HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT SHARKS?

Feared and respected but cruelly hunted and harmed, we see sharks as ruthless predators. In reality, as a result of human action, several species are threatened with extinction. Yet, sharks are key actors of the marine ecosystem, helping maintain the balance. Friend of the Sea wants you to know the importance of protecting them.

No other species from

the animal kingdom has starred in so many Hollywood films, such as sharks (more than 180, to be precise). From Jaws to Megalodon and Sharknado, most of them picture sharks as brutal creatures. However, over the past decades, it’s humans who have cornered sharks, putting them under the threat of extinction. Overfishing, shark finning, and bycatch are responsible for killing more than 100 million sharks a year. An alarming figure, especially considering some shark species have a slow reproduction cycle, taking a very long time for them to recover. According to the IUCN Red List, more than 300 shark and ray species are classified as endangered, including the famous white shark, the whale shark, and the hammerhead.

For this reason, Friend of the Sea invites everyone to join the efforts to protect them, starting with getting the facts right.

DIVERSE AND INDISPENSABLE

There are more than 500 species of sharks in the ocean. They come in all sizes and colours. For example, a great white shark can reach up to 6 meters long. However, half of all shark species measure less than one-meter long. Some feed on plankton and tiny fish, while others prefer bigger prey, such as seals or sea lions.

Apex predator sharks play a crucial role in the ecosystem, helping maintain the balance in many ways. But, as much as we like to imagine, they’re not fond of hunting humans. Instead, sharks tend to attack people out of curiosity or because they feel threatened. In 2020, there were 57 confirmed unprovoked attacks worldwide, resulting in 10 deaths, according to an international database.

WHO’S THE PREDATOR?

It’s rather humans who have hunted down shark sin an unsustainable way, bringing

LEARN WHY WE NEED TO PROTECT THEM.

the species to a critical point. A recent study showed that oceanic populations of sharks and rays have shrunk by 71%, mainly because of overfishing.

Fisheries target sharks especially for their fins which are considered a delicacy in certain countries. The practice of shark finning is particularly cruel, and though it has been banned in several countries, it persists. It implies cutting fins off live sharks and then throwing them wounded to the ocean, where they die painfully from suffocation, blood loss, or eaten by other predators.

There is also a market for shark meat, with European countries representing the most significant share. In addition to being targeted for their fins and meat, sharks often end up in fishing nets as incidental bycatch.

BE A FRIEND OF THE SHARKS

So, instead of playing a shark film, learn with Friend of the Sea how we can protect sharks.

Friend of the Sea, a project from the World Sustainability Organization, promotes fisheries practices responsible with sharks, necessary trade regulations for vulnerable shark species, responsible consumption, and the creation of protected areas.

Additionally, Friend of the Sea has instated several initiatives to support shark conservation efforts, such as: • Launching an international petition to ban shark finning.

• Adding specific requirements related to sharks for its sustainable seafood standard.

• Creating a new whale shark watching standard for tourists.

Become a friend of the sharks and help us save these magnificent creatures.

The marine ecosystem will thank you.

Tel.: +39 02 8707 5166 Fax: +39 02 8707 5169 E-mail: info@friendofthesea.org Website: www.friendofthesea.org

A catch up with

Peter Rutt

Our monthly column by Peter Rutt.

Iwas having a chat with someone recently who found out elsewhere I had the ability to contact those no longer physically alive. He asked if I had communicated with this famous person or that, which was fine. Then he asked in a kind of matter of fact way, if I had communicated with people who had been missing years and presumed dead. I told him he was treading dangerous ground and tried to make light of his question. But he persisted, wanting to know if I was aware of who committed crimes, whether these missing people were dead or not, and had I contacted the police to tell them where certain individuals were located? This was a dilemma.

