5 Reasons why sharks are in trouble!

Photo Credit: National Wildlife Federation

There are 5 main reasons why Sharks are in trouble today, and all of them are man-related. 

1. Commercial Shark fishing - Fishing for Sharks has been around for decades and in the past 60 years has depleted populations drastically. Shark fishing occurs worldwide and they are hunted for their fins, liver oil, cartilage and meat.
2. Shark bycatch - Bycatch is when sharks are accidentally caught in commercial fishing nets. Unfortunately they are then often killed. This is usually unreported and illegally carried out, causing a decrease in shark numbers over the years. 
3. Consumer demand - Worldwide shark fins are in high demand, especially in Asia where they are used for the delicacy Shark Fin Soup. Over the years this industry has increased in value from $400 to $500 million a year. 
4. Lack of regulation - Unfortunately these species are not as protected as they need to be, meaning that shark fishing is still taking place across the world. 
5. Misunderstanding - These giants of the sea are very misunderstood creatures and, as a consequence of movies such as the famous Jaws, get very bad press. In reality, Sharks play a very important role as the oceans top predators and without them a lot of marine ecosystems would suffer. 

Marmosets more polite than humans?

It has been recently reported that Marmosets have been seen to engage in conversation with one another, much like us humans would do. Scientists discovered that Marmosets, placed in a room and unable to see each other, would call to one another, waiting each time for the other to reply...something us humans seem to have forgotten how to do over the years. It has even been reported that they engage in conversations with complete strangers, sometimes for up to half an hour! 
Marmosets were chosen for this research as, unlike other chimps and our closest cousins, they tend to be very vocal. 

"The recordings revealed that the marmosets would wait for about five seconds after the other finished calling to respond - seemingly following "unspoken rules of conversational etiquette". - Lead researcher, Daniel Takahashi.

 It is also believed that these calls contain information that requires digestion by the receiving individual, also much like conversation had between two human beings. 
Researchers believe that this may show an alternative route for the evolution of our own communication and hope that, by furthering their studies, they can begin to understand the breakdown of our own conversation. 

It seems us humans could learn a thing or two about basic manners and conversation etiquette...and from a monkey!