Essay Sample on Economics of Shark Conservation

Introduction

The conservation of wildlife - including flora and fauna - comes with a cost. It is why it is an undertaking that is receiving criticism for being prioritized instead of the diversion of the resources for use in the feeding of the poorer people or even research into the medical treatment of harmful diseases to humanity. In the paper, the focus is made on the costs of conserving sharks, especially in aquariums. Also, there is the exposition on the justification for the costly undertaking of preserving the ferocious instead of such resources being channeled for treatment of tragic diseases or even feeding of the poorer nations in the world. It covers the economics for the captive breeding of sharks. As the paper wraps up, discussed are the criteria for choosing the shark species for the aquarium.

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First, it is estimated that a region of US20 billion ins employed annually across the world aquaria in the conservation of sharks. It is even though they are are the savage sea animals with the tendencies to kill other fish and human beings. Such costs expended in the conservation of the sharks across the world covers the activities involving holding of sharks in aquaria across the globe. It is done to breed different species of sharks in captivity. It aims at eradicating the extinction of most of the endangered species of sharks. It is done by the use of reproductive technologies which aim at fostering the comfort zones for the optimum survival and breeding of the captured shark species. The technologies employed in the aquaria breeding programs for the shark species include the ultrasounds, hormone analysis, sperm cryopreservation, Artificial insemination, and semen quality assessment.

The above costs for the conservation of shark species across the world aquaria is streamlined for specific beneficial values, which represent the economies for the captive breeding of sharks. One of them is the promoted ecotourism. The environment gets protected, and at the same time, the benefits are reaped from the visiting tourist to watch the movements of sharks in the aquaria. The presence of sharks in such captive breeding areas presents an opportunity for the tourists to see them since it is hard to see the well under normal condition, owing to their ferocity. The income generated from such tourism economic activity is then channeled to the infrastructural improvements of different nations as well as feeding of the poor people. They are also employed in researches to treat deadly human conditions.

Moreover, the shark's species bred in an aquarium helps in their perpetual existence hence maintaining biodiversity. They can also be culled and consumed by humans. The aquaria also help reduce the wandering sharks which could pose a danger to human beings. They also help in keeping the food web in balance by consuming other species in the food chain, hence maintaining a healthy eco-balance.

Conclusion

There are the criteria used in the selection of the best shark species for the aquaria. One of them is the special hardiness. It is the ease with which a given species of shark will adapt to the captive environment. The more adaptive ones are selected. Also, there is the criterion of shark compatibility, which indicates whether a shark will be aggressive to the tank mates or not. The less aggressive sharks are chosen for the captivity in aquaria. Lastly, there is the criterion of shark availability, where the most available shark species are selected for captive breeding.