This post is written for the “Save the Ocean” group-writing project by Steve, a final year undergraduate majoring in IT and is also working freelance at the same time. He writes mainly about nature particularly about wildlife in Malaysia and Worldwide. He is the owner of Save the Nature for the Future, and he does this out of his love and genuine interest in nature. He intends to create and spread awareness on his favourite subjects and at the same time shares his knowledge with his readers.

Sharks, the greatest ocean predator is declining drastically over the years. Once in a while, there will be news of shark attacks on the newspaper especially involving the Great White Sharks. Places such as South Africa and the USA are common places where news of sharks attacking human can be often seen and heard.

But why do sharks attack human?

The tourism industry is booming in areas which they have big potential and the government is backing the industry. It brings economic turnaround for those who use this opportunity especially to the locals. Shark (tour) operators are being set-up and run in areas where there is ocean involved such as South Africa, in which tourists are willing to pay a price just to have a look and encounter the sharks themselves. Activities such as cage diving, chumming and feeding of sharks in coastal waters are being exploited and labeled as ecotourism. This is not a rightful ecotourism concept according to experts.

Image by lggy.

The true ecotourism for sharks is running it without the use of attractants (baits and foods) and without human intervention. For sharks, chumming and dumping of fish to attract them are defined as provocation. With the usage of attractants, we are changing how the sharks behave and the ecosystem. Instead of viewing in naturally, we are turning shark-viewing into a circus show. By not feeding the sharks very much, they will go away and don’t come back again. You are also in risk when you feed the sharks underwater. This is not the normal feeding that you’ve done before in zoos. For sharks, they aim and target their victims. Surfers are accustomed to shark attacks especially from the Great White Shark. Why does this happen? The sharks might mistakenly identify the board surfer as seal from beneath the surface. There are also reports of shark attacks when you feed them underwater. The white kneepad that you wear without realizing it, for shark, they see it as fish. You can read more about shark feeding and attack here.

The other reason why we should not feed sharks is because when we feed them, we tend to touch them. But most of us did not know that when we touch them, we are actually harming the shark’s protective body covering and making it prone towards infection. We are also open to shark attacks as they are capable of inflicting injury whether they are large or small in size. The question or debate is, should we support the activities of shark feeding or the so called ecotourism? Unethical or for education purpose? Certainly there are some strong points in educating human about sharks, but I feel that there are much better ways that can be used. Sharks in captivity can solve it, but people tend to be attracted to something which is much “furious” and interesting (sharks battling for food during chumming sessions). Although sharks have been always been “labeled as man-eating monster” actually that is not the truth. Even the creator of the Jaws, the late Peter Benchley is trying to dispel that myth in recent years together with shark experts. View the excerpts below:

If I were to try to write Jaws today, I couldn’t do it. Or, at least, the book I would write would be vastly different and, I surmise, much less successful,” he said in a 1990s Smithsonian Institution lecture. “I see the sea today from a new perspective, not as an antagonist but as an ally, rife less with menace than with mystery and wonder.

And I know I am not alone. Scientists, swimmers, scuba divers, snorkellers, and sailors all are learning that the sea is worthy more of respect and protection than of fear and exploitation.

Today I could not, for instance, portray the shark as a villain, especially not as a mindless omnivore that attacks boats and humans with reckless abandon. No, the shark in an updated Jaws could not be the villain; it would have to be written as the victim, for, world-wide, sharks are much more the oppressed than the oppressors.

Every year, more than a hundred million sharks are slaughtered by man. It has been estimated that for every human life taken by a shark, 4.5 million sharks are killed by humans. And rarely for a useful purpose.

- Source: Peter Benchley @ Wikipedia

What is your view on this? For those who are planning a shark tour and vacation, you might be interested to read these — What you don’t know about sharks and Do’s and don’ts when you encounter sharks. You should also read this to enhance your understanding and knowledge about sharks.

January 2008 is “Save the Ocean” month here at The Giving Hands. Click here for more information on how you too, can save our oceans, and remember to subscribe to The Giving Hands for your daily updates!

This post is written for the “Save the Ocean” group-writing project.

Marine mammal rescue centers rescue, restore to health and return to the wild aquatic animals that have been injured, orphaned or stranded for various reasons. Much like what we do with our orang utans, really :D However, many of the animals’ injuries are linked to human activities such as pollution, entangling fishing gear and other noise disturbances.

Image credit: Gemma Longman.

