Let’s Talk About Sharks!
We don’t always have the means, certainly not as often as we’d like, to introduce friends of Surfrider NYC who are out in the world working hard on behalf of ocean conservation and protection. One such friend is Crystal Dombrow — an Ambassador for One Ocean Global. Crystal works towards public outreach and education on shark and marine conservation. I had the golden opportunity to catch up with her and find out more about why she does what she does.
I consider myself to be a mostly normal human being, in that, I have a healthy fear of sharks. We all do. We can probably (read: definitely) thank Hollywood and Discovery Channel for that. Based on my conversation with Crystal however, the fear should be entirely the other way around. We, in fact, are the monsters lurking in the not-so-deep. If movies reflected real life, Blake Lively would have been the scheming villain plotting from her rock while the unknowing shark circled for fish below in the film The Shallows.
Marine biologists and conservationists worldwide estimate between 70–100 million sharks are killed off every single year. That number is crazy big. So big, it’s a little hard to fathom. Crystal broke it down for me: That equates to 7,000–11,000 sharks being killed every single hour OR roughly 3 sharks every second. That’s like 9 sharks killed in the time it took me to type that last sentence. Comparatively, sharks fatally bite an average of 8 humans a year worldwide. According to National Geographic, you have a 1 in 63 chance of dying from the flu and a 1 in 3,700,000 chance of being killed by a shark.
Most of us have never met a hostile shark and never will. Sharks intentionally feed on weak, sick or dying individuals of prey populations, leaving the healthiest to survive and reproduce. So, whether you get the warm fuzzies towards sharks or are downright terrified, the fact remains that they are essential in maintaining ecological balance… and they care little to none about you.
Let’s roll through some of the biggest threats to sharks:
You have probably heard of Finning. Finning is chopping the fin off a shark and then chucking the live shark back in the water to bleed out or drown. Shark fin soup is a delicacy in China and some surrounding Asian countries. It can also be found in many Chinese restaurants — including some in NJ.
Shark Meat. Shark’s meat (called “flake” or “whitefish”) is widely consumed in Central America, South America, and Australia…and often mislabeled. It’s known to contain concentrations of mercury 42x higher than what is safe for human consumption. That’s right, it’s toxic.
Squalene/Squalane: Squalene is huge in the cosmetics and supplements industry. It’s shark liver oil and many beauty sites claim it’s health benefits. Plant-based squalane has been on the rise as more and more attention has been given to protecting animals, so do your homework and check labels because it’s entirely possible to find cosmetics with plants-based squalane.
Nets/Drum Lines. Sigh — this is the biggie. Recreational fishing accounts for more deaths than all of the above commercial fishing industries combined. Sharks that get caught in fishing nets rarely survive. In some areas, sharks are caught in nets or drum lines (the same equipment used for culling) inshore in order to clear beaches. They are re-released offshore but many don’t survive. This equipment has been proven to be ineffective at reducing already rare bite incidents.
Feeling dismal?? Great because it’s time to talk about what we can do to turn this ship around!
Part of Crystal’s role as Ambassador is to raise awareness and also to promote safety measures that don’t typically get a lot of coverage (i.e. Yes, sharks can be dangerous, but no sharks are not seeking you out to eat you — that is the stuff of hollywood fantasy.).
So, what can we do?? Here are 3 super easy ways to take action:
The Shark Fins Sales Elimination Act of 2017. The US is the 7th largest exporter of shark fins. Bringing a shark to land without fins is illegal in the US, but removing its fins on land, selling them domestically or abroad, and consuming is all legal. Encourage your State Reps and Congress to support the Act.
Show FedEx you care. That’s right, this petition is directed at FedEx’s CEO Frederick Smith. FedEx (as well as United Airlines, btw) still participates in trafficking fins. American Airlines, UPS, China Southern Airlines, and Cathay Pacific Airways have all banned shipping shark fins. Show FedEx you care by encouraging them to get on board.
And finally, speak up for a sharks. Help dispel myths about sharks as monsters and turn the conversation to why they are important to protect. This is not the first time that an animal has suffered greatly due to a bad reputation. In 1963, Farley Mowat wrote regarding the demise of wolves in his book, Never Cry Wolf, and concluded, “We have doomed the wolf not for what it is but for what we deliberately and mistakenly perceive it to be: the mythologized epitome of a savage, ruthless killer — which is, in reality, not more than the reflected image of ourselves.”
Big shoutout to Crystal for providing me with such great information and awareness to be able to write this! You can follow her on Instagram at @namsundri or One Ocean Global at @oneoceanglobal. And you can follow Surfrider NYC below and on Instagram @surfridernyc
#SaveSharks #SharkConservation #SurfriderNYC
