The endangerment of marine species is something that most people do not consider a relevant part of nature life. Most do not realize the catastrophic events that can occur if something is thrown out of order in the ecosystem. In recent news the finning of sharks has become a larger issue.
In local news, Washington gov. Chris Gregorie is sponsoring a bill that prohibits the selling, trading, and distribution of shark fins. Every year more than 73,000,000 sharks are killed primarily for their fins. Finning is the practice of slicing the fin off a shark, then throwing the de finned shark back into the water to drown/bleed to death. This unsustainable method of finishing has diminished the once flourishing population of sharks, by 99%.
This bill was passed in Washington, as well as Hawaii, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and is currently being passed in Oregon and California. “The signing of SB 5688 sends a strong message that the Evergreen State will not tolerate the cruel and wasteful practice of shark finning,” said Dan Paul, state director for The HSUS in Washington. “We commend Washington’s lawmakers for standing up for the world’s top oceanic predators.” Humane Society. ‘
Even though the Shark fin is the most expensive item on the menu, it holds the least in nutritional value; the most common use is for stature purposes. The soup is the main driver behind the shark fin trade business, even though there already is a diminishing number of sharks, and in the horrific way that they are harvested.
I like your standpoint during this article, and I agree with where your coming from. I thought the use of quotes was excellent. It makes what you are saying have a "backing" and also alerts readers that it is in fact something that is a public issue.
ReplyDeleteI think it's crazy how wasteful people are, forgetting for a moment how the sharks die, this is really bad for the ecosystem. The native used to use everything when killing an animal. They had good cause for this to. They understood the balance of nature and what they needed to do so that the food supply would continue on for generations.
In the end I like how you brought to attention that this issue was being taken care of. So, you showed the problem, gave a reason for it, and showed how that problem was being taken care of. Great Blog!