the importance of sharks | pangeaseed

due to their strength, speed, and exceptional efficiency in hunting, sharks have occupied the top of the oceanic food chain for the last 450,000,000 years. as the food chain and its species evolved over the centuries, sharks have managed a balancing act by keeping populations in check. for millions of years, the consumption level of sharks has been interwoven with the natural state of the food chain, and is why the oceanic food chain has come to exist as it is today. as apex predators, sharks have eaten the sick, the old, the weak, and as a result have affected the evolution of marine species.

the depletion of sharks changes the balance and risks the survival of whole ecosystems. as shark populations become decimated, the populations of other species thrive, throwing the slow-cooked, delicately balanced oceanic food web into a state of tumultuous upheaval that may take another 450,000,000 years to rebalance. in some areas, the decline of shark species due to overfishing has led to an overpopulation of rays, which in turn caused the collapse of scallop fisheries.