Shark species inch closer to extinction
Dominant force in ocean food chain killed by the millions for their fins
Shark expert Jeffrey Gallant thinks sharks get a bad rap, which is why he embraced the opportunity to become the spokesman for the exhibition Planet Shark: Predator or Prey, which is at the Montreal Science Centre until Sept. 15.
“You may not want to cuddle up to one, but the objective of the exhibit is to leave people with a new appreciation of the shark,” the Drummondville native said.
The interactive travelling exhibit (from Australia) offers a wealth of information about the dominant force on the ocean’s food chain. There are piles of sharks teeth both tiny and huge and estimated to be millions of years old. There is a fullsized, frozen, 226-kilogram Mako shark. And there are row upon row of skeleton shark jaws of all shapes and ferocities, gaping wide as if poised to feed.
You learn how they see and smell and sense their prey. And you see a selection of contraptions man has created with the goal of getting as close as possible to the largest predator in the ocean.
Artistic renderings of the shark as a horrible monster reach back to the 15th century, and Hollywood films like Jaws have cemented the image of the shark as a crazed predator. In fact, shark attacks are rare. For every 650 people killed in an incident involving a chair, four people are killed by sharks.
“There are only around 10 people in the whole world who are killed by sharks every year,” Gallant said. “Compare that to the 100 million sharks that are killed by humans every year for their fins (considered a delicacy in some cultures).”
When we think sharks, we tend to think faraway oceans but, in fact, there are seven species of shark that swim in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and estuary and in the Saguenay fjord.
Gallant is involved in the highest levels of shark research. He juggles numerous responsibilities, including being the director of both the Quebec Shark Observatory and the Shark Observation Network and managing director of the Shark Research Institute.
He is also an expert in the behaviours of the Greenland shark — possibly the oldest vertebrate on earth and found in Quebec waters.
Gallant fell in love with scuba diving when he was 14 years old and was a big fan of Jacques Cousteau marine adventure documentaries. He began to began to focus his research on sharks in 1996.
In 2003, after years of searching, he came face to face with a fourmetre female Greenland in the Baie Comeau region. What made the sighting unusual was that it happened in May. Greenland sharks are normally spotted during the winter months and not in that region.
“It felt like winning the lottery,” Gallant said.
Sharks have been around for 450 million years, but over the last 50 years, shark researchers have become concerned. Dozens of the 350 recorded species of shark are inching closer to extinction because of the harvesting of their fins.
Keeping the world’s shark population healthy keeps the marine ecosystem balanced.
But killing sharks for their fins is big business and is proving difficult to stop. Gallant and colleagues want Quebec to take a stand.
A petition was presented to the Quebec National Assembly in late February asking that finning be banned in Quebec except at sanctioned fisheries.
They are still waiting to hear whether the petition will be considered.
“The shark is the keeper of the ocean, just like the wolf is for the wilds of Quebec,” Gallant said. “We need to protect them, but nothing will happen if we don’t push.”
Planet Shark: Predator or Prey is at the Montreal Science Centre, off de la Commune St. at the bottom of St-Laurent Blvd., until Sept. 15. For ticket information, call 514496-4724 or visit www.montrealsciencecentre.com.