharks, rays
win new trade protections” written by Juliet Eilperin for the Washington post
can be found at http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/sharks-rays-win-new-trade-protections/2013/03/11/c4f8997e-8a7a-11e2-8d72-dc76641cb8d4_story.html
Many animals become extinct
for many reasons like low population, weather changes, and habitat
changes. But for five species of sharks
and two types of manta rays that was not the case. These animals have been
hunted and their population is going down.
That is when “Convention of
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora” (CITES)
decided to put a limit on trading for shark species. This was a new thing; it
is the first law in nearly a decade. This is a big deal because sharks and
mantas are defenseless in a sense because they do not reproduce as frequent as
other animals.
It is good that they are
putting a law on the trading of the sharks and rays. At one time these animals
were the most plentiful large animals in the waters. But in the last couple of
years the animal’s population has dropped tremendously. Scientists had recently
discovered that commercial fishing kills about 100 million sharks a year. This
is because sharks are caught by accident and targeted for their fins.
In
the article, the author quotes Sonja Fordham who is president of Shark Advocates
International saying.. “These highly traded, threatened shark species urgently
need protection from the unsustainable trade that jeopardizes populations,
ecosystems, livelihoods and ecotourism,” This quote is a great
explanation of why certain animals have and should be protected. One mess up in
the ecosystem could lead to many deaths of other organisms. This relates to
Biology Class because it explains the dangers of extinction. The food web is
going to be ruined. Every organism depends on one in another in order to live.
In
this certain case, sharks are the top predators of many food webs. If the
predator is gone that looks like a good thing, but it is not. The predator has
to eat other small organisms and if they are not eaten, their population will
grow and then they will decrease other populations. It is a never-ending cycle
until all the organisms are dead and gone.
Now
with the new regulation of hunting the sharks and rays species should continue
to be protected and thrive in their environment without any worries of being
caught and traded.
(Citation for picture : "Sharks Fighting for Life." COSMOS Magazine Sharks Fighting for Life Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2013.
i really like how you connected to the unit we did on ecosystem collapse in your post. it is true that if we completely destroy the shark population, the communities under them will soon die. many people don't seem to acknowledge this situation, but it's a key issue in the collapse of some aquatic ecosystems. a problem that could arise from this, though, might be an increase in illegal fishing, which is much harder to control. if shark species begin to go extinct, it might also negatively affect the livelihoods of small islands that rely on ecoutourism, like you quoted in your post. having species in the area that have been hunted to extinction isn't exactly good for your reputation, and some small places really rely off ecotourism and fishing. if predators die out, it would be easy to overfish the resulting population boom, which could diminish future fish populations for decades. this law prevents all of that, which is really great.
ReplyDeleteMany people think that sharks are extremely dangerous creatures. There are about 40 to 60 shark attacks per year. Only five are fatal. In comparison, about 30 to 70 million sharks are killed in fisheries. I think humans are the real threat. In the article, you said that all the organisms would die if the sharks went extinct. I think that is a bit extreme. Other species have gone extinct before, and while it did have a huge effect of the ecosystem, nature adapted to the change. The law protecting sharks is a very good idea and I hope they enforce it.
ReplyDeleteHi Cate, your article was very interesting! Sharks are one of my favorite animals, and to hear that they may be on the verge of extinction is awful. I agree that the absence of the shark in its ecosystem will result in an imbalance in the food web. Hopefully this new law will protect the shark from future extinction. Humans are a huge cause of many species' extinctions. It is horrifying what some people will do for money. Humans need to be mindful that we share this earth with other animals. Like you said, the animals are defenseless against humans. The extinction of sharks could lead to a chain reaction of overpopulations, which is not good for an ecosystem. Great article!
ReplyDeleteI found your article to be very interesting Cate! I had no idea that sharks are becoming extinct and it is mostly because of us humans. I also did not know that sharks are not as harmful as they may seem. I agree with you that it is good they are putting a law on shark and ray trading because something needed to be done about the issue. I have seen a lot of news lately about more and more animals becoming extinct and I think more laws need to be put in place like the one you mentioned in order to stop the rising numbers of animals on their way to extinction.
ReplyDeleteI strongly agree with the new regulations put in place to protect sharks. Like you said, the whole ecosystem would disintegrate without predators. Although it is illegal in many places to kill sharks, people still do it. Some of the worst occurrences are in rural Asia, where shark fin soup is a popular dish. Even with this law in place, sharks could one day end up on the endangered species list.
ReplyDeleteGreat article Cate. I agree with you that there should be something done to preserve the lives of these unique animals. Most people have the stereotype that sharks are one of the most dangerous animals when less than 20 people are killed each year from them. They don't realize that we kill 20-100 million a year due to fishing activity. Also, only 12 out of the 375 shark species identified are considered particularly dangerous.
ReplyDeleteHi guys, thanks for your input! I feel like we all agree that the ecosystem would be unbalanced, but then Olivia said it isn't true. I feel like we should look into it more to see what would actually happen. I know that many animals have the almost extinct tag written on them but that makes me wonder how many animals are "almost" extinct. It also makes me wonder what would push the sharks over the edge and die completely. It always amazes me to think of life without certain animals. I think that the earth has so many animals that just make earth and I could not picture life without them. Overall, I hope that the laws do become in place and they try to stop illegal fishing! Thanks for the comments!
ReplyDelete