One of the more powerful proposal arguments that I have read recently is on the worldwide fishing practice of shark finning. The article was published on the web by Way Out West News, which covers environmental news from around the San Francisco Bay Area.
The article affected me in several ways. I am an avid scuba diver and enjoy diving in the ocean. There is nothing more relaxing than being thirty feet below the waves, in crystal clear water, seeing every color of fish and coral that you could imagine. One of the ultimate goals of most divers is to see one of the big pelagic deep water predators. And, the prize sighting is a shark. I want to be able to go diving with the chance of seeing a shark. If the practice of finning is allowed to continue at the pace it is now, I may not be given that chance in the future.
Shark finning is the practice of catching sharks, removing only the fins, and then throwing the shark back into the ocean to die. The fishermen catch the sharks anyway they can, in nets or on longlines, or just on handlines. Once they get the shark on the boat, they just cut off the fins and toss the shark’s body back. The shark cannot swim and will either bleed to death or drown, which sometimes may take days for the shark to die.
The main reason for shark finning is a status symbol dish popular with Asian cultures: shark fin soup. Shark fin soup is usually served at special occasions such as weddings and banquets, or as luxury items in Chinese culture. As economies have boomed, the demand for shark fin soup has exploded. For this reason many countries have banned shark finning and require fishermen to bring in the entire shark. This policy is meant to slow the slaughter by limiting the number of sharks that can be taken at one time. The enforcement of these policies is near impossible. The new proposal is to ban the possession and sale of shark fins altogether. Hawaii has already made it illegal to possess or sell shark fins and California has proposed such laws in legislature. China; however, remains the biggest market.
I feel that the argument convinced me that we should all do something about the practice of shark finning. Just imagining the sheer number of sharks that are killed daily just for their fins is mind-blowing. The article also printed a picture of a man sitting in a warehouse surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of shark fins. It made me want to act right now.
The author of this article pointed out all of the negative aspects of shark finning without undue criticism to any nationality or culture. The majority of radical conservationists would have insulted and offended people who are neutral or have a different point of view. I feel that the author gained the respect of the common reader by keeping to the facts and painting a picture of the plight of shark finning.
Works Cited
Gies, Erica. “San Fanciscans work to reduce shark slaughter.” Way Out News. February 16, 2011. Web. April 28, 2011. http://www.wayoutnews.com/2011/02/16/1867/.
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