30
expensive soup, which often goes for over 100 U.S. dollars a
bowl, is most popular in south East Asian countries with
China being the largest consumers. Michael Casey (2012), a
journalist for the Wall Street Journal on many global economic
affairs, writes, “The fin trade has devastated several species
including hammerheads, oceanic whitetip, blue, threshers and
silky and contributed to 181 shark and ray species being listed
by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as
threatened with extinction” (para. 5). Unfortunately, this
progression of extinction will more likely continue to grow.
With most sharks not reaching sexual maturity until ten or
twenty years in some cases (depending on the species), and
most litters of shark pups ranging from one to three pups, they
simply cannot reproduce as quickly as they are being hunted
down. As humans continue to destroy many of the shark
species around the world it will have a damaging effect for
both the marine eco-system and people alike.
What role do sharks play in the marine ecosystem?
There will be a direct correlation between the decreasing
numbers of sharks swimming in the ocean and the negative
effects on the neighboring marine life. One of the eco-systems