09/23/2024
WHAT ABOUT THE OCEAN IF SHARKS DISAPPEAR?
According to research published in the journal Nature, since 1970, the number of sharks and rays living in the world's oceans has decreased by more than 70%. The main cause of this rapid decline comes mainly from overfishing by humans.
When it comes to sharks, we immediately think of horror images of attacking humans portrayed through movies. It's so scary that it makes some people wish that sharks no longer existed.
BUT, what would the ocean look like if sharks completely disappeared?
🦈 When there are no more sharks, the number of small fish will increase sharply because there are no enemies. At that time, their food - plankton, microorganisms, and small shrimp - will be eaten away. Without enough food, some species will eventually starve to death. When that scenario occurs, algae and bacteria will invade the coral reef, making it unable to photosynthesize. The coral will die, leaving only its skeleton, which eventually turns into limestone. And finally, if the marine ecosystem is not balanced, people will not have enough food.
🦈 Sharks, when hunting, help eliminate weaker individuals in the school, thereby ensuring a healthy fish population at a scale appropriate to that habitat.
🦈 They help regulate and produce oxygen in the ocean by eating young fish, indirectly creating conditions for oxygen-producing plankton to grow and helping to regulate the amount of oxygen in the ocean.
📍If sharks disappear, the impacts from food webs in the ocean will sooner or later affect humans. It's important to understand how much the ocean needs sharks, and so do we. Photo: Shark