Why Shark Conservation is Essential in Saving the Ocean

It is truly crazy to think how many people would consider a shark their biggest fear; but really, what exactly is there to be afraid of? As someone whose favorite animal is a shark, instead of fearing sharks, I believe that we should be fearing for them.

When swimming in the ocean, there are many things to fear. Contrary to common belief, however, sharks should be the least of the swimmer's worries. The ocean covers 71% of the Earth's surface, and with only 5% of it having been explored, there are endless possibilities as to what it could contain. Sharks never intend to harm humans, but have been given malicious reputations because they can harm people. But. when put into perspective, there are few animals that don't have the ability to harm us. Sharks are actually quite picky eaters- humans may happen to appear as their prey, when in reality we are actually not even tasty enough for them! Due to the many assumptions about them, and even the movies made, society has built up a barrier against them and will never see sharks as allies. Many people are unaware that sharks actually bring many benefits to ocean life.

Marine Climate Change

Climate change is a large issue in society, but this is common knowledge (hopefully). The topic is often discussed, but for the most part no big improvements have been made, and the world is going down an irreversible path. As the climate of the planet continues to increase, temperatures in the ocean are reaching an all time high. This tends to be an overlooked issue, however as marine life is interrupted, the long term effects are worsened. The marine environment is being affected by climate change and pollution in a number of ways, altering weather patterns, sea levels, ocean chemistry, currents, coastal erosion, and the frequency of storms. Our sea life is already full of endangered species, and conditions in the ocean are not improving.  

Why Are Sharks So Important?

Sharks are considered to be the most vital keystone species in marine ecosystems. This means that if for any reason they disappear from their community, the entire ecosystem would collapse. As the apex predator, their absence would cause a sudden increase in their typical prey, leading to disruptions in every trophic level. For example, if their prey in a certain community was seals, and the seals mostly ate squid, if the sharks were to disappear, there would be an overpopulation of seals, which could knock out the squid population.  This pattern would continue to occur through the squid's prey and lower trophic levels. Eventually the ecosystem would no longer be able to thrive and might become dominated by a single species. Additionally, sharks help to stabilize the carbon cycle, consequently cutting carbon emissions which are often a major cause of climate change. Sharks leave an overall positive impact on the ocean. Biodiversity as a whole would steeply decrease, making the ocean an even more susceptible environment to disturbances such as climate change. This cycle will continue until something is done, or until the ocean as a whole can no longer support life.   

Where Does Climate Change Come In?

Animals' habitat are constantly changing-this is where adaption and evolution come in handy. For as long as time has gone on, animals constantly are adapting to their environment to be as fit as possible, hence the term "survival of the fittest." So why can't sharks just adapt to the change in water temperature? 

Temperatures are moving at way too much of a rapid pace for any sea life to keep up. Sharks, specifically, are known to grow slow, mature later, and  have low rates of reproduction as temperatures increase. The environment is just changing too rapidly for the sharks to evolve as a species. Since they are unable to live in these newer conditions, sharks migrate to places with cooler water temperatures. As they arrive to different ecosystems, it can be predicted that this change will change both the shark's new habitat and old one. By disappearing from their old norm, and becoming part of a different food chain, the old one will lose a predator, and the new one will gain an unneeded one. This can become extremely problematic. 

I could have focused on any animal, marine life, or not, but I chose sharks. Why? We kill more sharks per year than they harm us. Statistics even show that more people die by falling off their bed than from of shark attacks--and not by a small amount. Being one of the few people who doesn't see sharks as a threat, I definitely am biased to the idea of protecting them--I actually find them really fascinating! Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, however, if ocean civilization collapses, our own civilization may be next. They carry many benefits to both us, and the animals around them, and that cannot be denied. Sharks will continue to be one of the most misunderstood animals, but knowing what you know now, are you still scared of them?