by Andy Elliott » Tue Aug 29, 2006 6:49 pm
[img]http://img76.imageshack.us/img76/5559/sharkfinningdeadsharks5wa0.jpg[/img]
"Finning" refers to the practice of cutting off only the shark fins and discarding the body. Sometimes sharks are dead when they're pulled into the boats, but often, they're still alive as their four fins are cut off with a knife. When they're thrown back into the ocean the sharks either bleed to death, or they drown, because sharks can't swim without fins, and they need to go forward to get oxygen. Divers have discovered hundreds of dead finned sharks at the bottom of the ocean in huge shark graveyards.
Fifty percent of sharks are bycatch -- they're accidentally caught by boats that are looking for tuna, swordfish or other fish. Many of the boats don't want to keep the entire shark, so they just fin them. This greatly increases the amount of sharks killed, because a fishing boat can hold an enormous amount of fins.
[img]http://img53.imageshack.us/img53/4058/sharkfinningsharksfinbeingcutoffcb9.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.seaturtles.org/images/photoarchive/photos/PECTORAL.JPG[/img]
Andy Elliott
Last edited by Andy Elliott on Wed Aug 30, 2006 12:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.