Authors: Comic created by Sade Storthz and article written by Heather Nicole King
Episode 1: July is a great time to learn more about sharks and how humans impact their ocean habitat. Meet the "Recycling Sharks" Rebecca and Reef and their new dolphin friend Reggie, as these three besties navigate challenges in marine life. Through their experiences we learn the ways humans affect ocean ecosystems and how to better protect our sea creatures. Follow Rebecca, Reef and Reggie and explore sustainable solutions and ways we can help save our sharks.
Why Save The Sharks?
Sharks play a crucial role within the ocean’s ecosystem, while humans have been known to kill nearly 100 million sharks a year through pollution, bycatch, and targeted fishing. The shark population is in decline despite having lived in our oceans long before the dinosaurs roamed the earth more than 400 million years ago. Human influences affect their habitat and endanger their population numbers through commercial overfishing. As apex predators at the top of the food chain, sharks help maintain balance within the ocean by reducing the spread of disease among unhealthy fish by eating them. Sharks also scare off prey from overeating seagrass which contributes to the fight against climate change as a beneficial carbon sink.
But how can we help the sharks? Granted, most of us are not commercial fishers or eating all the seagrass. But some of our daily actions impact sharks and other marine life through habitat loss and pollution. Join the "Recycling Sharks" and learn steps we can take to help save their population and ecosystem.