Is Jaws Going Extinct?
by Junior Amber Reis
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Sharks have been living in our oceans for over 450 million years, thriving as apex predators before humans, dinosaurs, and even existing before trees. While not one of the most diverse, there are over 500 species of sharks, making them able to exist in basically every habitat. But maybe not for much longer. “Over 1/3 of all shark species are threatened with extinction. Driven largely by the shark fin trade and overfishing, many populations of sharks have declined 90% of their original numbers” says David Mcguire, founder of Shark Stewards. Shark finning is related to poaching, a highly illegal activity. Those who do this catch sharks to simply cut off their fins and usually simply throw them back in the water. The problem is sharks can not survive without their fins. Being unable to move without them, they cannot get the oxygen and food they need. The fins are used commonly on foods like shark fin soup, usually served in places like China, Taiwan, and many parts of Southeast Asia. The fin itself simply provides a texture, while all the flavor comes from other spices and ingredients. It's considered a delicacy and commonly served during special occasions like weddings and banquets. But is it really worth killing millions of sharks every year just for one simple dish? Is it really worth driving off one of the oldest and most majestic life form on this planet? Some people may say yes to this, thinking that sharks are scary. But in truth sharks are majorly misunderstood. According to Gill Shark Conservation many people refuse to participate in activities due the the idea of being in shark territory. There is only about nineteen shark attacks a year, and only one death from a shark every other year. Meanwhile, everyday items that most people encounter at least once or multiple times a day are more likely to kill you than a shark. Simple items like champagne corks kill about two dozen people a year, or even a falling coconut can be responsible for about 150 deaths a year. So even with all of these everyday items that can kill you everyone is absolutely terrified of sharks. But whats the reasoning behind this?
Part of this may be due to the movie “Jaws”, featuring a massive Great White. But their depiction of Great Whites were only meant for the movie, and are not true. “Sharks have bad reputation in some circles and many people are afraid of them. Sharks sometimes have interactions with people and usually it ends badly for the shark. In fact, it is estimated that 100 million sharks are killed each year by people. That is about 190 sharks per minute”, says Conely So what do we truly know about Great Whites and their habits? Great whites are members of the Lamnidae family, along with mako, salmon, and porbeagle sharks. Named for their telltale white under belly, which they use to blend in with their surroundings and hide from their prey. Having a bite force of 1.8 metric tons and reaching speeds of up to 35 miles per hour, they are seen as a force to be reckoned with. Being related to the now extinct Megalodon, they reach some of the largest sizes when it comes to sharks. While rare, they can reach up to about 20 feet in length. Take Deep Blue for example. Deep Blue is one of the largest Great Whites, approximated to be about 20 feet. Being first spotted in 2013 but not rising to fame until 2015. She was spotted again in 2019 in Hawaii but has not been seen since. But even with these few sightings, Deep Blue has given scientists an insight into the life of great White, which is still mostly unknown. “Great white sharks are elusive when it comes to mating and reproduction, so having the most famous living shark commonly be spotted pregnant gives the world an amazing glimpse into this little known part of their lives”, says Gardiner, a student at the University of Washington majoring in biological oceanography. The breeding habits of sharks are not widely known and are still being studied. Great white on average birth litters between two to 17 pups about four to six feet in length. They usually grow about 12 inches per year which is how they reach their immense size. But, breeding usually does not happen until an age of about 30 years. However, it's not just how little we know about them that gives reason to keeping them alive. It's their importance the the marine ecosystems.
