Protecting: The Scalloped Hammerhead

           

            The Scalloped Hammerhead

            The Scalloped Hammerhead shark is an inter-coastal shark that is on the endangered list. It is suffering low populations and reproduction rates, as well as being damaged by human impacts. It is named Scalloped head because of the scallop like edges of its head. It lives off inter-coastal waters of moderate to warm temperatures around the world. Typically, they stay in a range of approximately 100 meters deep, but have been tracked at over 1000.  Threats

Hammerhead picture

The Habitat and Statistics of the Scalloped Hammerhead

             Though the Scalloped Hammerhead can be found around the world, it prefers to live in warm waters. They have been spotted during the day and night, in schools usually. They like to stay in shallow waters where there is more food for them to eat, primarily fish including sardines, mackerel and herring. They have been known to eat the occasional cephalopod, and even some smaller species of sharks.          
              The Scalloped Hammerhead ranges from 4-6 feet in length (males) to 8 feet (females) at the age of sexual maturation. The maximum length recorded was 14 feet. There is a very high mortality rate for pups, they are born in large litters and only the strongest tend to survive. The pups and juveniles stay in large groups while the larger more mature sharks will be seen in smaller schools. Females birth close to shore in mangrove clustered bays and inlets as these provide shelter and plenty of food sources for the growing pups. 
            Scalloped Hammerheads use the depths as a place of shelter, but do not like to go too deep as the drop in temperature is not ideal for them. Their overall numbers are unknown, but it is suspected that there has been a 95% population drop over the last 30 years. Threats In some areas there are protection plans in place, these are seeing an increase in the population, but it does not outweigh the global decline.  wiki

             The habitat for the Scalloped Hammerhead shark is the ocean. The Scalloped Hammerhead prefers warm coastal waters, especially during the day. They tend to hunt further offshore at night. These coastal waters provide an environment that is suitable for comfort and protection, as well as food sources. The coastal waters provide a good habitat for the Scalloped Hammerhead because they are rife with vegetation, sea plants, algae and small prey. It is important to note that the shallower waters have more access to sunlight which is needed for production of phytoplankton. Phytoplankton are the base of the food chain in the ocean and thus are a vital source of nutrition from the bottom to the top of the food chain, which includes the Scalloped Hammerhead and their prey.

            Sea plants and vegetation are a vital component to feed fish and plankton and zooplankton. These small organisms play a big role in the food chain of the ocean. With more sea vegetation, comes more animals to eat said veggies. The Scalloped Hammerhead eats small fish primarily. They can also use their heads to dig into the dirt on the ocean floor and root out Stingrays or cephalopods that make their homes there. Mangroves that grow in shallow waters provide an ideal place for females to pup. The pups are moderately protected from predators there, as it the mangroves provide shelter and camouflage to the young sharks. wiki These mangrove areas are also home to many other species of fish and small oceanic life that the young can consume to grow to maturation. Mangrove  

Coral Reef

 Gliding
Map

Mangroves

A Critical Threat to the Scalloped Hammerhead Shark

            A major threat to the Scalloped Hammerhead is fishing. Sharks are often caught as by-catch in commercial fishing nets. Unfortunately, the survival rate is very low for sharks that are caught. It is a 100% mortality rate for sharks that are injured in the by-catch process; there are few cases in which sharks are not injured. Threats Damage caused by fishing doesn't effect only the Scalloped Hammerhead, other sharks, dolphins, sea turtles and other sea life are often caught as bi-catch in commercial fishing industries.
            Aside from the by-catching, sharks are fished and traded all around the world. They are caught for Shark fin soup, which is considered a delicacy. If the catching of sharks wasn’t bad enough, the fact that the fins are cut off the sharks while they are still alive, and their bodies are thrown overboard to die, makes it an even worse practice. wiki Sharks are also harvested for their liver oils. 
            I feel that this process of shark fin harvesting is like that of the ivory trade. The ivory poachers hunt elephants and rhinos, and then cut off their tusks, leaving the animal to die and rot. The tusks are then polished and sold as a prestigious and expensive addition to a buyer's collection. These acts of cruelty are not only inhumane, but also wasteful and discouraging. Whether it is sharks or elephants and rhinos, the fishers and hunters doing these acts are mistreating and often illegally harming, murdering and profiting from the torture of these magnificent creatures. 

Shark fins

Ivory harvesters

           What Can We Do?

            Some solutions for stopping these practices, that we can do locally in Keene, would be to be aware of our resources. Where they are coming from, how they get to us. We can make sure to buy local goods and services. We can also spread awareness. Teaching others about the harm that is done in harvesting certain goods can benefit them, as well as further educate ourselves. Being aware of buying sustainably sourced sea food is another option to helping preserve the Scalloped Hammerhead, as well as other sea life that gets caught as bi-catch. Resources are available on-line to research where sustainably caught seafoods are available. A man once told me that by doing just a little bit of research, you can find the truth. 
            There are fishing practice laws in most places around the world, but we can push for further protection of our species and lives of creatures great and small around the world. Threats Write a letter, email a senator, make a blog post. The ideas and practices are only limited to that of our own lacking imaginations. One thing that I will be doing is sharing the process for obtaining shark fins. I have never had an urge to try shark fin soup, but that doesn’t mean others have not. My hope is that by spreading the knowledge of this horrific process, I can help people to see that the pros do not outweigh the cons when it comes to shark fin soup.  

Just say No