What Would Happen if Sharks Were Wiped Out?

The sharks are disappearing, and they are doing so very fast. Due to shark finning, the sharks are starting to disappear, but what would happen if they were to go extinct and disappear forever?

Numerous negative effects would start emerging if sharks were to become extinct. One of the first things that would happen would be the shark’s prey population would dramatically increase and then the smaller marine animals that rely on sharks to eat their predators would become extinct (Domanico). After this chain of events from large to small animals, the coral reefs would eventually disappear. This would cause the ocean to suffocate because the reefs provide most of the oxygen in the water. Due to the lack of oxygen, the carbon dioxide levels would increase and cause global warming to occur faster. Another issue that would appear would be the collapse of our economy. Due to a food chain imbalance, the commercial fishing industries would lose their incomes. Finally, disease could go uncured. Scientists use sharks to help understand, diagnose, and treat numerous illnesses ranging from yellow fever to hepatitis (Rogers).

In conclusion, if sharks were to go extinct, it would be our fault. Shark finning is dramatically cutting the population of sharks and if it continues to drop, there could be a global crisis.

Domanico, Anthony. “What would happen if there were no more sharks?” cnet, 11 Aug. 2014,

https://www.cnet.com/news/what-would-happen-if-there-were-no-more-sharks/26 Mar.

2019

Rogers, Michael. “What If Every Shark Disappeared?” Shark Sider, 23 May 2016,

https://www.sharksider.com/every-shark-disappeared%E2%80%A8/26 Mar. 2019

“Shark extinction and its effect on ocean ecosystem – Gordon Ramsay” Youtube, uploaded by

Gordon Ramsay, 11 Mar. 2011, https://youtu.be/Z3ubR0LbQv0

How to Help Protect Sharks

Protecting sharks needs to become a higher priority due to the fact that they could go extinct in a few decades. Learning about how to help protect sharks and executing these ideas is a small start but a large step in protecting sharks from extinction.

To begin, there are numerous ways to help sharks. Learning as much as possible about sharks gives you a head start on knowing their conflicts. You could talk to your local educators, activists, and volunteer with shark conservation organizations in order to learn more. Not using shark products is also a good idea because if you use them, the producers are encouraged and the demand is increased. Along the same line, reducing your seafood consumption is decreasing the demand. In order to get closer with the sharks, you could go cage diving and get a closer look at the majestic creatures. Finally, after learning everything for yourself, you need to spread the word and alert others through social media. You need to speak out and contact local authorities if you are a witness to abuse, like shark finning. No one is going to call you a tattletale for saving a species from becoming extinct (Rogers).

In conclusion, protecting sharks isn’t that difficult to do because of the numerous opportunities that are given to the public. Utilizing these can be a key to protecting sharks from becoming extinct.

“Help #savesharks” Youtube, uploaded by LUSH Cosmetics North America, 4 Jul. 2015

https://youtu.be/ZGWykr--De0

Rogers, Michael. “10 Easy Ways To Help Save Sharks” Shark Sider, 24 Aug. 2016

https://www.sharksider.com/10-easy-ways-help-save-sharks/26 Mar. 2019

Who Helps Protect Sharks - Nonprofit Organizations

The governments located across the world are adding bits and pieces into the mix in order to save sharks against finning, but it’s not enough. Other groups that are taking small steps to help are nonprofit organizations. Although nonprofit organizations throw awareness out into the world, it still isn’t enough, but it is one step closer to finding a solution.

There are over 80 nonprofit organizations that help protect sharks against finning. A few include Fin Fighters, Project AWARE, and Oceana. The nonprofit organization called Fin Fighters is “an ambitious new UK shark conservation organization; on a mission to protect sharks worldwide and end the sale and distribution of shark fins in the UK by the year 2023.” (Fin Fighters). The Project AWARE organization took part in the European Union (EU) Shark Finning Ban. Their purpose is to protect policies on plastic debris, sharks, and rays (Project AWARE). Finally, Oceana’s purpose is to slow the decline in the shark population by spreading awareness (Oceana). In 2016, another nonprofit organization by the name of Lokai teamed up with Oceana. Lokai created a bracelet to help Oceana spread the awareness of shark finning. On their website, Lokai stated, “In honor of Shark Week, Lokai partnered with Discovery Channel to help restore the ocean’s balance. The proceeds from the limited-edition Shark Lokai aided Oceana in their quest to slow the decline in the shark populations and preserve balance in and out of the water. Support from the Lokai circle helped introduce the shark fin ban and save 4000 Dusky sharks.” (Lokai).

Similar to the wide-diversity of governments across the world, nonprofit organizations are also taking a step forward to save the sharks. I am proud to say that I was one of the people who participated in Lokai’s fundraiser for Oceana. I wear my bracelet to show that I am a proud supporter of sharks and that they need to be protected.

“Fin Fighters” Fin Fighters, http://www.finfighters.org/#home112 Mar. 2019

“Fin Fighters – Uniting the global shark movement” Youtube, uploaded by Fin Fighters, 22 Sep.

2014, https://youtu.be/9c3aNF_r0mQ

“Lokai” Lokai, https://lokai.com/pages/oceana12 Mar. 2019

“Oceana” Oceana, https://usa.oceana.org12 Mar. 2019

“Project AWARE”, Project AWARE, 2019 https://www.projectaware.org/what-we-do12 Mar.

2019