Hammerhead shark population
hunting and Pollution impact on hammerhead shark population
Pollution and hunting
- Over the years hammerhead shark populations have been decreasing do to pollution and hunting
- Hammerhead shark populations went from 155,500 in the 1980s to 26,500 in the early 2000s
- The population count has decreased because of the desire for their large find and high fin Ray count in the shark fin trade, their fins are used for shark fin soup
- shark fins are a sign of wealth in some countries and the demand for shark fin soup as well as price has gone up over the years
- fishers cut the fin off the shark while it is alive and then discard the body into the ocean, where the shark either sinks to the bottom unable to swim with out its fin, bleeds to death, or is eaten by scavengers
- Although fins on average make up less than 5% of the total body weight of a shark, they are worth the majority of its financial value. Scientists estimate that 25 species of sharks and rays risk going extinct within our lifetime
- Not only are hammerhead sharks decreasing due to hunting but also pollution and getting caught in stray fishing nets
- If there Poulation continues to go down then there pray will increase and cause an inbalance in the ecosystem and population counts
Protection
- In recent years many endangerment organizations have been passing laws and regulations to help stop shark hunting and the production of shark fin soup. As well as volunteer work to help clean up pollution in our oceans