Shark Finning: Getting out of hand 

  Shark finning is a hobby lots of deep-sea fishermen like to take place in. It involves catching sharks, cutting off their fins, usually while the shark is still alive, then dumping the shark back into the water to slowly die. The biggest usage for the fins is “shark fin soup”, which in Asia is meant to be associated with wealth and festivity but, in all reality should be nothing to celebrate.  
  Annually, there are around 72 million sharks killed for “shark fin soup”, and in total around 100 million are killed a year by human-caused deaths. Although “shark fin soup” is meant to be a festive food, shark fins themselves do not have a taste, and can contain dangerous levels of mercury which is a public risk.  
  Including the fact that sharks are apex predators and are a big part of maintaining marine animals and habitats, they also have a low reproductive rate making repopulation difficult. To help, Humane Society International has a “No Shark Fin Pledge” on its website. Help make a difference today, click the link below. 

By: Mia Couturier

Source and website: https://www.hsi.org/issues/shark-finning/

Photo Credit: https://mir-s3-cdn-cf.behance.net/projects/404/b7d211146170501.Y3JvcCw4OTcsNzAxLDE2NCw5MQ.jpg