Do you breathe? If you do, say a big thank you to sharks. You may be wondering, why sharks? Those big fish with teeth that might eat my surfboard- why should I thank them for oxygen? Well, sharks exist as the ocean clean up crew, they are the “top” of the food web, and responsible for maintaining balance within the entire sea. Their very existence is imperative to sustained human survival, and our relationship with them must be reevaluated lest we all just freaking die: Humans and sharks have lived on this earth for an incredible amount of time; the first recorded shark showing up roughly 450 million years ago and the first recorded human about 2.8 million years ago. As humans have relied upon the ocean for countless assets (food, transport, etc) as well as a site of deep curiosity, interactions with sharks (apex predators) are inevitable; notably, as our technology, goals, and motives have developed over time, so have our interactions with the earth, of which the ocean covers seventy percent. In the modern day, the most popular ways people directly interact with sharks is through fishing (commercial and domestic), swimming or otherwise participating in aquatic activities, and research of this huge portion of earth. When one looks at the current state of affairs, questions how natural welfare can be balanced with the complexities and motivations of modern life, the realization that an understanding of balance between the natural world and human interest must be developed all becomes clear. Due to such developments, the question of how humans ought to interact with sharks, with the prioritization of long term sustainment and benefit of life on earth has been raised many times due to the complex dangers and benefits of such interaction. Sharks -used interchangeably with “chondrichthyan fishes”- are imperative to the health of the ocean, the earth in general, and humanity as a whole. The mere existence of sharks provides an array of benefits to marine life as they prevent overgrazing, provide other fish with a scratching post, transfer nutrients across the ocean, provide fish such as scavengers and Remoras with food, and- due to all this benefit- help maintain the ocean’s resilience to natural -as well as man-made- disaster. As they are the apex predators of the ocean they are responsible for “keeping in balance” every level of the marine food chain (Heithius, et. al). This is extremely important to the wellbeing of this planet and by extension, humans, because when there is a depletion of quaternary consumers we routinely see an overpopulation of organisms further down the “food chain”. An example of this is seen in the instance of the depletion of sharks, there is a notable increase in the jellyfish population (Dedman, et. al). This expansion is a threat to the health of life on earth as the phytoplankton which produces roughly half of the oxygen which we breathe is the primary source of food for the primary consumers such as these jellyfish. When there is an overpopulation of these primary consumers, the producers-that which feeds via photosynthesis- are in danger of being overconsumed. Moreover, an overpopulation of jellyfish has been known to cause an increase in frequency of jellyfish bloom sightings. A bloom of jellyfish is the natural occurrence of a large number of these jellies in a concentrated area and they have been known to cause severe injuries in unsuspecting divers and general ocean goers, the Australian box jelly even causing an estimated forty to one hundred deaths each year (Pirkle, et. al). Because of their undeniable importance to the continued existence of humanity as well as life on Earth in general, developing a world that prioritizes the long term survival of humanity through purposeful human-shark interaction is imperative.  

Financial Significance

Sharks have been an integral part of human society for hundreds of years, yet, it is only recently that they began to play such a crucial role in the economy as we see today. To begin, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization: as of 2014, the net worth for the global shark fin import industry was estimated to be USD 377.9  million per year and has only grown alongside the industry (Clarke, et. al). This highly lucrative industry provides exceptional motivation for shark hunting and even dealing of shark meat in areas which it is illegal. According to the NOAA fisheries, commercial fishing is extraordinarily lucrative and fishing for Atlantic HMS accounts for a staggering majority of the profit; tuna, shark, billfish, and swordfish contribute an estimated 510 million USD to the American economy every year (NOAA Fisheries). In spite of this massive economic benefit, should we look at the long term, it becomes clear that- all ethical debates aside- this mass fishing is not practical nor will it remain profitable in the long term. Unlike other hunting industries, there are not the same regulations put upon the shark meat industry, which generates irresponsible hunting practices and poses a threat to the continued existence of certain shark species, namely HMS (highly migratory species) as they are extraordinarily lucrative in the North Atlantic fishing market. To expand on the idea of how commercial fishing is detrimental to the shark population, many shark species will struggle to withstand pressure put upon them as a result of extensive fishing due to a variety of factors. The inability to withstand such pressure is primarily  the fault of “late at-age-maturity,  long gestation periods, and low fecundity in comparison to other animals” which makes it difficult for sharks to maintain healthy numbers in face of extensive hunting (FAO). For example, the New Zealand Rig Shark is famous as “shark nuggets”; however, mass fishing means that this treat will not be available to future people as its numbers are rapidly depleting. If the current relationship between sharks and people is maintained, all the financial benefits they bring to the world will be eradicated; posing an additional threat to humanity. Furthermore, scarcity of sharks puts the relationship between the natural world and the economy in jeopardy. As previously mentioned, sharks are necessary in maintaining balance between species; ergo, there have been notable increases in the jellyfish population as the shark population decreases which has resulted in increasing frequency of power outages in Malaysia as jellyfish blooms increase in frequency.

While commercial hunting puts pressure on their population, sharks provide immense financial benefits to fisheries across the globe in many ways. There is a notable rising shark ecotourism industry which offers an alternate view on human-shark interactions: a possible alternative to hunting by utilizing the tourism industry for maximum profit while encouraging the extended and expanded conservation of marine creatures. The Fernando de Noronha Archipelago provided a site of experimentation with such a novel idea, eventually, it was seen that divers developed a greater interest in the marine life of the Archipelago and there was sufficient evidence to support the idea that utilizing ecotourism has the potential to generate incredible prosperity as well as a more sustainable relationship with sharks.  Conservation and economic specialists have described shark ecotourism as a potentially global benefit to coastal economies; moreover, “the total recreational use of the archipelago was estimated at $90.2 million USD annually”(Pires, et. al). Movement towards an ecotourism-centric method of human-shark interaction is rising in opposition to the present consumption based situation; indicating that, with the proper measures and adequate effort, a balance between human interest and long-term sustainment is plausible.  

