What you don’t know about sharks hurts them and the environment Some traditions hurt What you don’t know about sharks hurts them and the environment

Introduction Story of US Virgin Islands Tradition Process Environmental effects

US VIRGIN ISLANDS Eagle rays Sting rays Long spined sea urchins Tangs Blennies Sea turtles Sargent Major fish

Some traditions come at a cost Shark fin soup is a soup that is made from fins of a shark. Now served at business meetings and at weddings to demonstrate power, prestige and financial welfare. Shark fin soup dates back to the Ming Dynasty, the Emperor served it with many other dishes to impress and intimidate dignitaries from surrounding states and countries.

Bycatch: Bycatch is when a fisherman throws out his net to catch fish and “catches other things than what he intended”. Bycatch is when a fisherman throws out his net to catch fish and “ catches other things than what he intended”. In Kenya, the fisherman go 200 nautical miles off the coast of Kenya out into the open ocean catch whatever they can, process the sharks and dispose of them. Then the bulk of shark fins on a smaller boat and send it off to the market (smaller boats don’t need to report their catch). They can retain a few fins and report it to the port officials when they return calling it bycatch.

De fining *Why don’t the fins grow back? Fins are made of cartilage, such at the top of your ear is made of. Cartilage doesn’t grow back once removed. *Why is just the fins harvested? Why isn’t the meat eaten? Sharks urinate through the muscle tissues and it comes out through the skin. The meat is high in ammonia. Why is just the fins harvested? Why isn’t the meat eaten? Sharks urinate through the muscle tissues and it comes out through the skin. The meat is high in ammonia. Why don’t the fins grow back? Fins are made of cartilage, such at the top of your ear is made of. Cartilage doesn’t grow back once removed.

Disposal I think it’s obvious how disposal happens Once finished removing the fins, the body is pushed overboard, left to fall to the bottom of the sea where the shark bleeds to death.

Environmental effects… Sharks as apex predators regulate species abundance Without them Coral reefs shift to algae dominated systems. Seagrass beds in decline. Ecological chain reactions set in motion. Species diversity and abundance declines with the loss of habitats. And the list goes on...

Some traditions hurt Sharks fin soup is used as a means to elevate social status To make shark fin soup you fist have to catch, remove the fins and then dump the body The environmental effects of removing shark populations is detrimental to the ocean and it’s health. We should not eat shark fin soup.

Citation Freitas, B, E Griffin, and et al. "Predators as Prey: Why Healthy Oceans Need Sharks." www.oceana.org. Oceana, n.d. Web. 8 Apr 2013. Aydin, Kerim, Jefferson T. Hinke, et al. "Visualizing the Food-Web Effects of Fishing for Tunas in the Pacific Ocean." Ecology and Society. 9.1 (2004): n. page. Web. 22 Apr. 2013.

Citation Bakalar, Nicholas. “38 Million Sharks Killed for Fins Annually, Experts Estimate.” National Geographic News. National Geographic. 12 October 2006. Web. 4 November 2012. <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/10/061012-shark-fin.html>. J.R.P. "The Environmental Magazine." Environmental Magazine. 19.5 (2008): 24. Print. <www.emagazine.com/magazine-archive/freedom-from-finning>. Kaiman, Jonathan. "In China, banning shark fin is uphill battle." Los Angeles Times, 31 January 2012, n. page. Print. <http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jan/31/world/la-fg-china-shark-fin-20120201>. Spooner, Samantha. "How demand for delicacy drives silent massacre of Kenya’s sharks." Daily Nation 10 March 2012, n. page. Print. <http://41.215.122.106/dspace/bitstream/0/642/1/How demand for delicacy drives silent massacre of Kenya.pdf>. United States. U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service. “FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR A FINAL RULE TO IMPLEMENT THE SHARK FINNING PROHIBITION ACT.” Washington D.C., : 2001, pgs. 1-88. Print.   http://hydrophoenix.yolasite.com