A company on Amazon currently sells baby sharks in jars in the U.S. The shark species harvested and killed for these ‘shark souvenirs’ are spiny dogfish sharks, a Vulnerable species.
Selling dead sharks in a bottle jar is worrying for several reasons. Firstly, it promotes and glamorizes shark souvenirs, creating a market for more dead sharks. Humans already kill over 100 million sharks a year. Secondly, selling dead baby sharks leads unaware customers into believing that these sales are ethical and sustainable.
“Due to the radical and worrying decline of sharks, Amazon is sending the wrong message by allowing the sale of these items,” claims Alice Cimino, founder of OceanKin Conservation. “These items are directly linked to the deaths of millions of sharks, and that needs to change.”
The spiny dogfish shark is on the IUCN Vulnerable species list. This designation means that spiny dogfish sharks are at risk of becoming endangered. Once endangered, the sharks are at risk of extinction.
The sharks in the jars are babies. Most female spiny dogfish sharks do not reach sexual maturity until the age of 20-36. Therefore, harvesting these sharks as babies does not allow them to repopulate, deeming this practice unsustainable.
Alice Cimino leads the movement to ban the sale of these unsustainable shark products. “We need to learn to respect these important ocean guardians and realize just how important they are before it’s too late. And that change starts with us banding together as a collective and encouraging global names like Amazon to do the right thing. For sharks, the oceans, and the planet.”
Sharks belong in the ocean, not in jars on a desk. Join the mission here and urge amazon to ban the sale of shark souvenirs on amazon. The petition has over 13,000 signatures as of this writing. Help increase that number and be on the right side of history.