Problem: Shark Finning (Overfishing of
Sharks for Their Fins)
Overfishing is
caused when fish are caught at a faster rate than they can reproduce. Shark
fins are used as a preventative medicine and cancer treatment, as well as a
main ingredient in shark fin soup. Finning is the process of a shark getting
caught, having its fins cut off, and having its dead carcass being discarded
back into the ocean. This is an extremely wasteful and harmful practice. With almost 100 million killed each
year, sharks are being driven to a higher risk of extinction due to
overfishing. There are currently more than 135 species of sharks on the IUCN’s (International
Union for Conservation of Nature) list of endangered animals and more are being
added each year. Sharks are vulnerable to overfishing because of their long
life spans, slow growth, and slow reproduction rates. As well as impacting the
shark population, this also affects the ecosystem. Sharks are at the top of the
food chain, which means they have little to no predators. This gives them the
responsibility of keeping the rest of the food chain in balance.