Scared for Sharks

English Euro Lit 3°                                                                                                   Tabia Ye
2/14/2011                                                                                                         12th - 215

Sharks have always been known to people as ferocious animals that are carnivorous. They dwell in the deep seas of over 2,000 meters but can be seen preying on food near the shorelines. Popularized in the East Asia, shark fin soup has been one of the most expensive and popular dishes in the Asian culture. But in order to get this, fishermen would capture a shark and cut its fins then dump them back in the waters, leaving them unable to swim and eventually sink to the bottom of the ocean and die. For the past decade now, organizations have been trying to find ways to prevent sharks from being killed just for their fins for soup that isn’t even that wonderful.

It is true that a shark’s fin has essential vitamins to the human bodies such as iron, zinc, riboflavin, and phosphorus, but you can find those vitamins in other foods. The Taiwanese see shark fin soup as a remedy for diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol but it hasn’t been scientifically proven.

Without sharks roaming the open waters, there would   be an overload of other fish. Sharks being the top predators of the food chain has helped keep a balance in the ocean’s ecosystem. They are the predators of the predators of fish humans eat so if there are less and less sharks, there would be no fish for us to eat.  

Although media such as the movie Jaws make it seem as if sharks only feed on human flesh, it is not entirely true. Because people are frailing their arms and legs around in the waters, sharks often mistake humans for other fish. One bite of human flesh and they will let go because they realize that it isn’t fish.

Laws have been made in the Atlantic Coast and the Gulf of Mexico that prohibits finning of sharks. Just two... [continues]

Read full essay