Sharks are like the humans of the ocean, they rule the waters and help keep populations healthy and in check. “Sharks are vital to a healthy ocean. Many sharks are apex predators, preying on injured and sick individuals keeping those populations healthy. As apex predators, they impact all marine life and if they disappear, that will have catastrophic effects for the ocean”, says Austin Conely, a staff member at Fort Fisher aquarium. “Removal of apex predators like reef sharks create a trophic cascade which means the populations of fish or other marine organisms below become out of balance. This leads to a decline in the balance and health of marine ecosystems, down to the coral or seagrass at the very foundation of the food chain”, says Mcguire Then all the species under that would begin dying off, either from overhunting or from the lack of food sources. So sharks are the basis that keeps the marine ecosystem thriving and allows our fishing market to survive“Managing just the shark's catches themselves is not enough, as sharks have food sources which match many humans targeted species. If people keep removing larger prey of the oceanic sharks like tuna then that will limit the carrying capacity of the area's sharks/predators. Managing their food sources also would not do as many of them have their own prey which would need to be managed. This relates to the importance of biodiversity, especially since most of the open ocean where these sharks live are extremely desolate and not as biodiverse as places like nearshore, bays, estuaries or reefs. A good example is how Seal hunting was stopped in the United states and only allowed in canada for native tribes, which is now resulted in a big improvement of Great white shark populations and visits along the coast of the US in the more recent years which is great to see. Also the Stopping of netting menhaden has improved shark and other predator fish populations with coastal species and sharks like threshers and great whites” , says Bejamin Ford an Early College science teacher.But the fishing market wont be the only thing to suffer. Sharks are a highlight in many places on the coast and can bring in a lot of funds. “In the Bahamas, one live reef shark can bring in $250,000 from tourists. And in Belize, a single whale shark can bring in $2 million over its lifetime”, says Mike Howie, a professor at Edith Cowan University.North Carolina itself is a hot spot for tourism. Though sharks may not be the highlight, fishing is. Most people come here to gain the island experience and feel what it's like to just take a few steps out the back door and go fishing.Without sharks in the areas, populations wont be regulated and all these species like Bluefish, Red Drum, Black Drum and even Flounder will eventually die off. This leaves us with lower tourism and lower funds for businesses and the city. So what is being done here in North Carolina to help conserve species? Fort Fisher aquarium has a program called “Sand Tiger Sharks in the Graveyard of the Atlantic”. The Graveyard of the Atlantic is the nickname given to the numerous shipwrecks located off the coast of North Carolina. But how many exactly are there? There are an estimated 5,000 shipwrecks located along the 300 mile coast of North Carolina. All are havens for Sand Tiger sharks, especially those about to give birth.
“As a member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums SAFE: Sharks and Rays (Saving Animals From Extinction), We are researching Sand Tiger Sharks off our coast. We can compare their spot patterns to identify different individual sharks and learn more about how they are using these habitats. Through this research, we’ve learned that individual sharks use the same habitats off of our coast for months or even years at a time. There is so much more to learn, so we utilize volunteer divers to photograph sharks off our coast. We created Spot-A-Shark USA, a community science program to help us collect data on sand tiger sharks”, says Conely But Conely isnt the only one that cares about this topic. In fact, this hits close to home right here n Early College.“For the cause, I have actually been a part of influencing the Dominican republic fisheries when I participated in a Marine Science research Work-study for their Government. At the time, they were being consulted by Japan for managing their fisheries, which were extremely short sighted and gave Japan access to the important oceanic fish coming through their waters without consequence of overfishing. We urged them not to follow the guidelines set by Japanese consultants, though the country still continues to over fish their oceans and Japanese fishing vessels still use their waters. I also follow guidelines set by the US marine fisheries and share my knowledge and concerns with other captains and acquaintances with management practices and reasoning”, says Ford. But even with these efforts that are taking place all around the globe, sharks are still dying off. Maybe we start more organizations for their conservation. Or we crack down on those who participate in this trade. Either way, we don’t do something and who knows what will happen.
Part of this may be due to the movie “Jaws”, featuring a massive Great White. But their depiction of Great Whites were only meant for the movie, and are not true. “Sharks have bad reputation in some circles and many people are afraid of them. Sharks sometimes have interactions with people and usually it ends badly for the shark. In fact, it is estimated that 100 million sharks are killed each year by people. That is about 190 sharks per minute”, says Conely So what do we truly know about Great Whites and their habits? Great whites are members of the Lamnidae family, along with mako, salmon, and porbeagle sharks. Named for their telltale white under belly, which they use to blend in with their surroundings and hide from their prey. Having a bite force of 1.8 metric tons and reaching speeds of up to 35 miles per hour, they are seen as a force to be reckoned with. Being related to the now extinct Megalodon, they reach some of the largest sizes when it comes to sharks. While rare, they can reach up to about 20 feet in length. Take Deep Blue for example. Deep Blue is one of the largest Great Whites, approximated to be about 20 feet. Being first spotted in 2013 but not rising to fame until 2015. She was spotted again in 2019 in Hawaii but has not been seen since. But even with these few sightings, Deep Blue has given scientists an insight into the life of great White, which is still mostly unknown. “Great white sharks are elusive when it comes to mating and reproduction, so having the most famous living shark commonly be spotted pregnant gives the world an amazing glimpse into this little known part of their lives”, says Gardiner, a student at the University of Washington majoring in biological oceanography. The breeding habits of sharks are not widely known and are still being studied. Great white on average birth litters between two to 17 pups about four to six feet in length. They usually grow about 12 inches per year which is how they reach their immense size. But, breeding usually does not happen until an age of about 30 years. However, it's not just how little we know about them that gives reason to keeping them alive. It's their importance the the marine ecosystems.
