It is believed that the Oceanic Whitetip Shark is extinct in the Gulf of Mexico. Because of destructive and careless longline fishing practices by the Tuna industry and Shark finning, the Oceanic Whitetip--once the most populous large Shark in the world--are down over 99 percent from the figures recorded in 1950. Silky Sharks in the Gulf of Mexico are down around 90 percent from the 1950 figures. 270,000 Sharks are killed everyday to keep up with the demand for Shark fins and meat. It is getting so bad that legal or not legal, businesses that sell Shark products should be considered by responsible citizens as agents of environmental devastation. Any responsible person should boycott every fish market or restaurant that sells Shark fins or Shark meat. Any person with a bit more "character" should do something a bit more active in letting these businesses know that they are complicit in an environmental holocaust. Let them know that they suck.

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Oceanic Whitetips are one of our favorite Sharks. If a boat capsizes in the open ocean, let's say like the USS Indianapolis, Oceanic Whitetips are the ones that show up first to say hello! Their role in the ocean is to take care of anything that doesn't really belong there.

--Sharky

technorati tags: , Sharks, endangered species, Oceanic Whitetip Sharks, Silky Sharks, USS Indianapolis, Shark Fin Soup, Chinese Food, Commercial Fishing