Original image citation: Jenkins, David. Time. December 30, 2013.
Remixed by Rebecca Hsieh
The original image depicts a shark hunting a seal. Even though sharks are seen as predators, they are also prey. Over 100 million sharks are slaughtered every year by humans even though only about 12 people a year are killed by sharks. Sharks are killed for food, jewelry, skin care products, and even for sport. One large issue is shark hunting for their fins where fishermen will catch sharks, slice off their fins whether the sharks are alive or not, and then throw them back in the ocean leaving them susceptible to attacks by other predators. Unfortunately, my culture highly prizes shark fin as a means to show off wealth and I, myself have had shark fin soup. It is hard to change a materialistic, selfish way of living but we can start by building awareness. There are 18 different species of sharks that are on the endangered species list. They are crucial in maintaining the eco-system by keeping other populations in check. Due to their menacing appearance, people are not as willing to help protect sharks when sharks deserve it. Sharks take about 15 years to mature and do not lay eggs so the population of sharks have already suffered a great decline due to all the shark hunting activities.
