Painful Images of Shark Trading in the Arabian Sea

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Painful Images of Shark Trading in the Arabian Sea

As a resident of a coastal town, I can’t imagine what it would be like if this were happening here. This past summer a friend of mine took me fishing, not for nourishment but for the experience and I ended up catching a baby shark (don’t worry, I threw him back in). The whole experience was pretty amazing. Then back in October I got scuba certified and got to “swim with the fishies.” So when I saw these images taken by Thomas P. Peschak for TIME Magazine of the shark trading business, I was shocked. Over 73 million sharks are killed every year for trading purposes resulting in around 50 different species added to the endangered species list. Not only are these fishermen killing sharks that are on the endangered species list, but their nets are trapping innocent sea life. If you’ve watched Whale Wars on the Discovery Channel then you know that yes, maybe a handful of ships get caught and shut down but the cycle continues because there is big money in the business. The same for the shark trade business. I won’t get into politics over this but it’s pretty sad to see.

Like I said, I had a great experience with these creatures (sharks are awesome) and these pictures really hit me hard. Let us know how these affect you in the comments below.

[Via TIME]

Animal

Business

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Photojournalistic

Pictures

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http://www.chromaticaversion.com/ Kyle Sanders
The oceans are less plentiful and limitless than we collectively think – so if you are into underwater photography, go out and take pictures now. I dreamed of swimming the Great Barrier Reef as a kid, and it’s shocking to hear how much of the reef is gone now. Document what you can while you can!
http://twitter.com/Jensthetraveler Jens Marklund
Fucking retards.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jose-Reyes/100002249712265 Jose Reyes
Humans, we are our own worst enemy!!!!!! this makes me sick i wonder how we have survived so long?
Mike_Kelley
This makes me so angry!
Mike_Kelley
More angry than whaling, I think… Grrr
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001383189767 Nick Carranza
Thank you for putting this out there. We live in a sad and selfish world. Now go out and help change that! :-)
http://www.facebook.com/sitthixay Sitthixay Ditthavong
It is heartbreaking to see images of sharks being slaughtered by the millions, but much of the anger should be directed at the consumers – this wouldn’t happen if it wasn’t so lucrative and the demand wasn’t so high.
http://www.facebook.com/timgallo84 Tim Gallo
one of the reasons i stay vegetarian.
they say – go and change something. i say – stay and change yourself.
tyrohne
I won’t get into politics over this but it’s pretty sad to see./endquote
I’m struggling to understand the context of politics in this?
sy
Please grow up! Before calling these people “retards” do consider their plight, this is probably the only way they can make a living and support their families. You haven’t a clue what people in impoverished countries have to do to survive, I’ve witnessed many things like this first hand in a number of poor countries. Yes, it is sad to see, and I don’t like it any more than you do, but unless you want to get off your ass and help those less fortunate than yourself make a sustainable living please keep your ridicule to yourself. We are too quick to judge those without even comprehending their circumstances, if YOU had to choose between a shark and feeding your kids or family what would your choice be?
muellerworks
Good point.
http://profile.yahoo.com/VOT2IIAPIAWGFE5SQJG7EECCIA Ashley
Why are you people more upset about this than unborn babies being slaughtered? Sharks don’t think/feel/reason like humans do. And yes, a fetus absolutely does those things. This is what’s wrong with the world, that you’d care to protect some fish over a human being! Sure, a shark is caught, has his dorsal fin cut…a baby is RIPPED limb from limb, body part by body part, while being dragged through the birth canal. People with your attitude make ME sick.
Mike_Kelley
Hoping that this isn’t some pro-life agenda, am I missing something? Can we get a link to some articles or links with more information?
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jose-Reyes/100002249712265 Jose Reyes
The comments are keeping with the context of the photos displayed. Please focus….if pictures of an oil spill or unborn babies were displayed then people would have comments about that as well. Focus on subject at hand and less about your own personal agenda.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Sandra-Joy-Unaegbu/127300056 Sandra-Joy Unaegbu
It is tough to look at for sure but unless people commenting are vegetarians it happens to a ton of animals and we still consume beef, chicken, shrimp and a ton of other stuff. I haven’t eaten shark and I know I never will but I can’t say this is bad and what not because I do eat other foods.
http://profile.yahoo.com/VOT2IIAPIAWGFE5SQJG7EECCIA Ashley
