What is the cost of shark fin soup?

Elaine LumEcospotBAT 05, Miami UniversityApril, 2015

I used to look forward to Chinese banquets so that I could have shark fin soup.

But then

I discovered the real cost of shark fin soup . . .

Ecological costs

1.7 million tonnes of

sharks are caught and

sold a year . . . (Clarke et al., 2006)

Ecological costs

resulting in at least 50% decline in all shark species globally (Baum et al., 2003)

Ecological costs

¼ of all shark species are listed as endangered or

threatened (Dulvy et al., 2013)

Effect on shark populations

There is 89% less Atlantic shark species compared to 15 years ago (Edwards, 2006)

Effect on shark populations

97% of reef sharks have

disappeared in the Great

Barrier Reef (Robbins, Hisano,

Connolly, & Choat, 2006)

Why should we care about declines in shark populations?

As apex predators, sharks help maintain

balanced populations of many other marine

species(Heupel, Knip, Simpfendorfer, &

Dulvy, 2014)

• For example, overfishing of sharks in Chesapeake Bay resulted in the overpopulation of cownose rays

• The rays ate all the bay scallops and caused the collapse of the scallop fishing industry(Myers, Baum, Shepherd, Powers, & Peterson, 2007)

Why should we care about declines in shark populations?

Ethical costs: shark finning• Fins are cut

off while sharks are alive

• The carcass is thrown overboard, to sink and slowly die Watch a video about shark finning in the next slide.

Warning! There are graphic images that may be disturbing for some viewers

Is shark finning legal?• Shark finning is regulated

in some countries, including Canada

• In Canada, shark fins can only make up 5% of the total shark harvest brought inland

• However, this rule can be exploited as fins do not have to be attached to the body(Godin & Worm, 2010)

Is shark finning legal?• In some countries, like

Costa Rica, there are tougher regulations to ensure that finning does not occur at sea.

• A video produced by Randall Arauz sparked public outcry that led to tougher laws requiring that all fins must still be attached to sharks brought to market.

Watch an interview with Randall Arauz in the next slide.Warning! There are graphic images that may be disturbing for

some viewers

Criminal costs: illegal poaching• Endangered and

threatened shark species are deliberately harvested in illegal fishing

• For example, in Indonesia, 92% of shark species caught are listed as endangered

• One such targeted species is the scalloped hammerhead shark(Sembiring et al., 2015)

A new technology to catch shark poachers: DNA barcoding

• Short pieces of DNA in shark fins are used to identify shark species (Ward, 2009)

• Even DNA from fins cooked in soup can be identified (Fields, Abercrombie, Eng, Feldheim, & Chapman, 2015)

A new technology to catch shark poachers: DNA barcoding

• This information can help decide which species should be protected or have fishing quotas (Liu, Chan, Lin, Hu, & Chen, 2013)

• This information can also be used to prosecute illegal sales of protected species (Fields et al., 2015)

Watch a video on DNA barcoding in the next slide.

Health costs: Bioaccumulation

• Sharks tend to have higher concentrations of toxins because of their role as apex predators.

• This is a process called bioaccumulation

Health risks in shark fin• There are non-cancer

health risks due to bioaccumulation of Mercury in shark fins

• Eg. autism, infertility, skin disorders(Man, Wu, & Wong, 2014)

Health risks in shark fin

• Neurotoxins in shark fins can cause brain degeneration

• Eg. Alzheimer’s disease

(Mondo et al., 2012)

So what can you do to protect sharks?

What can you do to protect sharks?• Take the pledge

What can you do to protect sharks?• Sign a petition to ban shark finning

http://www.stopsharkfinning.net/stop-shark-finning-petitions/

What can you do to protect sharks?

• Write to your Member of Legislative Assembly and Member of Parliament asking them to ban the import and sale of shark fins in CanadaFind your MLA: http://www.leg.bc.ca/mla/3-1-1.htm

Find your MP: http://www.parl.gc.ca/parlinfo/compilations/houseofcommons/memberbypostalcode.aspx?menu=hoc

What can you do to protect sharks?

