We would so much rather post pictures of Fetal Porbeagle or nalf-naked Bjork or some functional retard holding a Snoopy fishing pole, but this is why we are really here...and we hate it.

16 out of 21 Oceanic Shark and Ray Species are Doomed!

So says an international study, organized by the IUCN Shark Specialist Group (SSG), was conducted by 15 scientists from 13 different research institutes around the world. We are being overfished in order to supply Asia with their insatiable appetite for their favorite vanity dish--Shark Fin Soup.

In most cases, Shark fishing is unregulated and unsustainable. Oftentimes, Sharks and rays are caught, finned, and their still live bodies are discarded to die slowly on the ocean floor. These discarded Sharks and Rays are rarely recorded in fishing manifests. It is a common misconception due to the powerful and fearsome appearance of Sharks that they are resilient to overfishing. This is not true. While Sharks may indeed be bad-ass, on a biological level, they mature sexually very slowly, and reproduce infrequently. The current rate of biodiversity loss is up to a hundred times greater than the historic levels of extinction. In other words: it is a Shark holocaust.

We really can't help ourselves.

The group's specific recommendations for governments address the need to:

* Establish and enforce science-based catch limits for sharks and rays
* Ensure an end to shark finning (removing fins and discarding bodies at sea)
* Improve the monitoring of fisheries taking sharks and rays
* Invest in shark and ray research and population assessment
* Minimize incidental catch ('bycatch') of sharks and rays
* Cooperate with other countries to conserve shared populations.

Source.

Despite all the evidence suggesting that Sharks are doomed to extinction, there are no international catch limits for oceanic sharks...WTF!

--Sharky

technorati tags: Sharks, bycatch, Shark Fishing, Endangered+Species, IUCN, Shark Fin Soup, Chinese Food, Bjork, Fetal Porbeagle, Rays

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