MidwestJourney

Hello Dr. Shiffman,

First, thank you for doing this AMA. As a current grad student studying wildlife conservation, I always appreciate seeing others talk about species/groups of conservation concern.

Recently, I took Ichthyology and I chose to do a presentation on shark conservation (as they’re my favorite group of fish). When researching the subject, I was horrified to learn that in the shark finning practice, most sharks are kept alive when their fins are cut and then dumped back into the ocean.

So, my question is if there is anything more that can be done regarding shark finning besides just countries banning it (e.g., U.S.)?

Thanks for the answer!

I'm glad to hear that the practice is happening less frequently. Though as you mentioned overfishing is the greatest concern right now. So, fingers crossed that overall overfishing can somehow be reduced as well.