INTRODUCING THE SHARKULATOR
Although WWF and other NGOs have been campaigning for over a decade to reduce the unsustainable consumption of shark fin soup in Asia, nobody was able to estimate how many sharks and rays could actually be saved when consumers chose to go fin-free. Development of any methodology to estimate that was hindered by the lack of relevant market data as well as large diversity of shark species, animal sizes, and types of fins that ended up in soup.
WWF Sharkulator is a new science-based methodology to estimate how many individual sharks can be saved based on the number of bowls of shark fin soup not consumed. By visualising the impact of their decision to go fin-free on these increasingly threatened marine creatures, we hope that WWF Sharkulator will encourage more people to say no to shark fin soup and as a result, support our long-term work to reduce the unsustainable demand for shark fin in Asian markets.
To get started, enter the number of bowls of shark fin soup not consumed into the Sharkulator tool on this page and click the “SAVE SHARKS” button. For example, if you attended a wedding banquet where shark fin soup was served but you chose not to eat it, you can count how many sharks you have “saved”. If your company is planning to organise a corporate dinner in the future and no shark fin soup will be served, our tool will tell you how many sharks your company will “save”. Try out the tool now – the data you enter is not being recorded.
WWF Sharkulator is now available in English, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Bahasa Indonesia, and Bahasa Malaysia.
Click on the image to view a high-resolution version.
SHARKULATOR METHODOLOGY
Our Sharkulator methodology behind the tool is based on six calculation steps, starting from the number of bowls of shark fin soup, through key product and weight conversions, to a live shark equivalent. The methodology focuses on producing an estimate for blue shark (Prionace glauca) as it is by far the most abundant species in the global shark fin trade.
We have also applied product data from Hong Kong, which was collected during a dedicated research project conducted by WWF-Hong Kong in 2011. Hong Kong is not only world’s largest shark fin trade hub but also one of the largest consumers of shark fin per capita.
The intention of WWF Sharkulator is to provide science-based conversion estimates, primarily for public communications around shark fin demand reduction, and potentially for monitoring of impact, rather than for management or regulatory purposes where a higher degree of accuracy may be required. As better data becomes available, incorporating those into the conversion process may allow for increased accuracy and representativeness of the conversion estimates, and thus an expanded range of application.
ACCESS FULL METHODOLOGY
THE WWF SHARKULATOR STORY
Want to find out more about why and how we developed the WWF Sharkulator? Click on the button below to read the latest blog by Dr. Andy Cornish sharing the-behind-of-scenes of our Sharkulator journey.
Gill net buyback promising news for sharks and other threatened marine life on the Great Barrier Reef
WWF-Australia welcomed the Queensland Liberal National Party’s policy announcement of a AU$6 million voluntary buy-back scheme prioritising the purchase of gill net licences operating in the far northern Great Barrier Reef. This section of the Reef supports populations of dugongs, sawfish, endangered sharks, turtles, and inshore dolphins, with all these threatened species at risk of entangling in gill nets and dying.
See WWF-Australia press release
Hong Kong Shark Fin Imports Down 70% Since 2009
WWF-Hong Kong’s work to reduce the demand for shark fin in the city continues to show promising results, with a 40% drop in year-on-year imports in 2019 to 2,792 tonnes, representing a 70% drop over the past decade, according to figures from the Census and Statistics Department. Since 2011, an annual average of 33% of those fins were re-exported to other countries or regions such as Viet Nam, mainland China and Macau. A downward trend of shark fins retained in the city is observed over the same period, which may indicate that the shark fin consumption has been driven down.
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Six Solutions to Save Sharks
Sharks are in deep trouble. Driven mainly by overfishing, their numbers are plummeting, and an alarming number of species are facing extinction. These diverse and necessary species have been evolving for some 400 million years, but now time is not on their side. This Shark Awareness Day, Dr. Andy Cornish highlights the top six things we believe need to happen if the downward trajectories of so many shark populations are to be reversed. These are not in any order of priority — each is essential.
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