1

Running Head: Sharks

Community Problem Report: Save the Sharks

The University of Texas at El Paso
RWS 1301
October 26, 2016
Jennifer Salinas

Sharks

Abstract:
The killing of sharks has increased over the years since the late 1900s, but there has been
a huge spike in these numbers due to the want of shark body parts for either consumption or for
products to be sold by companies. The negative reputation of sharks is also adding to this
tragedy. People see sharks as killing machines, rather than seeing them as creatures living their
lives to protect the balance and health of sea life. This is probably why the decrease in shark
population isnt a very popular subject on all social media. In some instances, People refer to
some parts of the ocean as shark infested waters meaning there is a large number of shark in
that area, if anything people are the infestation in the ocean since we are going in and out of their
habitat. Along with people being unaware of how necessary sharks are for the ecosystem, people
think they have a high chance to get bitten or eaten by a shark every time they go into the ocean.
This perception is not true; people have a higher chance of getting stroke by lighting on a beach
then being involved in a fatal shark attach.

Sharks

Introduction:
According to evidence found, its believed that sharks have existed on earth for about 450
million years. If the evidence is true, then this would mean sharks have survived 5 mass
extinctions, making them the longest living predators in the world. Not only have they existed
and evolved over millions of years, they are still the oceans top predator. In recent times, there
has been a significant drop in the shark population caused by people killing them. Due to the
excessive want for shark fins, teeth, and other body parts for companies to use in products or
food, sharks are not able to maintain the right balance of maturing and reproducing fast enough.
This report will cover why sharks have a reputation of being such dangerous creatures, how this
is affecting them in a negative way, why sharks are a vital member of oceanic life, and what is
being done that is causing a huge decrease in the shark population. Also, some statistics on the
average of how many shark attacks happen per year v. how many sharks are killed by people
annually.
Shark Reputation caused by the Media
Nowadays sharks are thought of as being vicious creatures, with only the intent to kill or
harm any living organism in the ocean due to the way media portrays them. This was not always
the case, Elizabeth Brown (2016) writes about when the reputations of sharks changed to a
negative view, From July 1-12, 1916, dubbed the Twelve Days of Terror, four people died
and another was wounded in five New Jersey shark attacks. The attacks garnered national media
attention and sparked a newfound fear of sharks (Par 4) As she stated this is when the negative
reputation for sharks started. This reputation only worsened when the movies Jaws premiered in
theaters years later. The release of this movie led to the start of people fishing for sharks with the
intention of proving how brave they were, or for sport in sponsored tournaments. These acts

Sharks

were only the start of people harming sharks. Brown (2016) also states Even though a person
has about a one in 3.7 million chance of being killed by a shark, and a far better chance of being
killed in a car accident, by lightning or even sand holes on the beach, the terror of sharks remains
a focal point in entertainment and media. (Par. 37) Since the media portrays them in such a
negative way people dont consider the fact that they have an extremely low chance of even
getting bitten or having a bad encounter with a shark. People seeing sharks in a negative light can
only worsen this situation. The less people think of sharks the less likely they are to care what
happens to them. Brown (2016) quotes George Burgess, who directs the Florida Program and
Shark Research, who agrees with this, The biggest problem is the negative perception of sharks,
Burgess said. People can help change that perception by speaking truthfully about sharks and not
contributing to the misconceptions or stereotypes promoted in mainstream media and
entertainment. (Par. 57) This would make a huge impact on the movement for trying to help and
stop the killing of sharks everywhere.
Sharks are a necessity for healthy oceanic life
Sharks are known as being the top predator of the ocean. Oceana is an organization with
the platform of Protecting the Worlds Oceans. In an article, they released called Predators as
Prey (2008) they stated As top predators, sharks help to manage healthy ocean ecosystems. And
as the number of large sharks declines, the oceans will suffer unpredictable and devastating
consequences. Sharks help maintain the health of ocean ecosystems, including seagrass beds and
coral reefs. Healthy oceans undoubtedly depend on sharks. (Intro. Par 3). Even with research
that has been done there is still much more we dont know about the repercussions of the shark
population becoming almost extinct. The ocean has already started to see some of these bad
repercussions, and even though it has not affected people on land if this huge decrease continues

Sharks

theres some chance it will start to effect environments on land in a negative way as well.
Predators as Prey (2008) also states an example of how the sharks help keep balance in oceanic
life The coral reefs of Jamaica demonstrate this shift from a healthy to damaged state. Over the
past 30 to 40 years, the species composition in Jamaica has changed drastically. Sharks,
snappers, jacks, triggerfish and groupers are now replaced by small herbivorous fish. Along with
this change in species composition, coral abundance has declined from more than 50 percent in
the late 70s to less than five percent in the 90s. Even though the remaining fish are herbivores,
they are too small (more than half are below reproductive size) to reverse the shift from a coral to
algae-dominated system. Because coral cannot compete, macroalgae now cover more than 90
percent of the reefs. Jamaica provides a clear example of the time and scale on which a shift
from coral to algae can occur as a result of the loss of sharks from an ecosystem (Pg. 9). ADD
Shark finning and other actions that are decreasing the shark population
One of the main causes contributing to decreasing the shark population is finning. Shark
finning is when people capture sharks to cut off their fins, then throw their still living body back
into the ocean to die. The need for shark fins is due to the rising want for shark fin soup. This
soup was a delicacy in Asia, but has now spread worldwide leading to the popular demand for
shark fins. One organization, with the purpose to ban shark finning and to get the world educated
on what is happening, is called Stop Shark Finning (2007-2013), one article on their webpage is
stating what this effect this action is having on the shark population To put it bluntly, shark
populations have been decimated. Globally. Tens of millions of sharks are slaughtered every
year to satisfy the demand for shark fin soup; at least 8,000 tonnes of shark fins are shipped to
restaurants around the world. Fishermen report that sharks are getting smaller because they are
not being given time to mature. Shark populations take a long time to recover as they can take