No, not a pro-life agenda. Just gets under my skin that so many people go out of their way to protect animals and animal rights, and those very same people ignore babies and their rights. The attitude is that animals are more important and it is beyond infuriating.
Mike_Kelley
Can I see an article from a legitimate news source or peer-reviewed journal that discusses these “babies that are ripped limb by limb, body part by body part, through the birth canal?”
I’m not aware of any culture that has turned the slaughter of fetuses into a multi-million (billion?) dollar industry, nor of any culture that slaughters them by the thousands.
Mike_Kelley
The difference (IMO here) is that the slaughter of whales, sharks, and dolphins is pretty needless, as it’s an extremely niche and luxury item. Chicken and beef are food staples and we’re not upsetting entire oceanic ecosystems by eating them.
sy
Mike, if you crawl out from under your rock maybe you will learn about Planned Parenthood, the multi-billion dollar abortion industry that you say doesn’t exist.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_in_the_United_States, maybe you can read up on it before posting ignorant comments.
James M
Grow up Ashley. This has nothing to do with ‘pro-life’. It’s about the unnecessary slaughter of the population of sharks in the ocean because consumers like the status of having it in a bowl of soup. If the numbers of shark killings continue in this manner then the ecosystem of the oceans will collapse. Humans are doing their best to destroy this planet.
If you want to push your ‘pro-life’ opinion then go and find the correct forum to do it.
tyrohne
because you’re easily manipulated? just a guess…
Mike_Kelley
Scroll down and you can see how this conversation has already turned political, haha.
Mike_Kelley
Nice edit
http://www.thrashonistas.com/ Anthony Ryan Tripoli
I don’t think Lauren said anything about not liking babies in this post.
Maybe I am not picking up on the attitude you are saying is depicted by
posting this. I am also not certain why you decided to bring your
plight for unborn children to this discussion, seeing as this post has
nothing to do with that. Some people feel swayed one way, and some
another, and whatever that is, there is no reason to start throwing a
fit and saying “people with your attitude make me sick.” You don’t even
know what Lauren’s attitude is. While you may have a point about abortion, did you really think that this was the right place to pull out your soap box? Maybe I am confused, but is raising awareness about atrocities uncalled for unless it meets your political agenda?
People who presume to know anything about someone they don’t know, especially via the internet make ME sick.
barebackingronaldreagan
Human life is pretty cheap anymore, as we are more than double our estimated sustainable number and growing. I’d personally abort 10 human fetuses just to save one shark.
http://www.chromaticaversion.com/ Kyle Sanders
Additionally domesticated food – beef, chicken, lamb, and pork, are well controlled, “sustainable” populations. Cows are not endangered. Ranchers know that if they want to butcher 10 cows, they better have more than 10 else they will have no more cows next year. You can get a college degree in this kind of management. Sharks? (and big game fish – tuna, swordfish, grouper, etc) – we have no idea how many are out there, and how many we need to have a self-perpetuating, healthy ecosystem.
I won’t even start of the pros/cons of fish farms, but at least the numbers of animals are a somewhat known factor. If you look at most of the sharks in those photos, they are open-ocean sharks. Four pictures have blue sharks and two pictures have hammerheads. These are live-bearing, long gestation, low reproductive rate animals that are in few numbers to begin with. There is not that much food out in the open ocean, unlike the coastal areas or coal reefs, so the animals are fewer and further between. This is less about eating meat vs plants, but rather wanton harvesting of a fragile ecosystem.
sy
It’s a shame that your mother didn’t abort your “fetus”..! But to make things right maybe jump off a bridge and feed those sharks you seem to care so much about and cut the human population. Seems you are too selfish to do that and would rather sacrifice those who cannot speak for themselves… you worthless piece of trash!
http://www.chromaticaversion.com/ Kyle Sanders
The conversation is getting pretty far off topic by talking about abortion as-is, but suggesting that someone should go commit suicide – even sarcastically – is over the line.
Mike_Kelley
Lose argument, resort to personal attack. Welcome to the internet!
sy
I am glad you notice the sarcasm, but please notice the disgusting comment I was replying to.
sy
How was the argument lost?? The only loser here is you ! Instead of writing your chronically pitiful responses please post something of substance or just keep your ignorance to yourself.
https://www.facebook.com/FlexibleVision Roman
It is easy to throw insults anonymously…
http://www.JettFoto.com Corey Melton
This happens with tuna, salmon, snapper, etc… but suddenly a larger fish is seen dead and it catches attention. Either I dont care at all about the death of animals, or I am the advocate for smaller less noticeable fish species. But this looks like people out fishing for a living to me.
