Volume 29, Number 4, April 2017

Weblinks Save Our Sharks Max Drakeley

Following Angus Thorburn’s article on the thresher sharks of Malapascua, these weblinks reveal how scientists are combating the threat of shark extinction, and the dangers of human impacts on our oceans’ most feared predators. Follow this link for a brief overview of shark finning, explore the website to learn more and see what you can do to help: www.stopsharkfinning.net See this infographic on unsustainability of shark finning — 75 million sharks killed each year for their fins: www.sharktruth.com/learn/shark-finning Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s documentary on shark fin soup can be found here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SAkq6lsnoE The Guardian has more on the shark fin trade in Hong Kong here (Shark fin soup: a dangerous delicacy for humans and sharks alike): https://tinyurl.com/hrwdovv Shark fin soup can still be found (illegally) in UK restaurants. Metro report, 18 March 2016: https://tinyurl.com/j32afwu Thresher sharks have joined eight other species that are now granted CITES protection: www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-37547103 and https://tinyurl.com/ze3hxl6 Unfortunately, fishing for thresher sharks (as well as many other species) is still legal in many parts of the world. Making it sustainable is therefore very important: www.youtube.com/watch?v=eexiN4af_tU Read this Sharks Savers report about the laws that different countries are introducing to protect sharks around the world: https://tinyurl.com/hbvfwoy Despite fishing bans, sharks are still caught up in fishing lines or intentionally fished illegally — ‘Autopsies reveal that about 70 per cent of grey nurse deaths are caused by hooks lodged in their stomachs and throats’. The Sydney Morning Herald reports: https://tinyurl.com/3ntbky6 Arguments against the catching and exportation of shark fins to Asia cite the value of the shark tourism trade as a better alternative: www.livescience.com/37048-shark-economic-value.html There are sometimes two sides to every story and new ‘banning’ of shark fishing methods are being compared with sustainable fishery methods: https://tinyurl.com/juevub8 Despite increased awareness, fears over human safety in populated areas have prompted shark culling, despite little evidence of its usefulness: www.marineconservation.org.au/pages/shark-culling.html

Hodder & Stoughton © 2017www.hoddereducation.co.uk/biologicalsciencesreview and https://tinyurl.com/kjpexa2 and https://tinyurl.com/znxkdgl And how culling affects climate change: https://tinyurl.com/gv9py5c Places in Australia have reinstated using shark barriers, which cause other species of marine life to be caught and killed as well as harmless sharks: https://tinyurl.com/zjj7a6x and are proving ineffective at keeping the most dangerous sharks at bay in New South Wales: https://tinyurl.com/jnfa237 It’s not only sharks that are threatened by humans. Rays (close relatives of sharks) are hunted worldwide, sometimes just for sport. Read this article and watch the movie on cownose ray fishing competitions in Maryland (warning — upsetting scenes): https://tinyurl.com/hlhtdyd Here’s an eye-opening infographic of the number of deaths caused by sharks per year and the number of sharks killed by humans per year: https://tinyurl.com/ztxexrv Finally, for a little less doom and gloom, if you haven’t already, watch how thresher sharks use their tails when catching fish: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHoCCPsRuhg

Max Drakeley BSc (Hons), MSc, editorial assistant of Biological Sciences Review, recently worked as an intern and obtained his Divemaster qualification at Thresher Shark Divers, Malapascua. http://malapascua-diving.com

This resource is part of BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES REVIEW, a magazine written for A-level students by subject experts. To subscribe to the full magazine go to http://www.hoddereducation.co.uk/biologicalsciencesreview