Defenders of Wildlife Blog

Blue shark, credit: Mark Conlin, NOAA

This week kicks off Discovery Channel’s 25th anniversary of Shark Week, and while the TV lineup will certainly contain the sensational shark footage of these apex predators that people love to watch with shows like ‘Air Jaws Apocalypse’ the take home message of the series has always been one of conservation and coexistence. And for sharks that is an important message indeed.

Tens of millions of sharks are killed each year for their fins alone in order to be used to make shark fin soup most notably targeting the porbeagle shark, the oceanic whitetip and the globally endangered hammerhead sharks whose fins are considered to be of the highest market value. The brutal process of “finning” involves catching a shark, cutting off its fins typically while alive, and then throwing the still living shark back in the water where it drowns or bleeds to death. Defenders has worked with other conservation organizations, both domestically and internationally, to raise awareness of this practice and see it ended. However, shark finning isn’t the only threat sharks face. Tens of millions more sharks are killed each year as what’s known as “bycatch” which means they are accidentally caught and killed in fishing nets while fisherman are targeting other species. In areas where sharks are becoming critically endangered off the US coast this is particularly discouraging news. In 2011 Defenders worked with many conservation organizations in California to stop the sale, possession and trade of shark fins in the Golden State. And thanks to thousands of our CA supporters sending letters and calling their state legislators the bill was passed. However, sharks are still being killed there as by-catch, specifically great white sharks that live in the waters of the northeastern Pacific Ocean off California’s coast. But thanks to our ever vigilant friends at Oceana, The Center for Biological Diversity, and Shark Stewards a petition was sent last week to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to protect the estimated 340 great white sharks that live there against bycatch by listing them as an endangered species. If successful the petition could change the way fishing is conducted in the area and give crucial protections to the great white sharks that live there.

We hope that you will tune in to Discovery Channel’s Shark Week and learn more about these majestic animals from the deep and what’s being done to protect them.

And of course, to watch some awesome shark footage.

Learn more about threats to sharks and how you can help. 

Some 73 million sharks are killed each year for their fins, depriving ocean habitats of this vital top predator.

Last week there was some great news for the Sphyrna lewini species of hammerhead shark as Costa Rica awarded Appendix III CITES protection to the beleaguered species.

Found mostly along the coasts of its natural range in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans hammerhead shark fins are one of the most prized in Asian markets. Because these scalloped hammerheads swim in large schools, they are targeted by fisheries and particularly susceptible to overfishing.  The high commercial value of the shark’s fins combined with the low value of hammerhead shark meat has led to widespread finning of the species, a wasteful and often illegal practice in which the fins are severed only to have the shark thrown back into the ocean to die a slow, painful death.

Defenders of Wildlife worked closely with the Costa Rican government to secure this listing for the hammerhead shark, and while it is an important first step towards worldwide shark conservation more countries and their leaders must recognize that this wasteful practice must stop.

Click here to learn more about Defenders work on sharks.  

Some 73 million sharks are killed each year for their fins, depriving ocean habitats of this vital top predator.

The world’s shark populations are in grave trouble.  With over 100 million sharks killed each year as either bycatch by fisherman or a cruel practice known as finning, shark populations are verging on collapse with at least an estimated thirty percent of open ocean sharks threatened with extinction.  As apex predators near or at the top of the oceans food chains sharks are critical to the stability of our ocean’s ecosystems.  Slow to reach sexual maturity and giving birth to very few offspring, shark populations are slow to recover and very susceptible to overfishing and as their worldwide numbers plummet sharks, and our oceans, face a very uncertain future.  To ensure the species survival and stability countries worldwide must recognize this threat and work towards adopting methods that will ensure their recovery. In order to help further our work on protecting shark species Defenders of Wildlife is happy to welcome the great white shark as our newest adoptable animal in our wildlife adoption center and hope it will make quite a splash.

Alejandra Goyenechea, our international counsel, is one of the staff here who works internationally to advocate for shark protections. I was lucky enough to have a chance to talk with her and find out some of the work Defenders is involved in as we work to protect sharks worldwide.

Q: What is Defenders doing over the next two years to help protect sharks worldwide and how/who are we working with to help protect them?

A: Over the next 2 years Defenders will advocate for sharks in Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) for better and stronger conservation measures at the international level. We are going to work in collaboration with countries to adopt conservation measures at the international level at the various fora in which sharks are included in agendas such as International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna and InterAmerican Tropical Tuna Commission both of which we will be working to establish better strategies and stronger enforcement and regulations to stop bycatch as well as the Convention on Migratory Speicies and CITIES for stronger trade laws for the most endangered shark species.