https://www.facebook.com/FlexibleVision Roman
Isn’t it interesting how people relate more to bigger animals? Shark is a fish as much as others. We have a huge environmental problem related to fishing. Like most of biggest environmental issues it starts in our fridge, home or backyard. People in developed countries start the demand for fish, beef, oil, plastics, bottled water, “clean” gas etc.
sy
Needless, niche, luxury? Try telling that to the Inuit. Bowhead whales have been subsistence hunted for centuries… They can’t really raise cows or chickens in 50 degree below weather.. The world is a lot more complex than one may think. Yes, I’m on your case, just very annoyed with your half-assed responses, Mike.
http://www.chromaticaversion.com/ Kyle Sanders
there in lies the shame of shark finning – fishing for a living or providing for your family is one thing, but to take the animal just for the fins to make (luxury soup) is what is so egregiously wrong with this particular fishing.
http://www.facebook.com/arshsayed Arsh Sayed
what city/country are these images from?
sy
I absolutely agree about shark finning, I think it is a shame to kill a shark just for it’s fin.
Mike_Kelley
Quit being obtuse. Inuit have been subsistence hunting using small boats and hand-thrown harpoons and hand-reeled lines for centuries. Modern whaling and fishery fleets can catch in a day what the Inuit would catch in a year, and the purpose is entirely different. Luxury, status-symbol food for the elite is entirely different than a catch that will have every part of it used and stored for food over several months to feed a small village.
Mike_Kelley
Gestation periods, life spans, and population numbers are wildly different for whales and sharks than salmon and snapper, however, and that must be taken into account. It takes years to grow a whale or shark into an adult, which usually only raise one offspring per year, if that. Salmon on the other hand may only live for 2-5 years, can lay up to 5000 eggs at one time, and they do this multiple times throughout its life. So it’s a matter of sustainability. We can also farm salmon – you can’t really farm sharks.
Then there is of course the matter of ethics – you can quickly kill a smaller fish before it even knows what is going on, but try to kill a shark quickly – it can’t be done, sometimes they will struggle for hours.
So really there are a lot of differences between killing larger animals and smaller animals, and it’s important to keep those differences in mind.
Tuna is also way overfished, but that’s another rant for another day. Look, you’ve got my inner hippie coming out. Good work haha.
http://twitter.com/MrNuyoka Mr. Nuyoka
Sy Starts the first response with “Please grow up! Before calling these people “retards”", “please keep your ridicule to yourself.”
Then proceeds to do just that.
“you worthless twit!”
“The only loser here is you ! ”…Anyways Sharks, Tuna, Fishes of all kind, yummy!Whats next people against gold fish, who get flushed down the toilet perhaps by the millions a week???
http://twitter.com/michelobx Jet Life
i love sharks… doing this so someone can have soup is wrong!
http://fstoppers.com/author/rebecca Rebecca Britt
For once Sy I actually agree with you.
Although, not exactly the manner I would put it, but nonetheless I get your point.
PaulJay
Humans are assholes. We deserve the misery on this planet.
sy
“The difference (IMO here) is that the slaughter of whales, sharks, and dolphins is pretty needless, as it’s an extremely niche and luxury item.” Your words. You contradict yourself. I am not obtuse, your comments sure are, though. Say what you mean and mean what you say.
Anders Petersen
No, the biggest problem is that a lot of sharks are caught because the fins are used in “traditional cures” (ie “medicine” that doesn’t work). It’s not just a luxury item for food consumption, but also a bullshit over-priced remedy in the alternative medicine market.
See also rhino horns.
Anders Petersen
Went to wikpedia, Ctrl+F’d “dollar” (nothing) and Ctrl+F’d “billion” (nothing)
Where’s that industry, again?
And if it were there, do you not think it would be easily saturated?
Anders Petersen
Holy shit, not what I expected from staff.
Though, judging by the rest of the comments, it seems like almost anything goes…
Anders Petersen
Not necessarily the fishers (whalers? sharkers?), but those who have created the industry in the first place: The inflated markup on shark fins as a decadent meal, and the use in alternative “medicine”.
Everything but the shark fin has almost no value. But the fin itself has a ridiculous value, but it’s all artificial. It’s a bullshit industry that has no reason to exist.
Abdullah Alansari
As a scuba diver this is terrible to look at, I love diving with sharks, specially in the Caribbean Sea. But we still have to understand the other side’s point of view, this job might be the only job that they’re qualified to do in order to feed their families.
these men aren’t blessed with the luxury of life that we have. All I’m asking is to think about the two sides first before judging.

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