100 Million Sharks - The Question

Editors Note: Unfortunately this blog post was the result of an online scam by a group of questionable filmmakers pushing a new film called "The Shark Con." Blog reader "Ethan" also contacted other Blue Bloggers with this film clip. He is not an actual blog reader but part of the effort to get free promotion for the film.

The premise of the film is to feature a few marginal and discredited anti shark people in a documentary to enrage the shark conservation movement so people will buy your film. In essence "manufacturing dissent" to sell a film.

This blog does not buy into callous attempts to promote and sell manufactured shark conservation films. We're in the business of real and lasting conservation change. If you want manufactured eco dissent there's always Whale Wars on Animal Planet, and if we say so, they do a much better job.

Original Post

Thanks to blog reader Ethan for sending this in. The conservation question of 100 million sharks killed each year is a lingering one. The number 100 million appeared at least five years ago and is taken for granted as the defacto number of dead shark each and every year.

This number is the backbone to the entire shark conservation movement - 100 million.

But what if science does not back up the numbers?

What if only 25 million sharks are killed each year?

Some have questioned the actual number, others are now making videos:

Oceanic Whitetips-Going...Going...

Depressing news from the Divemaster site this morning. The truth is some dive sites still have robust populations of these critters left, unfortunately almost nothing is known about these long range ocean travelers.

Complete article here:

The research team has linked the increase in longline fishing for tuna with the decrease in numbers of oceanic whitetips and silky sharks in the Gulf of Mexico. Often a by-catch of longline fishing boats, theses sharks have been landed for their valuable fins to supply the increasing demand for shark fin soup.

Bite-Back, the UK’s fastest growing shark and marine conservation organisation, is working to expose the correlation between the demand for shark meat and fins and the decimation of shark populations and encourage a significant fall in consumer and retail demand.

Currently 270,000 sharks are killed worldwide everyday to keep up with consumer demand.

Graham Buckingham, campaign director at Bite-Back, said: “Except for the oceans, there is no other place on earth where the decimation of an entire species would be allowed to go unchallenged. It is our opinion that restaurants and retailers that sell shark meat and fins are effectively endorsing the extinction of these creatures. It has to stop.”

Last year alone 3,290 tonnes of shark meat and fins were consumed in the UK. Yet, since there is little hope for government intervention, Bite-Back says it is down to the diving community and principled consumers to educate and encourage offending retailers to stop selling shark and vulnerable species.