The Lion's Pride vol. 2 (Jun. 2014) | Page 42

35 800 hooks on it (ISAF). The longlines are usually set out overnight and collected the following day, a process which helps ensure a larger catch as most sharks are more active at night and look to feed at this time. Some other common methods for catching sharks include different types of netting. One style involves using a net that stretches thousands of feet, which can be positioned near the surface or above the ocean floor. The positioning will vary depending on the area and types of sharks found in that area. Then the net is allowed to soak overnight and is pulled in the following morning. Both of these methods involve hours of stress for most sharks that are caught in these fashions, and one cannot help but to feel sorry for these once mighty predators. Are there possible health risks associated with the consumption of sharks? If people are not willing to give up on their “traditional soup” because they do not care about the health of the oceans or the cruelty involved in the finning process then perhaps they might give up shark fin soup for their own health reasons. Wendee Holtcamp (2012), who is a writer of environmental issues and who holds an M.A. in Evolutionary Biology,