Q: Which sharks most desperately need our help and why?

A: Based on population data currently the sharks that most critically need our help are the hammerhead sharks, ocean whitetip, sandbar, and dusky.

Q: What is the biggest threat to sharks today and how are we working to stop it?

A: The biggest threat to sharks is bycatch, finning and lack of information to consumers. We will work at the international level to collaborate with countries worldwide to adopt measures that will decrease the impact of international trade to these threatened and critically endangered species.

Q: Why is it so hard to protect sharks internationally?

A: The biggest threats sharks face is from the governments of countries that display a lack of good will and refuse to stop the importation or exportation of shark fins and meat despite the growing science pointing to population crashes through the world’s oceans.  Because of this the majority of the government decisions are political and in their own self interest and not science based.

Last week was Shark Day in California as supporters met in front of the Capitol to show their support for bill AB 376, which was introduced to outlaw the possession, trade, and sale of shark fins in California to help end the brutal practice of shark finning.  An estimated 73 million sharks  are killed each year for their fins and some shark populations, like the hammerhead shark, are on the brink of collapse.  Defenders of Wildlife’s Jim Curland recently spoke to Public News Service about the event and about the plight of these magnificent ocean dwellers.

Listen to the interview:

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What’s Next?

Update: 08/26/11
Great news! The bill has now passed the Senate Appropriations Committee on a 5-2 vote. We’re expecting the bill to be voted on by the full Senate within days the next few weeks and will let you know the outcome. If it passes the Senate, the bill will then go to the Governor’s desk for signing.

“Shark!”  Thanks to Hollywood, the name of this magnificent animal has become synonymous with danger and fear. (I bet you hear the music of Jaws right now!) Seen as a mindless killing machine, sharks are the ocean’s wolf or grizzly bear—misunderstood and maligned in the public’s eye.

Yes, sharks are predators. But that is why they are so important. At the top of the food chain, sharks keep the oceans in balance. Without them, the entire marine ecosystem could collapse. Not only is that bad for oceans, it is bad for us.

Shark finning is a gruesome practice. It often involves catching sharks, cutting off their fins and tails usually while they are still alive, and throwing them back in the water. Unable to swim, the shark bleeds to death or drowns.  By just harvesting the fins, which take up less space on a boat than the rest of the low-value shark carcass, fishermen are able to stay out much longer and pull in many more sharks.

Mighty hammerheads, and many other types of sharks, have been decimated and graceful oceanic whitetips have almost disappeared – nearly a third of all shark species face extinction.

Overfishing of sharks continues today at unsustainable levels. Mighty hammerheads, and many other types of sharks, have been decimated and graceful oceanic whitetips have almost disappeared – nearly a third of all shark species face extinction. The reason? The demand for shark fins drives an industry, causing nearly 73 million sharks to be killed every year, predominately for use in shark fin soup. At around $400 a pound it’s a very lucrative business.

A review conducted by TRAFFIC and The Pew Environment Group reports that the U.S. ranks as one of the top 10 shark catchers in the world. Finning is illegal here, but enforcement is practically impossible, just like it is in the other 60 countries where it has been banned. Plus, the demand for shark fin soup continues to drive the fin market, particularly in states like California. Fins are processed in and imported from Asia, making it impossible to track where the fins originated or whether they came from a protected species.

Two lawmakers from California have recognized the weaknesses in enforcing shark finning laws and the threat of the shark fin trade towards the survival of sharks worldwide. OnValentine’s Day, California Assembly members Paul Fong (D-Cupertino) and Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) introduced Assembly Bill 376 that would ensure that California ceases to be both a major supplier and consumer of shark fins through a ban on the possession, sale, trade and distribution of fins. The bill is similar to one passed in Hawaii last year and it is hoped the impact on the demand for fins will hopefully decrease the practice of finning and protect sharks.

The U.S. is poised to take an important step towards the worldwide conservation of sharks. Will others follow California and Hawaii’s lead?

What Defenders is Doing

Along with a coalition of thirteen other organizations, Defenders is supporting the California bill to stop the trade of fins and stop the slaughter of protect sharks.  In 2007 we worked to see shark finning banned in Mexico and we have fought for shark conservation for years through the regulation of fisheries and the international trade in shark fins and other products.

Learn more about sharks on our fact sheet.

Read more about the shark finning issue in the Defenders magazine article Throwing Sharks a Lifeline.