Saving Sharks to Save the Planet

by Daniel E. Levenson

May 23, 2009

JERUSALEM- There is something truly magnificent and divine about being away from the noise and pollution (both environmental and spiritual) of man-made or altered environments. For me, it is these quiet moments in the woods or on the water, whether with friends or by myself, when I feel the deepest sense of connection to the rhythms of the universe, and to the energy that animates our world. This is just one of the many reasons it saddens me to see the rampant and thoughtless destruction of the natural world that goes on every day all around us. While we can all see the negative impact of rapid development and the loss of open space taking place close to home, there are other environmental problems which are just as serious, but because they are taking place largely out of sight of most people, they go easily ignored.

One of these issues was recently highlighted for me in a very powerful way in the film Shark Water, a documentary now playing at the Jerusalem Cinematheque as part of EcoCinema 2009, a festival of environmental film.  Shark Water focuses on the efforts of a dedicated group of volunteers who are doing everything within their power to prevent the wasteful and very often illegal practice of the whole-sale slaughter of sharks solely for their fins, which are sold for use in shark’s fin soup, as well as for home remedies. This destruction caused by fisherman going after sharks for their fins extends beyond damage to individual sharks and the overall shark population, and the film showed how a wide variety of other sea life, from seals to sea turtles, often end up as unfortunate victims.

I would never suggest that we shouldn’t eat fish or that commercial fishing shouldn’t exist – I think we should eat fish, and I think commercial fisherman have a difficult and important job. What I am against though, is the kind of thoughtless overfishing and abusive practices that threaten fish stocks worldwide and kill other wildlife that happens to wander into a net or past a long-line with baited hooks.  And this film drives home the point that what is happening to shark populations around the world is not some accidental result of a carefully managed fishery, but a devastating decline in the numbers of the ocean’s top predator, a decline which has the potential to adversely affect the entire marine food chain, impacting not only life in the sea, but on land as well.

For me, it is particularly telling that the Torah does not begin with the story of the creation of man, but rather by telling us that there was something here before humans. Every time I look at the opening lines of Bereshit, and read about the “… darkness upon the face of the deep …”, I feel a sense of mystery and potential.  When I look at the sea, I am overwhelmed by the vastness of it, whether standing on the beach in Tel Aviv or sailing in Boston Harbor, there is something marvelously unknowable and vital about the ocean. It is a treasure we cannot afford to squander through greed, or take for granted. If we really believe that we are stewards of the natural world, we need to start taking more responsibility for what we are doing to it. We need to remember how intricately connected everything in nature is, including human beings. We should be saving sharks because the current practices are wasteful, disrespectful and degrade us if we are stewards of this planet. We should be saving sharks because ultimately we will also be saving this planet for ourselves and for future generations.

Copyright Daniel E. Levenson 2009