How long before sharks start going extinct?

Sharks are ancient, fierce creatures, but they're also in danger of extinction on many fronts. Discover all the factors that make sharks vulnerable -- and what you can do to help -- in this podcast from HowStuffWorks.com.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to brain staff from house stuff works dot com
where smart happens. Next week is Shark Week on the
Discovery Channel. So today's question is both well timed and depressing.
The question is how long before sharks start going extinct?

(00:24):
It's hard to imagine sharks ever going extinct. Sharks have
been roaming the oceans for millions and millions of years. Unfortunately,
human beings are putting so much pressure on sharks from
so many different angles that many species are already endangered.
What kind of human threats do sharks face? Let us

(00:45):
count the ways. First, there are habitat problems. Human activities
impact every part of the ocean. Carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere is increasing the acidity of the ocean. Urban runoff,
farm runoff, salt runoff and sewage all change ocean chemistry
and water quality. An article in the Times of London

(01:06):
indicates that the Great Barrier reef will be gone in
twenty years because of ocean warming. According to one scientist,
there's nothing we can do at this point to stop it.
With all the reefs gone, sharks take a huge hit.
Then there's the loss of fish because of everything from
over fishing to water quality problems. It's thought that the

(01:26):
oceans will run out of fish over the next several decades.
With nothing to eat, many shark species will perish with them.
Then there is direct fishing pressure on sharks. One article
I read this week mentioned that a hundred million sharks
are killed each year for their fins alone. That is,
the shark is caught, the fins removed, and then the

(01:48):
still living but helpless animal is thrown back in the
ocean to die. If you think back to the buffalo
that once roamed the American plains by the millions, you
see a direct correlation. The buffalo were hunted to extinction
in just a few decades. Sharks will follow that same path.
If we don't do something, it seems like an impossible problem,

(02:10):
and some parts of it are impossible for us to
solve as individuals. But if you have any desire to
help sharks and other marine animals, there are two things
that you, as a single person can do. First, you
can stop eating seafood, all seafood, and encourage your friends
and neighbors to do the same. Get evangelistic about it.

(02:32):
If enough people stopped eating things like tuna, flounders, salmons,
scallops and swordfish. There would be far more fish in
the ocean. Plus it will cut back on the sharks
killed by fishermen looking for other species. The second thing
you can do is to put persistent pressure on local
and national governments to stop ocean pollution and to end

(02:55):
carbon emissions. The fact that we will lose the Great
Barrier Reef should be a wake up call for all
of us. That is an immense tragedy and something that
should shake us to our core. Help your government see
that this kind of abuse must end quickly. Shark Week
is August two through eight on Discovery Channel. See Shark

(03:17):
week dot com for details. For more on this and
thousands of other topics, because it how staff works dot
com