Sharks have thrived in Earth’s oceans for the past 450 million years, even surviving the great extinction that killed the dinosaurs 65 million years ago (Griffin et al., 2008). Despite their resiliency, sharks face their greatest threat yet today - humans. In the past hour, 11,415 sharks were killed in commercial fishing operations alone. These 11,415 are only a small percentage of the 100 million sharks that will be slaughtered by the end of this year (Vance, 2016). At this rate, sharks will be extinct from our oceans within the next 30 years (Meyers et al., 2007). Upon their early development, sharks were designated as the oceans’ apex predators and tasked the duty to sustain marine ecosystem health and structure. Managing the size of prey populations, sharks ensure the balance of the largest biological communities on the planet. Protecting these strong and gorgeous creatures is not idealistic, but necessary. With their removal, ocean ecosystems and food chains will be destabilized and eventually collapse, jeopardizing not only the health of oceans, but also the health of the entire planet. Post by @skylernuelle •••• #Repost @scubabarbie7 ・・・ Try explaining this to a fisherman! science and the numbers are always right. Check out documentaries on Pacific COD in alaska and the fishing community that plummeted due to over fishing. ◇◇◇ Please read more: Oceana released a report in July 2008, “Predators as Prey: Why Healthy Oceans Need Sharks”, illustrating our need to protect sharks. ◇◇◇ Info credit: @oceana Photo credit: @mermaid_kayleigh #OVERFISHING #commericalfishing #fishing #fishnets #trolling #fishingboats #commercial #shoplocal #oceana #predatorsneedpeotection #education #sharks #savethesharks #savetheseas #oneoceandiving #savetheocean (at OneOcean Diving) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByEZLaUHVJp/?igshid=3vvfl3c4b3o2
