Shark Conservation in Hawaii
Shark Conservation in Hawaii
Sharks play a crucial role as apex predators in keeping marine ecosystems balanced by removing sick, injured, and diseased animals. This makes sharks vital to maintaining a clean and healthy ocean. 100 million sharks are killed every year, so in a two-hour tour about 22,000 sharks are killed. Here at Go Adventure Hawaii, we give back to organizations that support shark conservation and make it a point to educate guests on the importance of protecting these species.
How to Help
- Do Not Eat Shark
Shark meat is more common than you may realize, Imitation crab and dog food can sometimes Include shark meat. Shark fins are popular in some Asian cultures, especially in Chinese cuisine, where they are typically prepared as the main ingredient in shark fin soup. The fins are the most valuable part of the shark. The usual practice is to catch a shark, cut the fins off its body while it’s still alive, and then dump the finless animal back into the water. The animals, are unable to swim, sink and drown, unable to move and get oxygen through their gills, or bleed to death. Besides being cruel and inhumane, the practice of shark finning is responsible for as many as 100 million shark deaths per year, which has threatened a number of shark species with endangerment.
- Be Aware of Squalene in Beauty Products
Squalene is an antioxidant and emollient often used in cosmetics and skincare products. Although admired for its ability to impressively mimic the skin’s natural oils, the ingredient is generally too ambiguously sourced to be classed as ethical or sustainable. That’s because squalene often comes from shark organs (Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol., 2019). The survey, titled “The Hideous Price of Beauty,” found that the cosmetics industry accounts for an astonishing 90% of the global demand for shark liver oil. That’s an estimated 1,900 tons of squalene used for hair conditioners, creams, lipsticks, foundations, sunscreens, and more—some even audaciously labeled as “cruelty-free.” (Bloomberg, 2012)
- Reduce Your Plastic Consumption
67% of sharks dissected around the world have microplastics in their digestive tract. A new study by researchers at the University of Exeter investigated microplastics in four species of demersal sharks (species living near or on the seafloor) in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean. When the researchers examined the stomachs and digestive tracts of 46 sharks, they found 67% contained microplastics. In all, they found 379 microplastics, plastic particles, or fibers smaller than five millimeters, or a fifth of an inch, in the sampled sharks. The larger the shark, the more plastic was in it. Many of the plastic fibers were synthetic cellulose, the material found in polyester clothing and products such as face masks. (Parton et al. 2020).