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Sharkproject:

Every year, more than 200 million sharks are killed- either accidentally, for commercial fishing or as trophies. Contrary to that, less than ten people annually die in accidents with sharks. Nonetheless, sharks have a negative image which is promoted by subjective press and an ancient fear within us which prevents us from feeling respect and tolerance for those magnificent predators. This prevents many people from realizing that if action is not taken immediately, sharks will soon vanish from the oceans and we will be confronted with an ecological catastrophe.Sharkproject E.V. which was founded in 2002, is a joint effort of scientists, scuba divers and conservationists from all over the world and is dedicated to raise international awareness of the ecological importance of sharks and hence to promote their conservation and prevent their extinction.Sharkproject is taking a very active approach to achieve its goal. It solely relies on donations which are allocated very efficiently – 97% go directly into the projects.These projects include the “Stop Sales” campaign which has been very successful in the past. Its goal is to reduce the consumption of shark products world wide and to raise consumer awareness for most shark products are not declared as such. Especially the shark cartilage trade is targeted. Every year, increasingly huge amounts of shark cartilage are processed into medical products which promise to cure cancer, osteoporosis and other diseases which can currently not be healed with orthodox medicine. Meanwhile research which proves that shark cartilage has no medical effect what so ever is ignored.The drastic worldwide decline in dogfish populations is another issue which is addressed with “Stop Sales”. With an average life expectancy of 20 years, dogfish, like many other kind of sharks reach maturity relatively late at the average age of 10 years. After a gestation period of approximately 18 to 22 months, dogfish give birth to two to ten pups. The high maturity age and long gestation periods of many shark species are a natural population control which is designed to create natural balance. Commercial fishing destroys this natural balance and makes it impossible for sharks to keep their populations at healthy levels. Commercial dogfish fishing for example caused the species to be nearly extinct in the Atlantic and highly endangered in the Mediterranean and in the Pacific. Nonetheless, fishing continues with barely any restrictions. A claim from the EU to protect dogfish under the international CITES agreement failed in 2007 painting a dark picture for the specie’s future.Research which was conducted during the Stop Sales campaign brought new arguments against the consumption of shark products. Prof. Klaus Heumann from the University of Mainz, Germany detected astronomically high levels of methyl mercury in shark meat samples taken from German supermarkets. The reason for those toxic levels is that sharks are at the top of the marine food web and hence, toxins which are present in small amounts in fish and other marine life accumulate in sharks which have a relatively high life expectancy. Hence, eating shark meat does pose a serious health risk!As a result of the “Stop Sales” campaign, individuals all over Europe reported specific restaurants, supermarkets and others that sold shark meat or any other shark products, like teeth or fins, to Sharkproject. LIDL, a German discount supermarket with more than 8000 stores in Europe for example, stopped the sale of shark steaks after consumer pressure rose and dozens of restaurants banned shark from their menus.Another, equally successful campaign is called “Stop Finning”, its goal is to raise public awareness for the issue of finning – an especially cruel way of fishing where only the sharks’ fins are cut off and the sharks are left to drown in agony. Although the sharks’ fins are tasteless, they are known as a delicate especially on the Asian markets but shark fin trade is also very active in Europe and the USA. This campaign is supported by the well known conservationists Hans and Lotte Hass.Sharkproject also believes in active research, because knowledge leads to understanding and hence raises public awareness. The most recent project involves investigating the behavior of great white sharks in South Africa with a submarine which was especially built for this purpose. Supporting Sharkproject as the submarine’s pilot is the well known shark conservationist Andre’ Hartman.Since children are our future, it is especially vital that they grow up respecting their flora and fauna. This is why Sharkproject recently launched its shark biology program for schools. It is available at different levels and designed to create understanding and knowledge for the oceans’ top predators. 750 school CDs have already been distributed to schools all over Europe and many more teachers showed great interest in the program. Sharkproject also holds lectures at schools free of charge.As a special service to scuba divers, Sharkproject recently developed a shark specialty course in a joint effort with SSI (Scuba Schools International) which is designed to teach scuba divers respect and knowledge about sharks. Furthermore, Sharkproject developed a series of behavioural guidelines which ensure a save encounter with the animals.Additionally, Sharkproject’s scientists have published numerous books which focus on explaining shark behavior and the importance of sharks in the ecosystem. This way, they target the main issue which prevents efficient shark conservation – the lack of public understanding for sharks. Recent surveys showed that most people still think of sharks as mindless monsters that have no right to exist. Sharkproject also tackles this issue by investing into public relations. As a result, several educational trails and exhibitions in aquariums were created, an award winning TV Spot and poster campaign was launched, thousands of mini journals with information about shark conservation were distributed and a very successful shark documentary was filmed.Let’s face it – if shark populations continue to decline as rapidly as there are now and if no drastic measures are taken to conserve sharks all over the world – humans will end up paying the price.72% of the planet’s Oxygen is produced by Phytoplankton, tiny organisms that make up the bottom of the marine food web. Declining shark populations disrupt the natural balance of the food web, leading to an uncontrolled reproduction of the organisms which feed on phytoplankton which again leads to a decreased amount of Oxygen produced. Summarizing, removing sharks from the marine food chain will literally take our breath away!This is why action has to be taken immediately if we want our children to enjoy a world as rich and colorful as it is now.