Sharks do not belong on our plates! Do your part and say NO to shark fin and shark products. Saving sharks is good for our marine biodiversity, which we heavily depend on to sustain us.
For many years, the ecological role of sharks remain poorly understood and unresolved. To a certain degree, scientists have debated over how predators like sharks could influence coral reefs structures.
However, past studies indicate that when in close proximity, sharks could create a strong fear of predation to reef herbivores such as parrot fish in some reef habitats. These reduce parrot fish feeding and create hot spots for plant communities such as seaweeds to form properly.
This would suggest that reef sharks play important ecological roles in these ecosystems (though highly context-dependent). Only when we can understand the consequences of this marine predator loss, we can better protect them from fishing pressure.