Sharks

over seven years to reach maturity and they only raise one or two pups a year. Twenty species of
sharks are listed as endangered by the World Conservation Union (IUCN). In a few years many
species of shark could become extinct if action is not taken immediately. Populations of many
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% (par.
4). As you can see these number are significantly high, and as talked about in the previous
paragraph this is having a very negative effect on oceanic life. Other contributors to the depleting
population are actions such like shark nets, over fishing, By-catch, shark products, and long line
fishing. Shark nets are when the sharks get caught in the net and end up drowning since they
cannot move (Sharks need to be in constant motion to be able to breath), this is closely related to
By-Catching, which is when sharks are caught but with the fishers intent to catch other fish.
Shark products are sold worldwide. These products are either for human health, such as the use
of an oil from the sharks liver that is said to help the immune system. Other products are sold at
tourist shops as decorations or jewelry. All of these threats to the shark population have been
adding up over the years to the point where now many different species of sharks are becoming
also extinct.
Shark attacks v. how many sharks are killed by people on average
Dan Stone (2013), references a Statistical report done by researchers at Dalhousie
University in Halifax, Canada, on how many reported shark captures globally, and other data
used to estimate a number of shark deaths per year. They reported between 6.4% and 7.9% were
killed annually. On average, there is 100 million sharks killed per year globally, but the number
could be as high as 273 million per year. According to National Geographic Wild (2013) in the

Sharks

US there is an average of 19 shark attacks and on

average 1 fatal attack per year. Comparing those
numbers, there is a huge difference in how many
people kill sharks v. how many sharks kill people. Its
also know that, sharks attack people in order to find
out what we are. From the ocean floor looking up
sharks can sometimes mistake surfers on a surfboard to
be sea turtles, something thats normally in their diet,
in order for the shark to find out what the surfer is the shark bits then releases the person once it
notices they are not a turtle. Sharks normally dont like to eat humans because our bones are very
hard for them to digest. This is why most shark attacks arent fatal. As shown in the picture
people are more likely to die from cows, then being eaten by sharks. Most people are unaware of
these numbers and tend to fear sharks over any other animal.
Conclusion and Recommendations
Even though some ecosystems are starting to see the repercussions of the depleting shark
population, not many people are doing anything about it. There are many organizations with the
sole purpose to help stop, and prevent people killing sharks from happening. But there are still
many people unaware of the repercussions of these actions and the effect its having on the
balance and health of oceanic life. Other than websites there should be more information
circulating social media to make people aware of this information. People should be aware of the
little chance they have at actually getting eaten or attacked by a shark, and the media should
portray them as creatures that are very vital to the health of oceanic life, rather than dangerous

Sharks

creature that only want to eat and kill everything in the ocean. The better reputation sharks have
the more people will be inclined to want to help save the shark population.

Sharks

References
Brown E., (2016 June 26). How a century of fear turned deadly for sharks. Retrieved from
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/science-stories/2016/06/26/how-a-century-of-fear-turneddeadly-for-sharks/
Sarano F., and Durand S. (2010) Oceans. Washington, D.C: Geographic Society
Save Our Sharks Treats Save Our Sharks Education (2014). Retrieved October 21,
2016, from http://www.saveoursharks.com.au/threats-to-sharks.html
Shark Attack | ripetungi. (n.d.). Retrieved October 21, 2016, from http://ripetungi.com/sharkattackStone D., (2013, March 1). 100 Million Sharks Killed Every Year, Study Shows On Eve Od
International Conference On Shark Protection. Retrieved October 22, 2016, from
http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2013/03/01/100-million-sharks-killed-every-yearstudy-shows-on-eve-of-international-conference-on-shark-protection/
The Importance of Sharks | Oceana EU. (n.d.). Retrieved October 22, 2016, from
http://eu.oceana.org/en/importance-sharks
What Can You Do to Stop Shark Finning? (n.d.). Retrieved from October 21, 2016, from
http://www.stopsharkfinning.net/help-stop-shark-finning/
(2015) Save Our Sharks. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com

Sharks

10

References
450 Million Years Of Sharks | Shark Savers (2016) Retrieved from October 22, 2016 from
http://www.sharksavers.org/en/education/biology/450-million-years-of-sharks1/
Griffin, E., Miller, K.L., Freitas, B. and Hirshfield, M. (2008, July) Predators as Prey. Retrieved
From
http://oceana.org/sites/default/files/reports/Predators_as_Prey_FINAL_FINAL1.pdf
Shark Attach Facts | National Geographic Wild (2013) Retrieved from October 22, from
http://natgeotv.com/ca/human-shark-bait/facts