In addition to their culinary appeal, sharks have both medical and ecological benefits. For example, shark corneas are transplanted into human eyes, shark cartilage is used to create artificial skin for burn victims, and shark-liver oil is used in hemorrhoidal medications. In addition, sharks rarely develop cancer and research on sharks might lead to a better understanding of the disease. Shark cartilige, thought to cure cancer, has led to a boom in poruidct sales. One Costa Rican company reports a seven-fold increased in production of shark products such as this.
Sharks help balance out the ecology in oceans.
Sharks also serve to remove the sick, diseased, weak or injured animals from the ocean. Last year the United States outlawed live finning and published plans to protect 39 species of shark. Federal officials have worked for 3 years on a fisheries management plan for Atlantic and Gulf waters to protect the shark population. Its aim is to reduce the commercial and recreational fishing through licensing requirements and quotas. The plan also bans the practice of stripping the fins from sharks and dumping the sharks back into the ocean.