Before I continue with this awkward tale I should explain something that may not be publicly known. After these terrible crimes occur and the victim in spirit find those (on earth) who can see and hear them and in fewer cases re-run their final minutes before passing over, it does not mean the receiver has to solve it or pass it on to the authorities. It is dependent

Part 1 of 3. Regular readers will know I love weird and wacky stories, even if they are not true. So imagine my pleasure when I came across the sensation of alleged time slips in Liverpool.

Various people claim they slipped back in time, usually to the 1950’s or 1960’s. One claimed he slipped back to early 1900’s. He said as he walked down Bold Street the sky went very dark and what had been that year in the decade of the 1990’s changed to early 1900’s judging by the fashion he spied. Also the shops were old fashioned. Gone were the modern day stores as were modern day cars, replaced by horse drawn carriages. There was air there was sound and if he felt more confident he would have interacted with a person. Imagine whipping out your smartphone to show someone from the early 1900’s! Or go a step further and take photos or film what you see. What would your phone record? on factors like whether we will be allowed to proceed by the powers that be and whether the police will believe us. As long as they do not prosecute There is the story of a man who walked near to Bold Street and he alleges as he turned a corner, was receivers despite being fully aware of the crime committed and in some cases not publicised. faced with a dead end. An old wall Where the body is, why it that wasn’t there the previous day had happened, when it happened and suddenly appeared. Like the previous by whom? It is not a given that every man he said the sky became suddenly poor victim will be allowed earthly darker prior to this obstacle being there. justice after they pass over to the other He even touched the construction and side of life. If we can put a tick against it was solid. Confused, he headed back each of these obstacles then crimes the way he came. will be solved very fast and efficiently.

Most of the stories centre on a period of 1993-1997 apart from the After speaking to the UK police they one in the next paragraph. They may don’t go in for this line of enquiry for well be Urban Tales and tall ones at a very good reason. If it goes to court that. But it is thought provoking. But and the case hinges on a person who there are three particular stories I will remote viewed the whole thing it centre on. will be thrown out of court because

This one allegedly occurred in 2006 the defence will win based on no when a lad called Sean admitted he physical proof. However the Crown shoplifted an item and ran out of the Prosecution Service (CPS) will not shop pursued by a Security Guard. As allow the case to reach court. Sean got to a corner (and the sky went So I told this man what I have just dark) he turned and carried on running but when he looked back he noticed mentioned above. He suggested I should go into a police station and

his pursuer was nowhere to be seen. Relieved, he stopped and took in his surroundings. Everybody was wearing clothes from the 1960’s and cars were old fashioned from this era. Starting to worry he brought out his modern mobile phone, but it displayed no signal. As he walked back past the store he robbed he noticed it wasn’t the one he entered earlier. As he looked ahead he could see the modern world. When he took a look behind him it was still the 1960’s. Frightened by his experience he caught a (modern) bus to get away. The Security Guard that chased him asserted that he was only a few paces behind the thief but as he got to that corner, the lad had vanished. He was bemused by this.

The other two stories appear in May’s edition and a plausible answer to the conundrum. But going back to an earlier point, which is of interaction, I pondered on this. If you talk to someone from a long ago era and influence them to take a different course to one they historically did take, would that have ramifications on the here and now? Also if you collect an item from the 1950’s, does it travel with you back to the present day?

report everything. I said “They will not be interested.” He suggested “If I knew information I would report it.” I asked “To whom would you tell?” He replied with a shrug of his shoulders “The desk sergeant?” I said to him “OK, let’s put this to the test.” I made up a fake crime and told him all the details. I said “Now you know everything what are you going to do?” He thought about it for a while rubbing his index finger across his chin. “So if I go to my local police station” he eventually said, “What will happen to me if I spill the beans?” I said “You will either be arrested or cited for wasting their time.” He looked at me with incredulity. “Why would that happen?” Again he grappled with this situation. “Because you have no physical proof or know where to get it” I told him.

I admitted I had made the crime up to prove a point. He was palpably relieved. Yes the crime can be typed out and posted but the police would be more interested in the sender than the information. How many hoaxes and false leads do you think the police get?