As shown above: American director Eli Ross visits a shark in his documentary Fins.
For decades, horror movies have portrayed sharks growing in rows of sharp teeth, greedy feeding machines, mercilessly chasing and devouring human cold-blooded animals.
But in fact, it is humans who have an insatiable appetite for sharks. A new documentary explores the brutal, bloody, highly profitable industry of hunting and killing these marine predators, threatening the extinction of many species.
Every year, humans kill more than 100 million sharks in waters around the world, and one of the main reasons is to obtain shark fins, which are used to make shark fin soup. American film director Eli Roth, best known for bloody horror films such as Bones Are Gone (2002), The Human Skin Inn (2005) and Green Hell (2013), recently turned the camera to the horrific shark finning behavior, which, according to the American Humanitarian Association, cut off the shark's fins while it was still alive, and then dumped the body in the sea, leaving the helpless shark to bleed to death or drown.
Pictured above: Stills from the American documentary Fins.
On July 13, the documentary Fin premiered during Shark Week on the Discovery Channel. The show gives us a glimpse into this terrible industry and its impact on shark populations around the world. In this documentary, Ross dives with sharks, boards shark fin boats in the middle of the ocean, and visits businesses that process and sell shark fin and other shark fin products.
According to the trailer, Ross has been fascinated by sharks since childhood, and after learning about the widespread use of shark fins and fishing, he began making "shark fins." The sale of shark fins, cartilage and organs for food, medicine and cosmetics has brought him billions of dollars in revenue.
Shark fin soup dates back to the 10th century AD, and in ancient China, once exclusive to emperors and aristocrats, it is now widely eaten among the wealthy in Asia and Western countries, and according to conservation group Shark Steward, each bowl of shark fin sells for up to $100 (about 648 yuan).
Shark fins themselves have little flavor, and to add flavor to the new York Times, shark fins are dried, chopped, and added to the broth. Some restaurants have begun replacing shark fins with similar texture materials, such as dried sea cucumbers.
According to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., shark fins can be sold for $1,100 per kilogram (about $14,250 per kilogram), so fishermen have a high incentive to keep only the shark fin parts and throw away the remaining parts of the shark's body to maximize profits.
As shown in the picture above: Shark fin can be sold for $500 per kilogram (about 3239 yuan), which is the core ingredient of shark fin soup, which is an expensive and delicious food.
While the main market for shark fin is China, consumption in the United States is on the rise. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations reported in 2015 that the United States imported more than 120,000 tons of shark fins in 2011, worth about $380 million (about 2.46 billion yuan), an increase of 42 percent compared to 2000.
Neil Hammerschlag, associate professor at the Rosenstier School of Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Miami and director of the shark research and conservation program at the university, said: "The United States is also one of the top ten shark fin exporters in the world. Fisheries regulations vary from state to state, but finning in U.S. waters is illegal, and under the Shark Protection Act of 2010, all sharks caught must be brought ashore with their fins. ”
Hamerschlag said sharks are particularly vulnerable to mass fishing because sharks mature late and have relatively fewer offspring than other fish.
As predators, sharks play an important role in many marine habitats. Sharks maintain healthy fish populations by removing sick and frail individuals. They help maintain a balance of species diversity throughout the habitat, and they regulate oxygen production by eating fish from plankton that consume oxygen.
Sharks have been on Earth for 400 million years, and there's a lot more to know about them. Not only biologically, but also ecologically. How they affect ecosystems, and how ecosystems affect them.
About a third of shark species are currently threatened with extinction, and if the shark fin industry continues to go unchecked, it could soon push these iconic animals past a critical tipping point, which could have far-reaching implications for marine life and those who depend on marine food. Director Ross hopes to raise awareness of shark fin cutting through the documentary Fins and encourage people to take action to protect shark populations before it's too late.
"Fins is the scariest film I've ever made, and certainly the most dangerous, but I want to send a message of hope to end this unnecessary shark slaughter," Ross said. ”
He added: "50 years ago, the world came together to save whales, and then we did it for dolphins, and more recently we did it for orcas. It's time to do the same thing for the sharks, time is really running out, and everyone has to be active. ”