sharks have prowled the Earth’s oceans
for a staggering 450 million years which
means they predate even dinosaurs and
yet in a span of only a decade humans
are on the verge of completely wiping
out some of these ancient shark species
we have for instance in the Gulf of
Mexico where white tip sharks are the
dominant predator the estimates are that
99% of those animals that per gone in
the Mediterranean we have 15 large
species of sharks that have reached
almost undetectable levels they’re
almost never seen anymore and then you
get something like the great white shark
which was the protagonist of Jaws one of
the most spectacular animals in the sea
and it’s headed for the brink of
extinction
the main culprit
according to conservationists
overfishing
the world’s nations have come together
to set limits on the harvesting of other
large food fish like tuna but there are
hardly any rules when it comes to sharks
it’s pretty much open season anytime
anywhere in America shark tournaments
are popular pastimes with recreational
fishermen vying for the largest catch of
the day
sharks are also caught commercially for
food in many countries they’ve become a
substitute for swordfish which are
protected and hard to come by in
addition an extract from shark liver oil
known as squalene is used in beauty
products believed to keep skin looking
young and healthy but the most valuable
part of a shark is its distinctive fin
they are considered a delicacy in Asia
cooked up and served in soup as China’s
economy surges so does the demand for
shark fin soup from a new generation
with money to spend
the demand for sharks is fueled by the
increasing demand for fins for the Asian
delicacy shark fin soup but in addition
to that there is also an increasing
demand for shark meat as other
traditionally fish species are dwindling
and collapsing there are few if any
fishing limits on sharks and therefore
it is easier for the fishermen to target
sharks and take as many as they want
at a commercial fish market in Vigo
Spain sharks are piled in heaps waiting
to be sold at auction the European Union
is one of the largest shark fishing
entities in the world and Spain is one
of the top exporters of shark fins to
Asia fishermen say sharks have become
vital to their economic survival with
his father
with swordfish there is a limit that
cannot pass you would own whereas with
sharks that’s not the case
conservationists want to tackle the
demand for shark fins in Asia but they
also want to tighten supplies here at
the source they need to be managed here
in Europe we need to manage them under
the Common Fisheries Policy which means
to establish fishing quotas
those are cash limits many countries
already been a practice known as shark
finning where fins are cut off at sea
and the fish dumped back into the ocean
to die
you’re in Vigo Spain sharks must be
landed hole or if fins are cut off on
the boat there must be a corresponding
number of bodies brought in as well
the conservationists say the thinning
bands can easily be violated by rogue
fishermen Europe could strengthen the
European finning regulation by only
allowing sharks to be landed with their
fins naturally attached Europe could
help by establishing a long-overdue
management fend for sharks sharks are
slow to mature and slow to reproduce
they bear their young live and in some
cases only a few pups every couple of
years decimated populations can’t
recover quickly some conservationists
fear they may not be able to recover at
all the loss is having a ripple effect
enric’s ala is a National Geographic
emerging Explorer with a passion for
protecting coral reefs he’s increasingly
concerned by what he doesn’t see sharks
these apex predators are at the top of a
delicately balanced marine ecosystem
shocking new report is indicated that
scallop beds along the u.s. eastern
seaboard had been destroyed because now
there aren’t enough sharks to keep the
creatures that eat scallops in check
marine ecosystems are like a machine
composed of thousands of different
species thousands of different parts
that have evolved during hundreds of
thousands or millions of years to work
very efficiently if one of these parts
is missing the machine is going to
malfunction or some conservation
organizations like the Pew Environment
Group the problem with sharks is endemic
of a larger problem
we now have the technology and the
wherewithal to find and catch fish
virtually anywhere in the world’s marine
environment so the sheer amount of life
that we’re extracting from the world’s
oceans every year is emptying them of
life
unless this stops were literally headed
for a world with a lifeless sea and we
don’t have a lot of time left their fear
skills have allowed sharks to survive
for millions upon millions of years but
species feared by many may be wiped out
by humans in the blink of an eye
sponsored by National Geographic mission
programs taking science and exploration
into the new millennium
