Education and changing sharks' image
While new legislations can be passed, our best shot at helping sharks is through education. As long as there will be a demand for shark fin soup, the killing will persist considering the potential lucrative revenue for fishers and restaurant owners who want to cater to their clients' demands. The most effective way to stop this unsustainable and cruel practice is to offer unbiased information to consumers.
Important cultural figures such as ex-NBA player, Yao Ming or Jackie Chan are leading the battle against shark finning.
Additionally, it is important to change sharks' image as cruel, blood-thirsty monsters. Since the release of the movie Jaws, there has been an increase in amateur shark finning. Shark attacks are rare and very few people die from shark attacks on an annual basis. We are a much bigger threat to sharks than they are to us. We must respect sharks as living and surviving in their natural habitat, in which we are only temporary visitors. Shows such as Shark Week on Discovery Channel are enabling viewers to understand shark behavior. The few attacks that occur generally result from a shark's attempt at 'tasting' the prey, after which they often release humans when realizing they are not marine prey.
Important cultural figures such as ex-NBA player, Yao Ming or Jackie Chan are leading the battle against shark finning.
Additionally, it is important to change sharks' image as cruel, blood-thirsty monsters. Since the release of the movie Jaws, there has been an increase in amateur shark finning. Shark attacks are rare and very few people die from shark attacks on an annual basis. We are a much bigger threat to sharks than they are to us. We must respect sharks as living and surviving in their natural habitat, in which we are only temporary visitors. Shows such as Shark Week on Discovery Channel are enabling viewers to understand shark behavior. The few attacks that occur generally result from a shark's attempt at 'tasting' the prey, after which they often release humans when realizing they are not marine prey.