They glide smoothly onthe surface of the sea until they spot their prey. Then, they spring into action,and kill with murderous rage. Am I talking about a shark? No, I'm talking abouthumans.

There are over 300 kinds of sharks, many of which are endangered.Sharks are over-fished for food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, especially inAsia where shark meat is a delicacy that is eaten as well as used to heal. Sharksare also killed for sport.

More and more people are catching andreleasing sharks, which is better than just killing them, but there are stillproblems. Many fishermen use the process of gaffing (which is like spearing),which can easily be fatal. Many of the sharks are not released alive.

Another problem is that since it takes sharks 15 years to maturesexually, most sharks caught are killed before they get a chance to reproduce.This decreases the shark population, especially that of the Great White.

It is extremely important to protect the Great White, as well as othersharks. They help to control the population of predators dangerous to humans.Also, they are important when it comes to medical research because they healquickly and are resistant to most diseases. A shark's cornea can be extracted andtransplanted into humans, but if no sharks are left, then research will screechto a halt.