Swimming With Sharks

Shark Tourism Is A Booming Industry, Bob Simon Reports.

(CBS)  But, in fact, sharks have far more to fear from us humans and our industrial fishing fleets, which bring in 100 million sharks a year. In some regions, shark populations are down 90 percent, and some species are approaching extinction.

Why is this happening?

The answer boils down, literally, to soup. Shark fin soup. In China, it’s been an expensive status symbol for millennia. Chefs in the emperor’s court were once beheaded if they prepared it incorrectly. But these days, with China booming, more people can pay $100 for a bowl. Finning sharks is a billion-dollar business, and it’s not a pretty sight.

That's because as soon as a shark is caught, his fins are cut off and he is thrown overboard, alive, to sink to the bottom and drown. In South Africa and a few other countries, it’s a crime to do that. But given the high price of soup, it's a very common crime.

What’s a fin worth? A large one can cost thousands of dollars. And the black market in fins is tough to police because most of the sharks are caught in international waters where there's no law against finning.

But on land, laws can be enforced. In Cape Town recently, authorities raided several processing plants owned by Hong Kong Chinese. Seven tons of fins were confiscated.

It's not the shark's fault that we have demonized him for so long. Besides, we need our demons. They've been with us, in our minds, as long as gods. So the next time you're in a Chinese restaurant and feel like some soup, why not stick to the egg drop, or the wonton. Give the shark a break.

[samanthagreen09]

I would love to "swim" with sharks. The only problem I would have with it is the great white shark. I would never get in the water with those things even if I was in a shark cage. They are big and really powerful fish. I'm sure if they wanted to, they could break through those shark cages.

[sharkprotect]

The first line of this article: "There may be no single fear as intense....as the fear of meeting up with a shark", is pure nonsense. I have been in the water with tiger sharks, bull sharks, lemon sharks and all kinds of reef sharks. I have never been threatened by a single one of them. Another thing that does not make sense is the Chinese assertion that eating shark fin soup is part of their culture and tradition. That soup used to be served to emperors and high nobility in the old days. Why would the communists in China suddenly express a desire to maintain the traditions of the same people who they slaughtered by the thousands during their revolution? Is it because they are now also enjoying wealth and want to live like nobility? It does not make any sense to me.

[sharksmatter]

Killing sharks for shark fin soup is another example of man''s inhumanity to lifeforms other than their own. If people aren''t destroying the environment, they are destroying land and sea creatures. Sharks are vulnerable to overfishing and people should respect their lives.

[ckfire]

I was absolutely sick to my stomach watching a shark get his fins cut off and left to drown. It is barbaric! How can we help to end this horrible human practice?

[daisey22]

I totally agree with you. They are so elusive about mating, giving birth, yet they are slaughterd wholesale. Sooner or later they will run out. The natural order of things in the ocean will be changed irrrevocably. It is so sad to spectate what man's inhumanity really lies beneath

[sofladiver]

This was a wonderful story. Please provide more information about the film clip/public service announcement that was broadcast during the story (with the evil toaster floating menacingly in the ocean) -- where can we find the producer so that we can ask our local stations to carry it? Also, check out www.sharks.org for more information about shark conservation and the real story about white sharks.

[sharkpix]

The ads were a project of the Save our Seas Foundation called "Rethink the Shark." Lesley Rochat helped create the campaign.

[fayettenash]

Thank you, Our family love''s the ocean and are facinated by sharks. My oldest son Bodie who is only 3 1/2 has an obsession with sharks. Whale Sharks, Great White, Thresher Shark, and Mako Sharks. They are either killed for sport fishing or fin soup. You see horrific video''s on YouTube of these beautiful creature''s being slaughtered. Thank You again for raising the awarness and trying to help make a diffrence.
Adrienne, Dave,
Bodie, Luke and Quinn Nash

[laurab51]

Can anyone tell me where to find more information on Mr. Bovim''s organized group to deter shark feeding tourism?

thank you