Sharks are like the humans of the ocean, they rule the waters and help keep populations healthy and in check. “Sharks are vital to a healthy ocean. Many sharks are apex predators, preying on injured and sick individuals keeping those populations healthy. As apex predators, they impact all marine life and if they disappear, that will have catastrophic effects for the ocean”, says Austin Conely, a staff member at Fort Fisher aquarium. “Removal of apex predators like reef sharks create a trophic cascade which means the populations of fish or other marine organisms below become out of balance. This leads to a decline in the balance and health of marine ecosystems, down to the coral or seagrass at the very foundation of the food chain”, says Mcguire Then all the species under that would begin dying off, either from overhunting or from the lack of food sources. So sharks are the basis that keeps the marine ecosystem thriving and allows our fishing market to survive“Managing just the shark's catches themselves is not enough, as sharks have food sources which match many humans targeted species. If people keep removing larger prey of the oceanic sharks like tuna then that will limit the carrying capacity of the area's sharks/predators. Managing their food sources also would not do as many of them have their own prey which would need to be managed. This relates to the importance of biodiversity, especially since most of the open ocean where these sharks live are extremely desolate and not as biodiverse as places like nearshore, bays, estuaries or reefs. A good example is how Seal hunting was stopped in the United states and only allowed in canada for native tribes, which is now resulted in a big improvement of Great white shark populations and visits along the coast of the US in the more recent years which is great to see. Also the Stopping of netting menhaden has improved shark and other predator fish populations with coastal species and sharks like threshers and great whites” , says Bejamin Ford an Early College science teacher.But the fishing market wont be the only thing to suffer. Sharks are a highlight in many places on the coast and can bring in a lot of funds. “In the Bahamas, one live reef shark can bring in $250,000 from tourists. And in Belize, a single whale shark can bring in $2 million over its lifetime”, says Mike Howie, a professor at Edith Cowan University.North Carolina itself is a hot spot for tourism. Though sharks may not be the highlight, fishing is. Most people come here to gain the island experience and feel what it's like to just take a few steps out the back door and go fishing.Without sharks in the areas, populations wont be regulated and all these species like Bluefish, Red Drum, Black Drum and even Flounder will eventually die off. This leaves us with lower tourism and lower funds for businesses and the city. So what is being done here in North Carolina to help conserve species? Fort Fisher aquarium has a program called “Sand Tiger Sharks in the Graveyard of the Atlantic”. The Graveyard of the Atlantic is the nickname given to the numerous shipwrecks located off the coast of North Carolina. But how many exactly are there? There are an estimated 5,000 shipwrecks located along the 300 mile coast of North Carolina. All are havens for Sand Tiger sharks, especially those about to give birth.
“As a member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums SAFE: Sharks and Rays (Saving Animals From Extinction), We are researching Sand Tiger Sharks off our coast. We can compare their spot patterns to identify different individual sharks and learn more about how they are using these habitats. Through this research, we’ve learned that individual sharks use the same habitats off of our coast for months or even years at a time. There is so much more to learn, so we utilize volunteer divers to photograph sharks off our coast. We created Spot-A-Shark USA, a community science program to help us collect data on sand tiger sharks”, says Conely But Conely isnt the only one that cares about this topic. In fact, this hits close to home right here n Early College.“For the cause, I have actually been a part of influencing the Dominican republic fisheries when I participated in a Marine Science research Work-study for their Government. At the time, they were being consulted by Japan for managing their fisheries, which were extremely short sighted and gave Japan access to the important oceanic fish coming through their waters without consequence of overfishing. We urged them not to follow the guidelines set by Japanese consultants, though the country still continues to over fish their oceans and Japanese fishing vessels still use their waters. I also follow guidelines set by the US marine fisheries and share my knowledge and concerns with other captains and acquaintances with management practices and reasoning”, says Ford. But even with these efforts that are taking place all around the globe, sharks are still dying off. Maybe we start more organizations for their conservation. Or we crack down on those who participate in this trade. Either way, we don’t do something and who knows what will happen.
