Cristina Zenato Instagram – “The population of sharks has increased tremendously, and they are seriously reducing the fish populations” – with a follow-up request to cull sharks to help the fish population.
I am apprehensive about these statements provided by unqualified individuals that the news has picked up and shared on a larger scale; I am worried about how these statements reach me daily.
I need to figure out where to start addressing this belief, which comes from the entirely human-centered, arrogant thought that everything belongs to us.
Let’s start with “increased tremendously.”
How is that verified? In general, the people making these statements see more sharks around their boats; these boats are out there fishing. However, these sharks are not identified, verified, and counted correctly, so ten boats might see the same individuals in the same area, but it doesn’t mean there are that many more.
Additionally, sharks include over 500 species, so seeing fins and bodies and saying that sharks have increased tremendously has no scientific value.
We also forget that these sharks might be approaching more boats fishing. These boats provide an easy source of food and nutrients that belong to the sharks, and they might be scarce in the area because of overfishing or other environmental issues.
Let’s get to the second part of the statement, “seriously reducing the fish populations.”
I am fighting hard to keep my composure on that piece of garbage.
As far as we know, sharks have been in the oceans for over 450 million years. While their predatory nature has evolved with them, they have kept the ocean in balance for much longer than we have.
Humans, especially with the introduction of industrial fishing, are the reason the oceans are out of balance, fish stocks are reduced, and some ecosystems are on the verge of collapse. Thinking that removing sharks would bring back the balance so humans can have more fish is against any scientific study, understanding, and data that is available to promote more educated statements. | Posted on 15/Jun/2024 20:31:44
