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You are here: Home Leisure Arts & Culture Save our sharks

01/11/2008Save our sharks

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, it turns out that there aren't enough sharks in our waters...

Some animals can melt our hearts. We're such suckers for big brown eyes and fluffy fur, that potentially dangerous animals can elicit an undeserved 'aahh' reaction.
 
The flip side is that other species lacking the 'cute factor' get an unwarranted bad reputation, none more so than the shark. Big teeth and bad PR have made this animal something to fear and fight. 

Sharks have roamed the seas for more than 400 million years, making them older than the dinosaurs. Over millions of years they have worked their way to the top of the food chain, leaving only one real predator: humans. It seems we are slightly too efficient as a predator; one-third of European shark populations are threatened with extinction and yet shark fishing in the EU remains largely unregulated.

© Flickr by szleaShark Action Plan
Over the past week an unusual number of pro-shark events have been taking place all over Europe, with the aim of raising the profile and plight of these beasts of the sea. At Vinkeveense Plassen, a popular diving spot in the Netherlands, shark-lovers met for an underwater treasure hunt. Irene Kingma, who organised the event:
                 
"The major point of the day is to get as many signatures as possible for our petition, which is meant for the fisheries minister of the Netherlands. We want her to vote for strong legislation for sharks in the up-coming Shark Action Plan".
 
The European Commission's Shark Action Plan is an attempt to set out some clear guidelines for conserving and managing sharks in European waters. The little guidance there is doesn't acknowledge how the shark's biology makes it particularly vulnerable to over-fishing. Shark Scientist Paddy Walker explains more:

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