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The ocean is an interconnected series of

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ecosystems that spans across the entire

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globe. Diverse marine biomes beneath the

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ocean surface sustain a great deal of

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Earth's life and populations.

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Due to human activities however many key

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ocean species are being threatened and

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face extinction. The effects of their

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extinction are not limited to their

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species or population. Rather the

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implications will ripple outwards to

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have far-reaching effects on other

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ecosystems. Sharks in particular are in a

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clear and present danger. For example the

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hammerhead, an odd-looking but majestic

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shark, has seen its populations decline

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by up to 89 percent between 1986 and

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2000. And populations have decresed by 90 or even a hundred percent in

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certain places in the Pacific. 97 million

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total sharks were killed in 2010 alone.

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There are a number of threats causing

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shark populations to decline and the

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source of almost all of these threats is

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humans. Shark finning is one

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anthropogenic activity contributing to

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shark population decline. Finning is the

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act of removing the fins of a shark

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while the shark is still alive.

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Approximately 2 percent of the shark is

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harvested during the finning process. The

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other 98 percent of the shark is tossed

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back into the ocean where the mutilated

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body sinks and dies of suffocation. Shark

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finning has been on the rise in recent

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years. Singapore imported 2600 metric

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tons of shark fins in 2013 while Hong

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Kong imported 5,400 metric tons in the

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same year. Malaysia has imported upwards

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of 18,000

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metric tons of shark fins. Along with

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the thousands of sharks being caught and

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mutilated every year due to shark

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finning, many are also being caught by

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accident, a phenomenon known as bycatch.

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Bycatch is a term for fish or other

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marine animals that are unintentionally

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caught during commercial fishing for

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other species. It is estimated that

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around 50 million sharks are caught as

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bycatch every year. Longline fishing and

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gill nets are the most common commercial

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fishing methods that catch sharks as

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bycatch.

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There are many clear effects that shark

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finning and bycatch can have on shark

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populations. For example shark size has

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been trending downwards in the past few

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years. Sharks grow as they age but most

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of them are now killed before they reach

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the historical average size. Many sharks

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are keystone species meaning they have a

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disproportionately large effect on their

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ecosystem. Keystone species play a

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crucial role in the way their ecosystem

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functions, like glue that holds the

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ecosystem together. If the keystone

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species is removed then the ecosystem

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would change drastically or completely

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fall apart. Off the east coast of the

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United States sharks feed heavily on

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cownose rays, thus keeping the ray

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population in check. These rays feed on

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bivalves such as scallops and oysters

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Since the number of sharks are keeping

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the number of rays under control the

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bivalve population is also kept stable.

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If sharks are removed from the ecosystem

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the number of rays increases

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dramatically causing the bivalve

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population to crash.

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It doesn't take long for the rays to eat

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all the bivalves so over time the ray

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population will also crash. Sharks are

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essential in order to prevent a major

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worldwide ecological shift. The Shark

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Conservation Act has been somewhat

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helpful in reducing the amount of sharks

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caught and it has put into place

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education programs for fisheries about

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how to avoid sharks and bycatch. However

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more education on this subject is needed

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for consumers and the general public.

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Humans have an enormous impact on the

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environment and in order to save our

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world we must act now to save the sharks

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[Music]