The Real Ocean Enemy: Garbage-geddon
By: Ava Holt
Our oceans cover more than 70% of the Earth’s surface. Marine plants provide us with around 70% of our atmosphere’s oxygen. Aquatic ecosystems are invaluable to the health of our planet.So why would we dump all our trash into the ocean?The issue of pollution has been one that’s only grown in severity. From holes in the ozone to spontaneous raging forest fires, humanity has consistently found ways to ruin the very soil of which they walk. Of course, there have been countless amounts of activist groups over the years, but none of them have been able to stop humanity's rampant, insatiable desire to keep doing what they’re doing-- even if it’s ruining countless critter’s lives. One example of this recent extreme environmental deterioration is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.According to National Geographic, “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean”. It consists of a western and eastern patch with a convergence zone in between. Kind of like two spirals with a rainbow in between, except the glitter is microplastics (which, by the way, is pretty much what glitter is. Sorry.) and the unicorn off to the side is a fishing net (unicorns may or may not be made of fishing nets. Sorry.)The patches are made up of non-biodegradable materials. A majority of it is made up of those earlier mentioned microplastics, which cannot be seen with the naked eye. So how much trash is actually in this magical patch?Well, Nature states that “...at least 79 (45–129) thousand tonnes of ocean plastic are floating inside an area of 1.6 million km2; a figure four to sixteen times higher than previously reported”. Woah. Now that’s a lot of garbage. For reference, Peru is only around 1.28 million square kilometers. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is out-spreading a whole country by almost 300,000 kilometers. Talk about smelly…Large trash in The Patch mostly consists of fishing nets. This is then followed by plastics, and then non-plastics. National Geographic states “80% of plastic in the ocean is estimated to come from land-based sources, with the remaining 20% coming from boats and other marine sources.” However, when looking at the big picture, Science Teacher Ben Ford asserts that “The thing they don't really tell people is the biggest source of pollution in the oceans is fishing nets.”Marine waste negatively affects marine life in more ways than one. According to The Ocean Cleanup, “animals confuse the plastic for food, causing malnutrition”. Sea turtles and dolphins are also known for getting trapped in stray fishing nets.Would you want to be caught in a fishing net?Marine waste also has negative implications for humans. A great way to get people to care about an issue is by making it relevant to them. Bonus points if that relevancy comes in the form of possible death. So, just to set the record straight, you aren’t safe from microplastics. Due to a process called ‘bioaccumulation’, microplastics may be able to climb their way up the food chain one predator at a time. One example of how this process may work is as follows:A small fish eats some microplastics. A bigger fish eats the small fish. Big shark eats bigger fish. Scuba diver kills shark to sell in his shop as ‘exotic meat from the floridian coast’. Civilians like you and me eat microplastic laced meat and get one step closer to turning our bodies synthetic.According to Science Teacher Dr. Dane Fisher, microplastics can “damage [the] liver, it can damage [the] kidneys”. In fact, “We don’t know the long term effects of ingesting that plastic”. For all we know we could be sentencing ourselves to imminent death by the time we turn 30. In fact, maybe we already have!Now that we know pollution is bad and it’s actively harming a lot of things, what should we do about it? While it’s not an easy question to answer, there are a few potential solutions. A great way to reduce your individual everyday plastic waste is by avoiding single use plastic items. This includes plastic straws, plastic water bottles, single use utensils and other items falling under the category.Another way to play your part is by supporting organizations dedicated to eliminating marine waste. According to Ford, some good ones to check out are Waves For Water, Surfrider and Sea Shepherd. Where you put your time, money, and energy is where it counts. Without consumer support businesses and organizations cannot operate.Ford also believes stricter enforcement of fishing laws and other marine conservation regulations could be a key piece of helping to reverse damage already done. “People don't realize that a lot of trash other than plastic can be dumped into the ocean, legally,” he states. This is why it’s also important to not support businesses whose practices go against your beliefs. Billion dollar corporations are not your friend. They’re here to be a business. If social expectations regarding sustainability change, then their brand model will too. In fact, this is a trend we’ve seen go down in live time. Have you noticed the increase in ads about products made from 70% recycled material? Or how [blank] company is expected to become carbon neutral by 2050? Has the color… green been trending?Well, all of it is made to make you feel good. Social expectations have changed. Brands are expected to do more. But none of it is quite real. Their model is still ‘sell stuff’ and ‘make sure other people do not sell stuff’ but in italics and a forest green font. The notion that whatever we’re buying is ‘doing something good’ for the environment makes us feel like we’re doing something good too. It may even make us feel like we have some moral foot up on other people. Alright. So maybe mega-corp accountability isn’t going to be the end all be all hail mary some may hope. But if not, then what is?We should probably look at the rules that govern our very existence here on Earth-- and I’m not talking about particle physics. It’s worse.I’m talking about law.As earlier stated, tighter restrictions on what can and can’t go on in our oceans may be the solution. The Clean Air Act of 1967 helped us with that mega hole in our ozone, so maybe this’ll work too. Laws are fundamental. Laws cannot be ignored (without a fine or jail time). So it really does boil down to who’s responsible for making them. Once again, that points a finger at the people.We the people can use democracy to choose leaders who’ll get the ball rolling. In our current political system not much is guaranteed, but we can at least try and throw out a few guesses. When only 50% of eligible voters are taking their opportunity your vote does actually matter quite a bit.
