Shark Fining 

One by one sharks are being tortured and killed. They are being captured in nets,and hauled up onto boats. Their fins are cut off and they are thrown back into the ocean with no way to swim. They drown or get eaten by other predators. Their population is decreasing and it’s just for their fins. It is estimated that 100 million sharks are killed every year, which is roughly 190 sharks per minute. According to ‘Huffpost Green’ Hong Kong is the largest trading center for shark fins. So why do people do these horrible things? Because shark fin is the main ingredient for shark fin soup.

Shark fin soup was originally consumed by the rich but now the Chinese and Japanese economy is strong and more people are wealthy enough to afford the delicacy of a fin soup. The demand for shark fins is increasing. It is such high demand ingredient that people pay $300-400 per kilogram of fin.

Although some sharks may be able to survive being finned the majority of them cannot. This results in large amounts of shark deaths. In my opinion, this act of cruelty should be illegal. What gives humans the right to kill innocent creatures for not even ¾ of their body. The regulations for shark fining say that a vessel may not land shark fins that weigh more than 5% of the body after the removal of the fin and head. As a result of the weighing process. If the shark fin is more than a fifth of the body weight  they are then chucked back into the ocean and essentially become food.This is because the vessels don't want to be caught breaking the law so once they have discarded the carcass, fins,and head there is no proof that it was them. Therefore they think aren't breaking the law, and cannot be caught doing this horrible act.  

Sharks are very important in the ocean as they are at the top of the food chain. In that role they keep other fish populations healthy and in proper proportions for the ecosystem. Sharks eat old or sick fish which gives younger and healthier animals the chance to breed without being over populated.

In conclusion I think the shark fining should be illegal in every country because one day sharks will become extinct, which will have a very negative effect on the produce that we eat from the sea. Sharks filter the bad fish from the good fish.Without sharks we won't be getting the best possible fish that there is. So it’s either torturing animals and eating bad food or more marine life and better food.

by Natalia