100 million sharks killed each year? Research vs. “magic numbers”
by TheDorsalFin on Dec.04, 2009, under Shark News Stories
An estimated 26 million to 73 million sharks are killed annually for commercial markets, research shows.
Research conducted by Shelley Clarke estimated the global number of sharks killed annually at 26 million to 73 million. Clarke’s Global Estimates of Shark Catches using Trade Records from Commercial Markets journal article published in 2006 in the Ecology Papers Vol 9 Issue 10 follows a generally accepted scientific methodology and is backed up by solid research.
While “26-73 million” might not roll off the tongue quite as easily as “100 million,” there is data to support the former, while there seems to be no solid data supporting the latter. Considering that I make a point of calling attention to instances of misrepresentation and misinformation in the media with this blog, I think it’s important to point out that the use of the 100 million number is not based on any specific scientific evidence, and I would encourage shark conservationists to reference the global estimates from Clarke’s research. At the end of the day, even the low-end estimate, from Clarke’s study, of 26 million is still alarming number of sharks being plucked from the ocean.
The other lesson to be learned from the lack of scientific data to back up the claim of 100 million sharks killed per year, is that opportunistic filmmakers will use the baseless number as springboard to devalue the entire shark conservation effort, as can be seen in the video below.
The gentlemen in the video have a point when it comes to the magic “100 million” number (and the “90% of the species” statistic), but nowhere in the video do you hear mention of the estimates from Clarke’s study, which would be far less disputable.
When it comes to shark conservation efforts, I recommend sticking with data that can be backed up by science. There’s already enough conjecture and flat-out misinformation out there without shark conservationists adding to it (as a couple of the people in the video above do a fine job in displaying).
7 Trackbacks / Pingbacks for this entry
December 10th, 2009 on 4:52 pm
[...] This post was Twitted by Seasaver [...]
December 18th, 2009 on 12:24 pm
[...] Hopefully, WildAid will post the new Yao Ming PSA online in the near future, as they generally do an exceptional job with their commercials (except that they tend to rely on the 100 million sharks a year “magic number”). [...]
December 24th, 2009 on 2:56 pm
[...] glad to see that they are using the “up to 70 million sharks” figure as opposed to the “100 million magic number.” The “up to 70 million” statistic is based on the high-end estimate from Shelley [...]
January 24th, 2010 on 1:10 pm
[...] efforts. Unfortunately, while discussing the shark fin industry, Tucker not only references the “100 million” magic number but also goes on to claim that 100 million is a conservative estimate and that “they believe [...]
January 27th, 2010 on 1:25 pm
[...] sharks. From a production standpoint, the video gets an A+. Unfortunately, the video suffers from “magic number syndrome” (both the “100 million” and “90% decline” estimates make appearances in the [...]
February 22nd, 2010 on 12:21 pm
[...] of overfishing and finning on shark populations. Unfortunately, the feature is plagued with the “magic number”, claiming 100 million sharks are killed each year, which is not backed by any solid research [...]
August 13th, 2010 on 10:32 am
[...] so maybe our species doesn’t really kill 100 million sharks per year, as is so widely reported. But even if the true figure is closer to 26 million, that’s still a heckuva lot of [...]