35
800 hooks on it (ISAF). The longlines are usually set out
overnight and collected the following day, a process which
helps ensure a larger catch as most sharks are more active at
night and look to feed at this time. Some other common
methods for catching sharks include different types of netting.
One style involves using a net that stretches thousands of feet,
which can be positioned near the surface or above the ocean
floor. The positioning will vary depending on the area and
types of sharks found in that area. Then the net is allowed to
soak overnight and is pulled in the following morning. Both of
these methods involve hours of stress for most sharks that are
caught in these fashions, and one cannot help but to feel sorry
for these once mighty predators.
Are there possible health risks associated with the
consumption of sharks?
If people are not willing to give up on their “traditional
soup” because they do not care about the health of the oceans
or the cruelty involved in the finning process then perhaps
they might give up shark fin soup for their own health reasons.
Wendee Holtcamp (2012), who is a writer of environmental
issues and who holds an M.A. in Evolutionary Biology,