Saving Jaws
 Over 100, 000, 000 sharks are slaughtered annually, at a rate of over 270, 000 per day. Sharks are being targeted for sport, caught for their fins and jaws, killed in anti-shark nets, as by-catch, their habitat is being degraded as well as polluted, and humans continue to over-exploit their food sources. Shark populations are particularly vulnerable to this exploitation due to inherent life history characteristics which feature a pattern of slow growth, late maturity, long gestation, low fecundity (reproductive output) and long life, resulting in a slow intrinsic rate of population increase. As a result, shark populations worldwide are drastically declining. In the Atlantic alone, shark populations have decreased between 60 and 90 percent depending on species, in just the last 15 years! Sharks have inhabited our oceans for over 400 million years and in just two decades of human over-exploitation, are now threatened. The long term effects of shark declines from their communities is unknown, but likely far reaching as sharks are ecologically important components in virtually every marine habitat.
In the immediate years following the 1975 epic release of JAWS the general public felt that 'every good shark was a dead shark,' however in the thirty years that have followed, this mentality has changed. People are starting to realize the importance of sharks in the marine ecosystem. Moreover, many people now regard the oceans as more beautiful for including such awesome animals. Increasing numbers of people are coming to appreciate that sharks add to the diversity, mystery and excitement of our oceans. Ultimately, to save Jaws, international commercial shark fishing will need to come under shared international regulations adopted by all countries fishing as well as finning and by-catch will need to stop. With this being said, you can help shark conservation efforts by boycotting the sale of shark parts and products, by encouraging others to do the same and by supporting shark education and research. Every person can make a difference and with your efforts, sharks will survive to play their ecological roles in the oceans as well as continue to amaze and inspire.
Sources of Shark Mortality:
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Sport
 The ocean is the planet's true last remaining wild place. Unlike the Congo or Serengeti, there are no eventual fences surrounding the oceans and its creatures. Unlike lions in a circus, humans have no control of sharks; they remain one of nature's remaining truly wild creatures. This has led macho primate warriors to the ocean to hunt and kill sharks in an awesome display of power and all in the name of sport.
Thousands of coastal sharks are killed annually for recreational sport. Most shark meat isn't too valuable as a food source because their tissues contain high levels of urea (see research section under osmoregulation), making them inedible. Thus if the animal isn't released, it is usually mounted on a wall. As shark species continue to decline, a large number of recreational anglers have fortunately adopted sustainable catch and release shark fishing.
See NewEnglandSharks.com for an excellent example of sustainable catch and release recreational shark fishing.
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For Their Fins:
Shark fin soup is a delicacy in some Asian cultures. The soup can fetch up to several hundred U.S. dollars per bowl. Some fins can fetch thousands of dollars depending on the rarity of the shark species as well as fin age and type. The soup itself is colorless and odorless and the fin just adds thickening to the broth. Serving shark fin soup is a sign of wealth, like caviar, and a tradition in many Asian weddings. But what is the cost of this sign of wealth and tradition -> Millions of sharks slaughtered annually!
Shark fins are harvested from the animals in a process called finning. The practice is wasteful, unsustainable and ecologically unsound. In the process of finning, sharks are caught on long-lines (literally, miles of line floating in the oceans affixed with hooks and bait), brought to the boat, their fins are hacked off, and the mutilated, but live animals are then thrown back in to the water where they die. The shark carcasses are discarded to make space on the boat for more fins since shark meat is not as profitable as fins.
CLICK HERE FOR AN EXCELLENT ARTICLE ABOUT SHARK FIN SOUP - THE FOUR LIES ABOUT SHARK FIN SOUP (CLICK HERE TO ACCESS)
- For Their Jaws
There is no doubt that a set of shark jaws is impressive, the bigger the better! However, many sharks are being caught to supply a shark jaw trade. Some jaws can sell for thousands of dollars, depending on its condition and from which species it was taken. A quick search on eBay will reveal the magnitude of the shark jaw market.
The white shark was listed on CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) Appendix II in October of 2004, forbidding the international trade of their jaws and fins. Seven months following, a white shark jaw was listed on eBay for a starting bid of $30, 000.000 Australian Dollars (approx. USD $23, 000.000).
- Killed in Anti-Shark Nets
Various beaches in Australia and South Africa are protected by anti-shark nets. The nets do not form an impenetrable barrier separating the sharks from bathers; but are just meant to passively kill sharks, thereby effectively lowering their populations and thus shark attacks. The nets have successfully done so and shark populations in netted areas continue to decline yearly. Interestingly, the Natal Sharks Board, who maintain the anti-shark nets along the South African Kwa-Zulu Natal coastline, report that 90 % of the sharks that are caught, are on the inside of the nets. This reveals that before being caught, the sharks had been swimming amongst bathers only to be caught on their way back out to sea.
Note: The Natal Sharks Board has a very productive shark research program and is involved with conservation efforts.
- As By-Catch
 By-catch refers to unintentional catch. Many sharks are unintentionally caught on commercial fishing long-lines targeting tuna and/or swordfish. Long-lining is the most common form of commercial fishing for tuna and swordfish in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. It involves a single fishing line that can extend up to 60 miles (100 kilometers), which dangles thousands of baited hooks waiting for a fish to bite. However, this type of fishing gear is indiscriminate and the hooks kill anything that bites, like turtles, birds, seals, dolphins and sharks. 1.4 billion long-line hooks are set a year and the unintentional catch of sharks (by-catch) is the largest threat to their populations globally. For example, between 1997 and 1998, 450, 000 blue sharks alone were taken by the tuna long-line fishery in New Zealand.
- Habitat Degradation
 More than half of the world's population lives within approximately 100 km of the ocean and as such, coastal areas are being degraded at an alarming rate affecting the species that rely on these areas for their survival. Many sharks utilize inshore lagoons or mangroves in tropical areas as nursery grounds. Pregnant females come to these sites to give birth and juvenile sharks find protection in these sheltered areas. As coastal development increases, more of these areas are being degraded. The best spot for most tropical hotels are these sheltered lagoon or mangrove areas vital to successful shark recruitment and survival. Inevitably the hotel is built and the shark nursery grounds are destroyed. For example, in Bimini, Bahamas, construction has begun on the first phase of a mega-resort, including condominiums, a casino, and golf course. If allowed to proceed, the complex will consume the mangroves of the North Sound and East Bimini, together with all of the animals and plants that live there. The location where construction is planned is a particularly important nursery ground for lemon sharks.
- Polluted
 The ocean is the land's garbage can. Eventually everything ends up in the oceans. Metals and slowly degrading chemicals threaten inland and coastal waters. Toxic materials settle into sea-floor sediments where they accumulate as hazards to organisms that live in and feed on bottom muds. Eventually, long-lasting chemicals enter the food web and bio-accumulate up the food chain to its apex predators, the sharks. Pregnant woman are discouraged from eating shark meat, because their tissues contain extremely high levels of methyl mercury. The Shark Research Institute recently reported that tissue samples taken from a whale shark from Mozambique waters revealed that their tissues contain lead levels in excess of 100 parts per million (for reference, beef with lead levels of 10 parts per million is considered unfit for human consumption). Such toxins may have adverse affects on shark health, reproductive output and the survival of their offspring.
- Over Exploit their Food Sources
Fish such as tunas, sharks, cod and billfish have declined in the oceans by over 90 % in just the last 50 years due to human over-fishing. So not only are sharks directly being fished, but so are their food sources. Although shark senses are unbelievably apt at locating prey, they cannot compete with echo-locators, fish finders and the 3.8 million long-line hooks that are set daily which continue to wipe out global fish stocks.
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