• Share this WildAid video featuring NBA star, Yao Ming, in the next slide.

What can you do to protect sharks?

• Upload and share this presentation with friends and family

What can you do to protect sharks?

• Join the conversation by commenting below

Shark Conservation Organizations

http://www.sharktrust.org/

http://www.seashepherd.org/

http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/archived-projects/shark-alliance

http://sharkangels.org/

http://www.sharksavers.org/en/home/

Together, we can make a difference for shark conservation!

References

Baum, J. K., Myers, R. A., Kehler, D. G., Worm, B., Harley, S. J., & Doherty, P. A. (2003). Collapse and conservation of shark populations in the Northwest Atlantic. Science, 5605, 389.

Clarke, S. C., McAllister, M. K., Milner-Gulland, E. J., Kirkwood, G. P., Michielsens, C. G. J., Agnew, D. J., . . . Shivji, M. S. (2006). Global estimates of shark catches using trade records from commercial markets. Ecology Letters, 9(10), 1115-1126.

Dulvy, N. K., Fowler, S. L., Musick, J. A., Cavanagh, R. D., Kyne, P. M., Harrison, L. R., . . . White, W. T. (2013). Extinction risk and conservation of the world's sharks and rays.

Edwards, H. (2006). When predators become prey: the need for international shark conservation [comments]. Ocean And Coastal Law Journal, 2, 305.

Fields, A. T., Abercrombie, D. L., Eng, R., Feldheim, K., & Chapman, D. D. (2015). A novel mini-DNA barcoding assay to identify processed fFins from internationally protected shark species. PLoS ONE, 10(2), 1-10. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0114844

Godin, A. C., & Worm, B. (2010). Keeping the lead: How to strengthen shark conservation and management policies in Canada. Marine Policy, 34(5), 995-1001. doi: 10.1016/j.marpol.2010.02.006

Heupel, M. R., Knip, D. M., Simpfendorfer, C. A., & Dulvy, N. K. (2014). Sizing up the ecological role of sharks as predators. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 495, 291-298.

Liu, S.-Y. V., Chan, C.-L. C., Lin, O., Hu, C.-S., & Chen, C. A. (2013). DNA barcoding of shark meats identify species composition and CITES-listed species from the markets in Taiwan. PLoS ONE, 8(11), 1-8. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0079373

Man, Y., Wu, S., & Wong, M. (2014). Shark fin, a symbol of wealth and good fortune may pose health risks: the case of mercury. Environmental Geochemistry & Health, 36(6), 1015-1027. doi: 10.1007/s10653-014-9598-3

Mondo, K., Hammerschlag, N., Basile, M., Pablo, J., Banack, S. A., & Mash, D. C. (2012). Cyanobacterial neurotoxin β-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) in shark fins. Marine Drugs, 10(6), 509-520. doi: 10.3390/md10020509

Myers, R. A., Baum, J. K., Shepherd, T. D., Powers, S. P., & Peterson, C. H. (2007). Cascading effects of the loss of apex predatory sharks from a coastal ocean. Science, 5820, 1846.

Robbins, W. D., Hisano, M., Connolly, S. R., & Choat, J. H. (2006). Ongoing collapse of coral-reef shark populations. Current Biology, 16(23), 2314-2319.

Sembiring, A., Pertiwi, N. P. D., Mahardini, A., Wulandari, R., Kurniasih, E. M., Kuncoro, A. W., . . . Mahardika, G. N. (2015). DNA barcoding reveals targeted fisheries for endangered sharks in Indonesia. Fisheries Research, 164, 130-134. doi: 10.1016/j.fishres.2014.11.003

Ward, R. D. (2009). Shark fin identification through DNA barcoding. Endangered Species Update, 26(1/2), 3-9.