essay8

With all of these myths and superstition floating around, there are still consequences in trying to find a cure

for cancer. It is presently estimated that about five to seven million sharks are caught, killed, de-finned, and

thrown back into the sea each year. Although sharks that are killed are not publicized, that does not hide the

fact that they are being killed. China and Japan have one of the highest rates of defining sharks in the world.

This is due to their belief that shark fine and cartilage actually keeps them healthy and prevents deadly diseases.
They have actually made shark fin apart of their regular meals. By eating it everyday, enormous amounts of

sharks are being killed to feed this superstition. Most sharks are over-fished yearly by sport fisherman and by

fisherman in general.

   Over-fishing one specific shark specie can lead to other problems in the ocean. Most sharks are territorial

and over-fishing in one area remote from shark population centers can seriously deplete the population in that

one area. Not only do sport fisherman deplete the numbers, but tuna fisherman assist in the killing as well.

Fisherman do not do this intentionally, sharks just get tangled up in the large drift nets and die within a matter of
hours to the lack of oxygen flowing into their bodies.

   I believe that sharks and other creatures of sea do have secrets that may someday help us in the fight to

cancer and other diseases. The other problem would be that there is not enough time and sharks to experiment

on to see if it is true that shark cartilage does in fact cure or help prevent cancer. There have been many

experiments done on lab animals to see if shark cartilage can help treat the cancer that is introduce to the

specimen. Some experiments do in fact result in positive feedback, but that does not mean it is in deed true.

There are many other factors that could lead to those results. One concern that I ponder would be if since they
do have a low incidence of tumors and cancer, does that mean that their bodies are doing something more than

our bodies are doing. Sharks are program to function in a specific way to help them survive, that does not

mean that their way of life would be helpful to our way of life. There is no reason to think that shark cartilage

contains anything, which is not found in other animal cartilage.

   Shark cartilage, or any other species cartilage, may not presumably plays an active role in disease resistance

in the living animal. The statements made by shark cartilage pill promoters that it is cartilage that gives sharks

their immunity to cancer, then, are inaccurate and irresponsible. There should be more testing before putting out
medicine that gives off false hope and can have damaging side effects.