WHY DO WE NEED A BAN?
Every year 73-100 million sharks are killed, mostly for shark fin soup. Many of these are finned, where the rest of the shark’s body is thrown back into the ocean, wasting 95% of the animal.
Overfishing has lead to the depletion of the world’s fish stocks by as much as 75 percent and the depletion of sharks by as much as 90 percent.
Sharks have been apex predators for 400 million years, pre-dating the dinosaurs by 150 million years. They breed like elephants and people: having few young and can take decades to reach sexual maturity, making them susceptible to overfishing.
Without critical steps towards conservation, sharks are facing extinction within our lifetime, which will have catastrophic effects on the oceans we depend on for survival.
Over 90 countries have banned the practice of shark finning [www.finfreetoronto.com/education], but NOT the import, possession or sale of fins, allowing the practice of finning to continue as long as the fins are brought back to port on a shipping vessel, not a fishing vessel. Since 2009, Hawaii, Guam, Saipan, Washington state and the city of Brantford Ontario Canada have imposed bans on the sale, import and possession of shark fin and shark fin products.
Banning the import, sale and possession of shark fin and shark derivative products is essential as it is impossible to tell which fins are from sharks that were finned.
It’s time to take action towards protecting sharks like we have for elephants, tigers and whales.
Visit www.sharkwater.com to learn more.
