Shark Attack! Some True Facts

Shark Attack

A shark attack is sudden, violent and often deadly. A shark attack will always make the TV news and our fear of sharks, has been exploited by many popular books and movies.

But is this fear for sharks deserved? Here are some basic facts.

• Sharks kill fewer than five humans each year (elephants kill more than 100).

• Humans kill more than 100 million sharks each year (10,000 per hour).

• Sharks have been on this planet for 450 million years but in the last of couple of decades, their numbers have been reduced by over 90%.

Sharks are being hunted and killed at a devastating rate. Most fisheries targeting sharks are illegal. The sharks are caught by ships using long lines with baited hooks, their fins are removed and their bodies are tossed back into the sea. The dried fins can fetch up to $300 per pound. But, this is a gold rush quickly coming to an end. Shark numbers are down everywhere.

But, maybe sharks are the enemy. They hunt and kill us, don't they? This is not true. Last year, of the almost 7 billion people on earth, only one was killed by a shark. And think of the millions and millions of people who have swam in the ocean, went scuba diving on reefs and surfed on hundreds of beaches.

Sharks play a very important role in the eco-system of the oceans and 80% of life on this planet is in the ocean. Sharks have remained relatively unchanged for hundreds of millions of years and fill the very important role of "top predator". It is argued that all other species of fish in the ocean have evolved to be what they are because of the top position held by sharks.

If we allow the impending extinction of sharks, we will have to face the profound changes to ocean's cycles of life that will surely follow.

Rocky Boschman is a marine biologist and founder of Scuble.com. - http://scuble.com/ - He has been actively promoting conservation for many years. Scuble.com is an online community and a great resource for information about the oceans. Join now, its free.

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