Shark landings in Hawaii have jumped by more than 20-fold, from 2,289 sharks in 1991 to 60,857 in 1998. Nor is finning the only problem confronting sharks. Shark fishing has increased across the board in the past decade, according to statistics compiled by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome. Efforts to manage shark stocks are confounded by shortcomings in the data. Many countries lump shark landings together rather than by individual species, or fail to differentiate between a ton of shark carcasses and a ton of shark fins, even though the latter might represent 50 to 100 times as many individual fish.
Sharks are a vital part of the overall ecosystem.
We don't know what the result would be if we wipe them out. Finning has been banned on the U.S. Atlantic, Gulf and Caribbean coasts following dramatic collapses of many shark populations. Much Talk, Little Action Federal and state fisheries officials have joined conservationists in calling for a ban in Hawaiian waters. But the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, responsible for regulating fisheries under the Department of Commerce, has refused to take strong measures to halt the practice. Some native Hawaiians have also called for a ban on finning, as many sharks traditionally have powerful spiritual significance.