We all know the song "Baby Shark" and it has brought the attention of the problem with the Shark population. Sharks are misunderstood and more often than not are more scared of us then we are of them. Movies like Jaws are one of the reasons we have shark hysteria. We swim in their home and we over-fish to the point where they have to hunt closer to shore. The first step is to become educated. Sharks are more than a cool design on a shirt or a part in a movie, they help bring balance to the ocean ecosystems.
As humans, we can be influenced easily. That's part of our nature. We are influenced by our environment, the ones we love, etc and it truly isn't okay. The fact that the Shark population got the spotlight, in a negative way, after the movie "Jaws" shows that ignorance is a forerunner for mistakes with large costs. SciFi movies don't help either. Movies like "Sharknado" are more damaging then entertaining.
Sharks will attack anything that resembles their food. When we surf with boards, we look like the outline of a seal and that's one of the sharks' favorite foods. When we wear something shiny, it looks like a fish scale to the shark. What is the shark's main source of food? FISH. When we swim in the oceans, we enter the oceanic animal territory. There should be more than a grain of respect for those areas. When we invite someone into our home, do we want respect on our turf? YES.
According to WWF, "Shark populations around the world are in rapid decline. Sharks grow relatively slowly, take many years to mature and produce relatively few young. These characteristics make sharks, like this porbeagle, particularly vulnerable to over-exploitation." This is something we should keep an eye out for. The more popular means of exploitation is when we use the fins for Shark Fin Soup. The soup used to be served to emperors and their very important guests. Now because of the symbology behind it, fishermen over hunt sharks to make a profit. Did you know that shark fins are worth up to 500$ per pound, and we wonder why the population is in decline?
We make fun of the song "Baby Shark," yet it's gaining the attention of the masses over sharks in general. They are more than a cool design on a t-shirt and a movie franchise. They provide balance to the ecosystem and that is more important than a symbol. The earth is our home and we should be taking better care of it. That means all of the animals as well because they all have a place in our ecosystem. Everyone provides help to keep the balance in check. Did you know that sharks also take more years to mature than the fish in the ocean? Did you know that the nurse shark can eat natural peanut butter and crackers?
No?
Keep clapping your hands in a shark fashion everyone.
