aquaholly
Registered
It's a normal Wednesday morning for most, as local residents appear on the beach at the break of dawn for their morning cup of coffee and stroll on the beach. But for others it was something out of a nightmare, an 8 ft Bull Shark bleeding out of the ears greeted beach goers as they began their morning routine in South Beach. The shark was believed to have died after a long struggle with a fisherman who released the large animal.
Earlier in the week a smaller Hammerhead was also found on South Florida beaches after becoming a victim to shark finning. Shark finning is a practice primarily in Asian countries where once the shark is caught, as many as three-seven fins are cut off, then the living body is discarded into the ocean left to drown or be eaten alive.
So why would fisherman be so heartless as to cut off shark fins while they are still alive? Well just like any other regulated fishing practice, commercial fishermen have a weight limit on sharks that can be caught in one day. By bringing only the fins back the fisherman greatly reduce the weight of their load. Because the fins are considered a delicacy, the fins of the shark are worth far more than the meat itself. Which in the end results in more money for the heartless fishermen.
Sharks can be crucial to the oceans regulatory ecosystem as well as the human economy in many countries such as Palau. In Palau a single shark is estimated to deliver around 18 million dollars in tourism/diving funds to the economy in one year. So why don't we give sharks a chance?
Remember sharks are friends-not food.
Anonymously report any relations to the washed up sharks this week by clicking here.
Sign up for the PADI Project AWARE Shark Specialty Course to learn more about this issue by clicking here.
Read my other blogs by clicking here.
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