Transcript http://www.houstonisd.org/cms/lib2/TX01001591/Centricity/Domain/29432/IB Community Project.pptx

By: Sabriah Al-Bahish and Surina BelkGupta
Our goal is to make the public aware of the causes of
shark finning, the effects it has on the ecosystem, and the
dangers it puts sharks in.
We are going to create a trifold with facts about shark
finning and it’s effects that we can easily set up at a park in order
to inform the public of the shark finning issue. After informing the
people about the issue we will ask them to sign a pledge. The
pledge will say that the people who sign it promise not to support
shark finning. We will send all of the signatures collected to
SharkSavers.org, an organization devoted to saving sharks from
things such as shark finning.
http://www.sharksavers.org/en/home/
Scientific and Technical Innovation: explore the natural
world and its laws; the interaction between people and the
natural world; how humans use their understanding of scientific
principles; the impact of scientific and technological advances on
communities and environments; the impact of environments on
human activity; how humans adapt environments to their needs.
Ex: Other countries
participate in the shark fin
trade because it is in very
high demand in Hong, Kong
China. This is one example
of how people adapt the
environments to their needs.
For the first three times that we went out to spread awareness, we
brought a table to set up near the running track at the Rice University
campus. We also brought the trifold, a few signs, and the pledge. People
would stop to look at the trifold while we explained our project and shark
finning. When we finished explaining, we asked them to sign the pledge in
order to show that they learned something and to show that they support
sharks everywhere.
We decided that it would be even better for the cause if we could
raise some money to send as well as sending the signatures. For this we
made hot chocolate to sell for one dollar per cup. (We brought the pledge
and signature sheet as well.) Although we didn’t bring the trifold, we still
informed the people because the major goal of our project was to make the
public aware of the shark finning issue
In addition to doing what is mentioned above, we also made a Shark
Awareness Quiz and a Shark Awareness Flyer to pass out.
Shark Awareness Quiz
Q#10: How many sharks are killed an hour?
A:15,000 B:25,000 C:270 D:11,417
Q#1: When sharks are finned, which fins are
removed?
Q#2: How many sharks are killed annually due to
Finning?
A: 100,000,000 B: 50,000 C: 50,000,000 D:2
Q#3: What is the cost of a shark fin?
A: 66 dollars per pound B: 450 dollars per pound
Q#4: How many humans do sharks kill a year?
A:10 B:25 C:6 D:100
Q#5: What is actually the most dangerous animal in
the world?
Q#6: How many species of sharks are endangered?
A:12 B:7 C:126 D:64
Q#7: After the Finning process, what percentage of
the shark is wasted?
A:97% B:78% C:35% D:100%
Q#8: What was the first shark species to be
endangered?
A:The Tiger Shark B:The Hammerhead C:The Gray
Nurse
Q#9: Which city is the Shark Finning Capitol?
The Shark Flyer
Throughout our research we learned about what happens to sharks after they are
finned, why there is such a high demand for shark finning, how shark finning and the
eliminating of the sharks affects the ecosystem, and a little bit about how we can help.
There is a very high demand for shark fins because in China shark fin soup is
considered apart of their history and culture. A long time ago, the emperors would serve their
guests shark fin soup. Today it is in very high demand because of the culture that it represents.
Other countries participate in the shark fin trade in order to supply the high demand for shark
fins in China (and other countries as well).
Shark finning is the process of removing all of the shark’s fins. After the shark finning
process, the still living is tossed back into the water. From here, death is certain (it is just a
matter of how the shark will die). They can die of blood loss, suffocation (a shark without fins
cannot move, and if a shark doesn’t move it can’t breathe), or they could be eaten by other
animals.
The elimination of sharks has a devastating effect on the ecosystem. Without sharks,
the populations other ocean life species with grow to an unhealthy amount. This can cause
several other species the go endangered or even extinct.
Because shark finning is such a large global issue, there isn’t much we can do
directly. However, by gathering signatures to send to sharksavers.org we are helping to save
the sharks and to spread awareness about the shark finning issue.
During the process of our project, we were faced with a
few problems. For example, sometimes we had a hard time
gathering signatures because our location was the corner near a
running track. Sometimes people didn’t want to stop running.
Another problem we face was the weather. Our action taking
portion of the project took place outside, so when the weather
wasn’t so great we had to cancel our plans.
Throughout the course of this project we learned many
things about shark finning and shark awareness. However, we also
learned that doing something is a lot harder than just saying that
you are going to do something. It takes a lot of work to set
something up and put yourself out there. We have a lot more
respect for organizations devoted to making the world a better
place because we have seen how difficult it can be to do even the
smallest of things.
Overall, we are happy with the work that we did. We
gathered 54 signatures and raised a total of $56 dollars to send
to the Shark Savers organization.
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Alford, Justine. "How Many Sharks Do Humans Kill Per Hour?" How Many Sharks Do Humans Kill Per Hour?
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Fairclough, Caty. "Shark Finning: Sharks Turned Prey." Smithsonian Ocean Portal. N.p., 2013. Web. 08
Mar. 2015.
"FINNING AND THE FIN TRADE." Shark Savers. WildAid, n.d. Web. 05 Mar. 2015.
Bakalar, Nicholas. "38 Million Sharks Killed for Fins Annually, Experts Estimate." National Geographic.
National Geographic Society, 12 Oct. 2006. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.
"Shark Finning." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Feb. 2015. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.
Raloff, Janet. "New Estimates of the Shark-Fin Trade." Science News. N.p., 1 Nov. 2006. Web. 11 Mar.
2015.