Prohibit shark finning in Peru and elsewhere

3 sharks are being killed every second so people can use their fins to make shark fin soup. The numbers of some shark species have dropped as much as 80% over the last 50 years. Populations of other shark species have fallen by over 90%. Since 1972 the number of blacktip sharks has fallen by 93%, tiger sharks by 97% and bull sharks, dusky sharks and smooth hammerheads by 99%.

Even if in Peru mostly the entire shark is used for human consumption and not only the fins, still shark fishing is a problem. According to official landing statistics, the number of sharks being fished in Peru has decreased steadily during the last 20 years. Government sources admit that most sharks landed are undersized juveniles. Both facts are strong indicators for unsustainable overfishing. Shark fishing in Peru is largely unmonitored and unmanaged. All this together is a recipe for species extinction.

Read more below or at Mundo Azuls Web site: http://mundoazul.org/habitats-species/save-the-sharks/

Shark finning refers to the removal of the fins from a living shark. The often still-living sharks are thrown back into the sea to make room for more of the valuable fins. It can take days for the shark to die what must be an agonizing death. Some sharks starve to death, others are slowly eaten by other fish, and some drown, because sharks need to keep moving to force water through their gills for oxygen.

Shark fins are used as the principal ingredient of shark fin soup, an Asian “delicacy”. Demand for shark fin soup has rocketed in recent years due to the increased prosperity of China and other countries in the Far East. Shark fin soup, which can easily cost $100 a bowl, is often served at wedding celebrations so that the hosts can impress their guests with their affluence. Shark fin itself is tasteless, it just provides a gelatinous bulk for the soup which is flavored with chicken or other stock.

The consequences of the decline in shark populations on ocean life are immense. The large shark species are “apex” predators, they are ecological stabilizers, once they are gone, environmental collapse is likely. For example along the US East Coast where large sharks such as black tip and tiger sharks have been virtually eliminated, there have been declines in shellfish numbers and a reduction in water quality (shellfish filter sea water). Populations of small sharks, rays and skates have increased rapidly, consuming shellfish at an unsustainable rate. If you remove apex predators from an ecosystem the result is the same as removing the foundations from a building – total collapse.

Shark finning must therefore be prohibited on national and international level. We are asking the Peruvian government to elaborate national legislation to ban shark finning in Peruvian waters and work for a ban of shark finning in international waters.

Read more about shark conservation at Mundo Azuls Web site: http://mundoazul.org/habitats-species/save-the-sharks/