A word of warning: The following video is graphic and disturbing. It contains imagery of a dying animal that has been brutally finned and left for dead. Watch at your own risk. It’s really sad to say the least.
Here’s a video of a whale shark that has been finned, but is still alive. It was apparently taken ashore by some divers so that it could die more quickly, ending whatever suffering it was having to endure. The video is gruesome to say the least.
Whale sharks, the largest fish in the ocean, are extremely docile and feed on some of the tiniest creatures. These slow moving sharks feed on krill and other planktonic organisms. Their slow speed and feeding near the surface make them easy targets for “fisherman” (if that’s what you could call the disgusting fin cutters). And like all sharks, they don’t have a swim bladder and must swim to stay buoyant. When a shark is finned, it is thrown back into the ocean, alive, where it sinks to the bottom and slowly dies. The shark fin trade is extremely wide reaching, affecting countless number of shark species. Because of this trade, most sharks are in sharp decline worldwide. If the brutal slaughter of sharks persists at the rate is has, sharks could be facing serious problems over the next few decades.
