Tag Archives: shark facts

Should We Protect Sharks?

 

Amazing sharks

We think so! We hear so many negative stories about sharks in the media but what role do they actually play in the ocean and why are they important to us?

The fact is that sharks are a crucial part of the food chain and help keep the oceans, planet (and us), healthy… and their numbers are dwindling fast.

Read on to discover why we need sharks and why we need to take action to protect these misunderstood creatures…

Sharks Get a Bad Press 

shark cullMany people fear sharks because of sensationalised stories in the media and scary films like Jaws.

The fact is that 100 million sharks are killed by humans each year and sharks kill around 12 humans a year.

So, maybe sharks should be scared of us, not the other way around?

Learn the Facts About Sharks

 

why we need sharks

 

We need to take time to learn the facts about sharks and why they are so important to us and our world, so that we can help protect them. So, we have developed a range of FREE shark resources and an online Amazing Sharks Course aimed at dispelling the myths and promoting the facts about these misunderstood creatures.

 

 

Here are some REAL FACTS about Sharks…

 

Sharks Help Create a Healthy Ecosystem

shark ecosystemSharks are APEX predators, which means they sit at the top of the food chain and help control the numbers of animals below them in that food chain. By controlling populations of large and mid-sized predators, sharks allow smaller fish to thrive, which has a knock on effect on the food chain below them. Therefore, sharks help create a healthy ecosystem with a diverse range of species and competitors.

 

 

Sharks Are a Keystone Species

Apex predators like sharks are known as keystone species. This means that they are crucially important. If you take sharks out of the food chain, the whole structure could collapse.

Sharks & Natural Selection

sharks & natural selection

Sharks play an important role in natural selection because they prey on and remove weak and sick animals. This reduces the chances of them reproducing and helps keep fish populations healthy and strong.

 

 

Sharks & Habitat Loss

reef sharkSharks help prevent habitat loss. Habitats like coral reef depend on their fishy caretakers, like the little reef fish that live on them and clean and protect them from disease. Without sharks controlling numbers of big fish in a marine ecosystem, the numbers of these fish could explode. They would in turn kill off the smaller fish. If that happens, the reef would become diseased and die off, affecting millions of animals that depend on it for survival.

 

 

Everything On Earth is Connected

blue planet earthThe earth’s ocean produces 70 % of the oxygen we breath, food to eat, controls the climate, breaks down pollution, provides us with medicine and much, much more.

Humans are part of our amazing planet’s ecosystem. So, it is in our best interest to protect our home environment and everything within it…including sharks.

 

Want to Know more?

Watch our video: Why We Need Sharks

Read Our Blog: How to Engage Kids with Sharks

 

How You Can Help Protect Sharks

Check out Ocean Life Education’s other blogs:

How to Inspire Kids to Protect the Ocean

Reasons Why We Depend on Our Oceans

How Can I Protect the Ocean

 

shark cullCheck out the latest film ‘Shark Cull’ for some interesting views about shark safety programs off Australia’s East Coast 

 

 

 

 

Amazing Sharks Facts Quiz

Sharks Facts Quiz

Check out our ultimate ‘Amazing Sharks’ Facts Quiz and discover how much you really know about JAWSOME SHARKS…

 

 Questions

  • 1. What is the largest species of shark?
  • 2. What are baby sharks are called?
  • 3. What are shark bones made of?
  • 4. Up to how many teeth do sharks have? 100s, 1,000s or 10,000s?
  • 5. Is shark skin smooth or rough?
  • 6. What is the collective noun for a shark?
  • 7. What is the fastest shark in the ocean?
  • 8. What is the smallest species of shark in the ocean?
  • 9. Do sharks have eyelids?
  • 10. Can sharks see in colour?
  • 11. Approximately how many species of shark can be found around Australia?
  • 12. How many sharks are killed by humans every year?
  • 13. On average, how many people are killed by sharks in Australia each year?
  • 14. Name three species of shark commonly found off Australia
  • 15. Do sharks lay eggs or give birth to live young?
  • 16. What are mermaid’s purses?
  • 17. Which common shark lives in fresh and salt water?
  • 18. From what distance can sharks detect blood?
  • 19. From what distance can sharks sense vibration?
  • 20. Do all sharks need to keep moving to breath?

 

 

 

Answers

  • 1. The largest species of shark is the whale shark
  • 2. Baby sharks are called pups
  • 3. Shark bones are made of cartilage
  • 4. Many sharks have multiple rows of sharp teeth – they can grow up to 35,000 in a lifetime
  • 5. Rough – shark skin feels like sandpaper
  • 6. The collective noun for a shark is a Shiver (or School, Shoal)
  • 7. The fastest shark in the ocean is the Shortfin Mako Shark (up to 74k an hour)
  • 8. The smallest species of shark is the Dwarf Lantern Shark (smaller than an adult human hand)
  • 9. Yes – sharks do have eyelids but they don’t blink
  • 10. No – sharks do not see in colour
  • 11. Approximately 180 species of shark can be found around Australia
  • 12. 100 million sharks die each year 🙁
  • 13. 1 person on average each year 🙁
  • 14. Sharks commonly found off Australia…Great White, Port Jackson, Thresher, Zebra Shark, Tiger Shark, Tasselled Wobbegong, Whale Shark, Oceanic Whitetip, Blacktip Reef, Grey Nurse, Bull Shark, Bronze Whaler, Great Hammerhead, Blind Shark, Pygmy Shark
  • 15. Some sharks lay eggs (oviparous) others give birth to live young  (viviparous), and some are a combination of these two, they start life inside their mother as an egg, hatch inside her and then are born live (ovoviviparous)
  • 16. Shark eggs – egg laying sharks lay egg cases known as mermaid’s purses
  • 17. Bull Shark
  • 18. Sharks are able to detect blood from 5 km
  • 19. Sharks can sense vibrations from 3 kilometres away
  • 20. No. Some sharks must swim constantly in order to get oxygen-rich water flowing over their gills but others pump water through their respiratory system.

How did you do in our ultimate ‘Amazing Sharks’ Facts Quiz?

WANT TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT SHARKS?

Click the image below to take our online sharks course and click here for heaps of free information and resources about sharks. 

Amazing sharks course

Take Action to Protect Amazing Sharks

  • Educate yourself and your friends
  • Share your love of sharks on your social media channels
  • Join a volunteer shark conservation organisation like Shark Conservation Australia, Marine Conservation Australia, Sea Shepherd Australia – make a donation if you can!
  • Join a beach clean or just clean as you go!
  • Buy sustainable seafood and check restaurants have done so. Avoid flake at the Fish & Chip shop as it may be endangered shark
  • Ask politicians to support ocean acidification research

Ocean Life Education is passionate about protecting all marine animals and focusing on the important role sharks play in our oceans.  We aim to separate fact from fiction when it comes to the most feared fish in the sea.

Check out our Shark Discovery Program for more information on how to inspire kids to love and respect sharks: www.oceanlifeeducation.com.au/programs/holiday-program/