Here are a few tips if you intend to volunteer at a marine mammal rescue center:

• Don’t expect that you’ll be able to befriend a wild creature at the center. Most rehabilitation efforts try to minimize human contact and association with food.
• Promptly report stranded or distressed marine animals to trained personnels if you’re not fully trained. Don’t try to help stranded animals on your own.
• Take your volunteer spirit with you to the water. Educate fellow beach-goers. If you notice people behaving in a way that disturbs the wildlife, approach and inform them of appropriate guidelines.
• Study why marine animals are becoming sick or stranded and which human-related activities may be at fault. Become active i working to reduce the causes of the problem.

January 2008 is “Save the Ocean” month here at The Giving Hands. Click here for more information on how you too, can save our oceans, and remember to subscribe to The Giving Hands for your daily updates!

This post is written for the “Save the Ocean” group-writing project by Steve, a final year undergraduate majoring in IT and is also working freelance at the same time. He writes mainly about nature particularly about wildlife in Malaysia and Worldwide. He is the owner of Save the Nature for the Future, and he does this out of his love and genuine interest in nature. He intends to create and spread awareness on his favourite subjects and at the same time shares his knowledge with his readers.

Food! Who doesn’t like it if it is delicious and satisfies your hunger? Exotic food such as seafood and wildlife such as crocodile meat are being consumed in events or for fun. But most of us don’t think beyond that when we consume them. Among them, seafood in particularly are the most anticipated and waited especially in Chinese and Japanese restaurants where consumption of such delicacies is almost always linked to having the status of luxury food. Most wedding dinners in particularly, Chinese friend of yours if held in Chinese restaurant, most of you would have encountered this dish at least once. Shark fins soup, nice to eat, but it’s bad to the nature in particularly to their population which is declining rapidly.

Image credit: Amy Mew.

When you SAY NO TO SHARK FINS SOUP, you are basically helping yourself in the long term. Shark populations are declining rapidly worldwide due to overfishing for their valuable fins. They are also victims of slash and dump, where their fins are cut and the wounded sharks are dumped into the sea immediately after fishermen got their fins. This cruel act is actually killing our sharks in slow and agonizing way. When these sharks die, you are disturbing the ocean ecosystem as well. They are the predator which eliminates disease and genetically defective individuals and they also act as the forces which stabilize the population fluctuations. It takes years for these sharks to achieve maturity and some species takes up to 15 years to reach maturity and produce as low as 2 offspring biannually.

When you consume exotic fish (and usually at the top of the food chain) such as sharks, swordfishes, rays, and etc, you are exposing your body with mercury which are unhealthy and hazards especially for the pregnant women when consumed too much. Mercury has three forms which is organic, inorganic and metallic. Methyl-mercury which is part of the organic mercury is the most dangerous. The mercury in fish (methyl-mercury) comes from mercury in ocean sediment which is transformed into methyl-mercury by microorganisms. It is then absorbed by the tissue of the fish when they swim via their gills and through digestive tracts as they feed. Avoid eating them, and possibly not more than once a week. Pregnant mom who consumed this fish can be passed to the unborn baby in the womb. Their brain and nervous system will be affected which will be noticeable during milestones development (walking and talking). Worst still, their memory, language and attention span may be affected as well.

In reality, there are a lot of substitute for this food. It is just a matter of whether you are willing to change. Chicken meat is a substitute for fish. Chickens provide protein to us, just like how fish do. Fish provides us with omega-3 oil, but do you know that walnuts, beans, flaxseeds, olive oils and winter squash are sources of omega-3 oil as well? Crab meat and chicken meat are being used as replacements for shark fins soup in some Chinese restaurants. This would be good news, as they provide us with same nutritional value and they are easily available and in abundance compared to sharks.

If each and everyone of us adapt a simple thought before we eat anything, it would in reality help and benefit nature and ourselves. We need them to survive and they need us to survive as well. Avoid exotic meals at all cost as it brings more damage to marine wildlife in particular. Although some argue that this exotic meals have medicinal values (not scientifically proven), wouldn’t it be better if you exercised for 15 minutes, 3 times a week which is sufficient to maintain your health in the long run rather than consuming food which comes from non-renewable resources?

Ask yourself this: Are you willing to change for the better and spread it to the people around you? I am, are you?

January 2008 is “Save the Ocean” month here at The Giving Hands. Click here for more information on how you too, can save our oceans, and remember to subscribe to The Giving Hands for your daily updates!