The Ocean Goer’s perspective

It is imperative to the values of continued betterment of humanity as well as life on earth that human legislature reflects a resolution to maintain said values. Firstly, as humans are part of the umbrella term “life on earth” the fact that sharks are important to sustaining life on earth, from a purely survivalist perspective, humans ought to care. Due to the fact that the ocean covers the majority of the earth, it is inevitable that when discussing human/earth interactions, how humanity relates to the global apex predator of the ocean will eventually be addressed. To expand upon the idea that sharks are of vital importance to the health of the ocean and the land, it has been observed countless times throughout the fields of marine science that sharks not only maintain biodiversity/a healthy balance of nutrients by feeding and feeding upon ocean creatures, they prevent overgrazing with their mere presence, and provide a sort of “scratching post” to prevent the overgrowth of parasites upon other creatures (sharks of all species have rough skin, due to denticles1 - often referred to as their “scales”- making them an ideal scratching post for fish and smaller creatures). The importance of sharks to the wellbeing of the ocean and by extension us is undeniable, meaning that there ought to be methods to promote the sustainment of humanity and sharks at the same time. Such propositions, though idealistic,  are made feasible with the assistance of global and local administration/enforcement, popular understanding, and general care for life on earth. When addressing the question of human/shark interaction the topic of shark bite/attack is inevitable; especially in coastal areas and tourist heavy sites. Though the risk of shark attack is disproportionately presented by the media and popular culture, it is true that sharks can pose a threat to ocean goers, in instances such as shark bites, meaning it is of vital importance  to address the safety concerns for the people. As seen throughout history, there have been a swathe of methods to prevent undesired human/shark interactions; however, these have been largely ineffective or have been fatal to the sharks (Pires, et. al). Efforts for shark relocation have proven to be overall ineffective as well as harmful to the shark, watch towers over civilian beaches and the culling of sharks- while on the right track to coexistence- are often unreliable as they rely solely on human eyes or are economically unsustainable, and the implementations of drum lines or gill nets have been a poor compromise as they are more likely than not to kill any shark (Adams, et. al). A drum line in this context is a form of fish hook attached to a “drum” or buoy which will hold anything caught upon it in place until it either dies of blood loss/drowning or is caught and relocated while gill nets are designed to catch a creature by the gills and suffocate them; and not only is this fatal to the sharks it is intended to catch, it will often bycatch other creatures that face the same if not worse pressure that sharks do due to such pressures. For example, the Vaquita’s population faces immense pressure due to overuse of gill nets. People such as researchers and professors at the University of Wollongong have proposed the use of blimps/zeppelins which could safely monitor the tourist-heavy beaches as opposed to fallible human eyes or fatal drum lines. This is a feasible alternative as blimps can provide a largely accurate, cost-effective, and socially acceptable alternative to ineffective or unsustainable practices. To reiterate, the current methods of shark-human interaction prevention are largely ineffective or unsustainable as the killing of sharks- as previously stated- poses a threat to life everywhere (likely greater than the threat of sharks themselves, but I digress) due to the vital ecological  importance of sharks in the ocean, which has its undeniable effects on the earth as well; therefore, even though the idea of blimps hovering 70m above shore seems novel, it is an idea that has the potential to aid in the preservation of sharks and therein, life on earth. 

Moving Forward

Due to the fact that we are subject primarily to natural factors (eg. geography, biology, the human consciousness) as opposed to the desires of a marketplace, it is important to acknowledge the natural factors of ocean life in order to create an ethical and reasonable fishing industry. Primarily, it is crucial to recognize that the reproductive cycles of sharks are much slower than that of, for example, deer or lobsters- creatures which are heavily hunted yet still safe from extinction as they have shorter gestation periods than others and reach sexual maturity earlier (deer at 5-8 months, lobsters at 5-7 years, species of sharks vary but the youngest being around 5 years old and the oldest being the Greenland shark at ~150 years old). As previously stated, the majority of shark species exhibit long gestation periods and take many years to sexually mature, which means that the creature will not be able to withstand the intense pressure put upon it by the forces of commercial desire. Birth rates decrease and with it, the population, turning a natural process of reproduction into a weapon against a creature that  provides extraordinary benefit to the entire world and whose absence would wreak havoc on the earth as it is known. By acknowledging and working with rather than against these natural factors it will be possible to develop reasonable regulations for the shark fishing industry, perhaps similar to deer hunting, which hunting requires licensing as well as enforcement of time barriers for the continued existence of the species as well as the wellbeing of the earth.  Unfortunately, as regulations- even with the threat of legal repercussions/consequence- are likely not enough to sufficiently deter overfishing of such lucrative fishes, it is imperative that measures to promote conservation and awareness of the purpose of such measures are implemented into the public’s understanding of the earth we live upon in order to preserve the human race alongside said preventative measures. As for the ocean goers, measures to mitigate undesired shark encounters before they even happen are constantly in the works. For example, hovering watch towers as opposed to drum lines, have been proposed to keep watch over swimmer/surfer heavy beaches. Though the idea seems novel, the idea of floating blimps in addition to current lifeguard stations is a scientifically possible and feasible manner to keep a safe watch over the ocean. Though there are extremely notable motivations for the continued dismissal of shark-depletion or outright approval, it is necessary (for the continued presence of life on earth) to search for better methods of human-shark relations and to find compromise between short term interest and long term survival. To summarize, in spite of the short term economic benefit and the perceived/real danger posed by sharks of all species, it is crucial to the long term survival of humanity as well as life on earth that we move forward in a shark-friendly path.