Childrens Pocket Guide to Helping Sharks

8/8/2019 Childrens Pocket Guide to Helping Sharks

1/12

FOCUS ONFINNING

A pocket guideto helpingsharks

oklet_2010_1.1.indd 1 23/09/2010 10:08


2/12

Did you know..?Home sweet home!The sea around your country is home to up to 130di erent types of sharks and their cousins the skates,rays and chimaeras.

Shark attack?In 2007 only one person was killed by a shark worldwide.Tens of millions of sharks, skates and rays are killed bypeople each year.

Too much fshing!One third of European shark popula ons are threatenedwith ex nc on.

Fantastic FinsSharks use their ns to help them glide through thewater, but...

Shark ns are used to make anexpensive Asian soup.

Some shermen slice o the sharks ns anddiscard the bodies at sea. This prac ce is knownas shark nning and has been banned in most of the worlds oceans. But Europes ban is one of theweakest in the world.

oklet_2010_1.1.indd 2 23/09/2010 10:08


3/12

How to help sharks Ask your friends and family to sign the enclosed

pe on.

Organise a shark awareness day at your school.

Write a le er to your Member of EuropeanParliament and ask for be er shark protec onincluding a stronger nning ban.

Fascinating acts Even before dinosaurs roamed the earth, sharks

hunted through the oceans! In some form, sharkshave been around for about 400million years.

Many people eat the meat from endangeredsharks without knowing it. Did you know that theshark Spiny Dog sh is sold in Bri sh sh and chipshops as Rock salmon or huss? When ea ng sh, ask if it has come from asustainable source.

Most sharks are smaller then you are! The PygmyLantern Shark would t in the palm of your hand,but the Basking shark is as long as a bus!

oklet_2010_1.1.indd 3 23/09/2010 10:08


4/12

PorbeaglePorbeagle sharks, close

rela ves of great whites

and makos, are among

the fastest sharks in the

Atlan c. S ll, theyre not

fast enough to out-swimshermen seeking to sell

their valuable meat and ns.

AngelAngel sharks, so-called because of their

angelic shape, look like at sharks and

hang out on the ocean oor, where theyare too o en scooped up by trawls.

SawfshThe saws (snouts) of saw share sold as souvenirs. In 2007,

most interna onal trade in

saw sh was prohibited,

but the ban came

too late for European

saw sh, which are now

assumed already ex nct.

About 130 di erent species of shlive in European seas. Here are so

A special class

oklet_2010_1.1.indd 4 23/09/2010 10:08


5/12

l

.

HammerheadThe hammerheads unusual

head shape gives them extrasurface area with which to detect prey.

Hammerhead ns are highly valued for

Chinese shark n soup.

Giant Devil RayThese rays lter plankton from the

water passing through their

gills as they swim. The species

is now rare in the Mediterranean.

SpurdogFemale spurdog are pregnant

for nearly two years- a record

among animals.

ThresherThresher sharks usetheir extra long tails to

help stun and kill prey.

f sharks and their cousins - the skates, rays and chimaeras -re some of the most endangered.

oklet_2010_1.1.indd 5 23/09/2010 10:08


6/12

Shark Art!

oklet_2010_1.1.indd 6 23/09/2010 10:08


7/12

You can draw your own underwater world here

oklet_2010_1.1.indd 7 23/09/2010 10:08


8/12

Can you help this porbeagle fnd its way home?

Over-fshed orshark meat market

Illegally fnned orshark fn soup

Killedaccidentallyin fshinggear

Li e cycle disruptedby climate change

Made sickby pollution

PROTECTED

oklet_2010_1.1.indd 8 23/09/2010 10:08


9/12

I t s t i m e

t o s

t r e n g

t h e n

t h e

E U

f n n

i n g

b a n . . .

F o c

u s

o n

f n n

i n g

F o c u s

o n

f n n

i n g

E u r o p e a n

S h a r

k W e e

k

9 - 1 7 O c t o

b e r

2 0 1 0

L I N D A P I T K I N

oklet_2010_1.1.indd 9 23/09/2010 10:08


10/12

w

ww. e ur o

p e an sh ar k w e ek . or g

D e ar M

a d am / S i r :

I ur g e y o ut oh el p

c on s er v e s h ar k s b y s i gni n gt h e

Wr i t t enD

e cl ar at i oni n

s u p p or t o s t r en gt h eni n gt h e

E ur o p e an Uni on b an on s h ar k f nni n g t h ew

a s t e ul

pr a ct i c e o

s l i ci n g o a s h ar k s f n s

an d d i s c ar d i n gt h e

b o d y at s e a.

S h ar k s ,v i t al pr e d at or s i n

o ur o c e an e c o s y s t em s , ar e

at gr e at r i

s k r om ov er f s h i n g.R o u gh l y

on e-t h i r d o

E ur o p e an s p e ci e s ar e c on s i d er e d t h r e

at en e d .

F i nni n gi s

d r i v en b y h i gh

d em an d

or t h

eA s i an d el i c a c y

s h ar k f n

s o u p.T h eE

Uf nni n g

b ani s

am on gt h e

w e ak e s t i nt h ew

or l d , b ut i s

at l a s t

b ei n gr ev i s e d b y t h e

E ur o p e an C ommi s s i on.

N owi s t h

et i m et o

cl o s el o o ph ol e s i nt h

eE Uf nni n g

b an

b y pr oh i b i t i n g ,wi t h o ut

ex c e pt i on ,t h er

em ov al o s h ar k

f n s on- b o ar d f s h i n gv e s s el s .

P l e a s e

s en d

a s t r on gm

e s s a g et ot h e

C ommi s s i on

a b o ut

y o ur c om

mi t m ent t o s h ar k c on s er v at i on an d

o c e an

h e al t h .A d d y o ur n am

et ot h i s Wr i t t enD

e cl ar at i on an d

en c o ur a g e y o ur c ol l e a g u e s t o

d ot h e

s am e.

T h ank y o u.

T h eWr i t t enD e cl ar at i onw

a s i ni t i at e d

b y a gr o u p o ME P

s i n

c o o p er at i onwi t h t h e

S h ar k A l l i an c e , a

c o al i t i on o m

or et h an

1 0 0 c on s er v at i on , s ci ent i f c

an d r e cr e at i on al or g ani s at i on s

d e d i c at e d t

o c on s er v i n g s h ar k s .

M or ei n or m

at i on onwww. s h ar k al l i an c e. or g

P l e a s

ef l l i n y o ur n am

e / c o unt r y an d wr i t

e y o ur ownm

e s s a g e:

oklet_2010_1.1.indd 10 23/09/2010 10:08


11/12

Want to knowor do more?You can nd the address for your MEP at:

www.europeansharkweek.org

Find out more:

The Shark Trust www.sharktrust.org

Project AWARE www.projectaware.org

oklet_2010_1.1.indd 11 23/09/2010 10:08


12/12

EuropeanShark Week

9-17 October 2010Focuson fnning

_ _ . . . :

Documents

Childrens Pocket Guide to Helping Sharks