Why Space Travel Needs To Be Funded By The Government.
By: Braydon Sessa
Humanity has always been obsessed with space. Whether it has been about traveling there, or sending things up to space, or even just looking up into the stars. Space is a topic that will always fascinate humans Today, we are traveling to space all the time. Heck, we have people living in space on the ISS. But that brings the question, should space travel be funded by the government? According to former NASA engineer Mark Rober in his video titled Is NASA a waste of money?, NASA receives less than one percent of the US government's total budget every year. Rober also states that that is about nine dollars of what every American is paying in taxes every year. In his video, Rober also states that “Reaching for new heights often creates new solutions and opportunities for people back on the ground”. What he is saying with this quote is that by going into space we could discover or create things like jobs that could help people who are on the ground out more. Rober mentions a NASA project titled Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART). In 2022, NASA launched a spacecraft named DART which’s sole purpose was to collide with an asteroid and attempt to redirect the celestial body. DART successfully impacted its asteroid target on the evening of September 26, 2022. DART would be a beneficial example of space exploration because we were able to learn enough about asteroids and their orbit in order to prevent a possible collision. The last thing that Rober mentions is private companies. He states that while private companies are great because they have more money than NASA, private companies are more incentivized to pursue stuff that would help them financially like asteroid mining or space tourism where NASA is focused on stuff that could help humanity like DART. NASA themselves posted an article on their website titled Benefits Stemming From Space Travel. One benefit that space travel can give would be knowledge. “To a great extent, the benefits from space exploration are rooted in the generation of new knowledge, which is the first reward and which has inherent value to humankind.” NASA also states that space exploration can provide jobs for people. Space exploration can also help people in the form of innovation. An example of this would be an exo suit that NASA helped create based on robotics used in space travel, this exo suit can help paralyzed people walk again. ECHS science teacher Lorry Henry believes that space travel should be run by the government instead of the private companies. she brought up some of the same issues that Mark brought up in his video. Henry also stated that she watched the first moon landing when she was a kid and that she actually applied to be on the Challenger space ship which was a space shuttle that's purpose was to launch some tracking satellites. The crew consisted of 6 astronauts and a school teacher. Sadly the shuttle did not make it into space before exploding. Henry believes that besides obtaining resources, the benefits to space travel are unlimited. “Exploration is worthwhile but other than that space travel is vital” to quote Henry. Henry also states that while she was growing up, so was space travel. She was there to watch space travel develop over the years, from watching the first moon landing to watching a rover being sent to Mars, she was there. A student made article by Will Carney titled “Should NASA’s Budget Be Increased?” States “a recent study has shown that in 2019, NASA generated over $64.3 billion and supported over 300,000 jobs while the agency’s budget stood at $21.5 billion.”. That alone can prove that NASA isn't worthless and can produce big money for the US government. Carney also states “Currently NASA’s annual budget for this year stands at $24.04 billion which is just 0.48% percent of government spending.” This area of importance is also brought up by Rober in his video Is NASA a waste of money? Based on these points, A person could only imagine how much money NASA could bring in or what they could discover with a budget increase. Carney believes this as well, “an increase in NASA’s budget would allow for more contracts to be given out to other aeronautics companies like SpaceX, ULA, Blue Origin, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and more. These companies can build more technologically capable probes, rockets, satellites, and other spacecraft hardware.” With more money, the possibilities would be almost endless when it comes to space, who knows what NASA could do if they had the money that the US government spends on the military every year Another thing that space travel may bring would be colonization of other planets. The benefits of this would actually be endless, we could get new resources, we could sustain much more life, and we could do so much more. According to the NASA article Benefits Stemming From Space Travel, NASA believes that space travel could help them produce better robotic systems that could help both people on earth and in space. NASA also believes that they could create better power efficiency for life on earth and for the space craft. Rebecca Gaskins, manager and presenter at The Ingram Planetarium brought up points of space mining and why that should be led by public companies like NASA. “[Private companies] take brilliant people and grind them into the ground because its very corporate culture and they are only focused on making a profit. I feel like profit driven exploration is always going to be a little risky because people can be really terrible and exploitative in pursuit of profit.”. Gaskins point on whether private companies should lead space travel is very similar to what Rober said in his video, basically just stating that Private companies may be more incentivized to pursuit more profitable things rather that discovering new things that would benefit humanity.
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