for a staggering 450 million years which
means they predate even dinosaurs and
yet in a span of only a decade humans
are on the verge of completely wiping
out some of these ancient shark species
we have for instance in the Gulf of
Mexico where white tip sharks are the
dominant predator the estimates are that
99% of those animals that per gone in
the Mediterranean we have 15 large
species of sharks that have reached
almost undetectable levels they’re
almost never seen anymore and then you
get something like the great white shark
which was the protagonist of Jaws one of
the most spectacular animals in the sea
and it’s headed for the brink of
extinction
the main culprit
according to conservationists
overfishing
the world’s nations have come together
to set limits on the harvesting of other
large food fish like tuna but there are
hardly any rules when it comes to sharks
it’s pretty much open season anytime
anywhere in America shark tournaments
are popular pastimes with recreational
fishermen vying for the largest catch of
the day
sharks are also caught commercially for
food in many countries they’ve become a
substitute for swordfish which are
protected and hard to come by in
addition an extract from shark liver oil
known as squalene is used in beauty
products believed to keep skin looking
young and healthy but the most valuable
part of a shark is its distinctive fin
they are considered a delicacy in Asia
cooked up and served in soup as China’s
economy surges so does the demand for
shark fin soup from a new generation
with money to spend
the demand for sharks is fueled by the
increasing demand for fins for the Asian
delicacy shark fin soup but in addition
to that there is also an increasing
demand for shark meat as other
traditionally fish species are dwindling
and collapsing there are few if any
fishing limits on sharks and therefore
it is easier for the fishermen to target
sharks and take as many as they want
at a commercial fish market in Vigo
Spain sharks are piled in heaps waiting
to be sold at auction the European Union
is one of the largest shark fishing
entities in the world and Spain is one
of the top exporters of shark fins to
Asia fishermen say sharks have become
vital to their economic survival with
his father
with swordfish there is a limit that
cannot pass you would own whereas with
sharks that’s not the case
conservationists want to tackle the
demand for shark fins in Asia but they
also want to tighten supplies here at
the source they need to be managed here
in Europe we need to manage them under
the Common Fisheries Policy which means
to establish fishing quotas
those are cash limits many countries
already been a practice known as shark
finning where fins are cut off at sea
and the fish dumped back into the ocean
to die
you’re in Vigo Spain sharks must be
landed hole or if fins are cut off on
the boat there must be a corresponding
number of bodies brought in as well
the conservationists say the thinning
bands can easily be violated by rogue
fishermen Europe could strengthen the
European finning regulation by only
allowing sharks to be landed with their
fins naturally attached Europe could
help by establishing a long-overdue
management fend for sharks sharks are
slow to mature and slow to reproduce
they bear their young live and in some
cases only a few pups every couple of
years decimated populations can’t
recover quickly some conservationists
fear they may not be able to recover at
all the loss is having a ripple effect
enric’s ala is a National Geographic
emerging Explorer with a passion for
protecting coral reefs he’s increasingly
concerned by what he doesn’t see sharks
these apex predators are at the top of a
delicately balanced marine ecosystem
shocking new report is indicated that
scallop beds along the u.s. eastern
seaboard had been destroyed because now
there aren’t enough sharks to keep the
creatures that eat scallops in check
marine ecosystems are like a machine
composed of thousands of different
species thousands of different parts
that have evolved during hundreds of
thousands or millions of years to work
very efficiently if one of these parts
is missing the machine is going to
malfunction or some conservation
organizations like the Pew Environment
Group the problem with sharks is endemic
of a larger problem
we now have the technology and the
wherewithal to find and catch fish
virtually anywhere in the world’s marine
environment so the sheer amount of life
that we’re extracting from the world’s
oceans every year is emptying them of
life
unless this stops were literally headed
for a world with a lifeless sea and we
don’t have a lot of time left their fear
skills have allowed sharks to survive
for millions upon millions of years but
species feared by many may be wiped out
by humans in the blink of an eye
sponsored by National Geographic mission
programs taking science and exploration
into the new millennium
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