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Exploring the beautiful nature of California


Marine Fish: Sharks


Fishes are aquatic vertebrates that have fins, gills and scales. Gills are the part of the respiratory system that provide surface area for exchanging oxygen and carbon dioxide under water.

Fish are ectotherms, commonly referred to as 'cold-blooded', meaning their temperature is regulated by the temperature of their environment. They have a range of diets, being herbivores, carnivores, or omnivores. Some fish reproduce by laying eggs, while others reproduce by bearing live young.

California fish species reside in freshwater and coastal/marine waters. Coastal, or marine fish are an abundant and valuable resource. However, the ocean's supply is not limitless, and therefore careful planning and education must be undertaken to ensure the sustainability of the world's largest food source.
California angel shark hise under the ocean sand The sharks and the rays have certain things in common which differentiate them from other animals with backbones. For this reason the scientist places them in a subdivision of the vertebrates, apart from the true or bony fishes, called  Chondrichthyes.

Sharks are found in all the oceans of the world. Some rove the high seas but most of them live along the coasts in relatively shallow water. Some are surface dwellers; others live at or near the bottom, certain kinds at very great depths. A few species move at times far enough up great rivers to enter fresh water, and one lives in a fresh water lake, Lake Nicaragua.

At least 34 species of sharks have been recorded off the Pacific Coast of North America. There are at least 29 species of shark indigenous to or visiting the California coast.  The sharks and rays represent a very muddled group as far as scientific understanding of the species is concerned.
Particularly with the larger sharks, it is hard to preserve specimens in museums, and a proper comparison of similar individuals from different parts of the world is very difficult. The literature is confused and much remains to be done in determining just what kinds do exist. It may well be that some kinds which we now regard as species separate from, say, their Atlantic counterparts actually do not differ from them at all. Conversely, some of those species now credited with a world-wide distribution may prove to be divisible into several species each with a limited range. 

Sharks have and will attack man and there are many authentic records of such attacks which have resulted in serious injury or death. None are from the Pacific coast of the United States, where large sharks of the dangerous species are rare, but there are documented cases on file for the Atlantic seaboard.
great white sharks are rare in California waters  Of the sharks known from California, the great white, the tiger and the hammerhead are unquestionably dangerous but they are so uncommon in our waters as to present a negligible hazard. Many others are catholic feeders, and any shark of sufficient size should be regarded as a potential danger to a bleeding man in the water. None of our common inshore species are large enough or voracious enough to be of concern to swimmers.

A bill was introduced in the California Assembly that would ban all trade in shark fins. A public meeting was held. Supporters said that the large California market encourages the use of the cruel practice of shark finning (which is exactly what it sounds like). The sharks are then put back in the water to die. Some scientists say that the collapse of the international shark population is due to the skyrocketing demand for shark fins all over the world. 
 
 
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