David Bellamy Stark Shark Warning From 20 Years Ago
For those, of a certain age living in the UK, David Bellamy - who has died aged 86 - was likely the first person who introduced them to nature and the idea of conservation.
With his bushy beard, imitable voice for impressionists and kids in the playground (myself included) and his TV exploits, which shrunk him down like someone from The Borrowers, he was a huge hit and childhood staple.
In the late 90s he swam with sharks in the London Aquarium to help raise awareness of the loss of loss of coral reefs and how the destruction of the shark's habitat will lead to the destruction of sharks.
At the time, the professor said: "More and more shark species are appearing in the red data book of endangered species, a sure sign that the natural balance of reefs is in danger.
"Once these large predators have gone to fuel the demand for shark-fin soup and shark steaks, populations of other fish and invertebrates explode, speeding the destruction of coral reefs.
"Of the 109 countries with reefs, over 85 per cent have suffered some kind of damage from our careless actions and in some cases the environmental and economic consequences have been disastrous.
"This destruction simply has to stop, otherwise within 40 years over half our planet's coral reefs will have vanished."
That was back in October 1997, with Bellamy's quote taken from The Independent. Fast-forward over 20 years later and sadly, that stark warning has started to become a prophecy.
Earlier this year it was 17 of 58 shark species were classified as facing extinction on the Red List by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Heartbreakingly, six are listed as critically endangered, with the remaining 11 perilously labeled as endangered or vulnerable to extinction. Thanks a mixture of over-fishing, catching sharks for their fins and of course the destruction of their natural habitat.
The removal of sharks from the Great Barrier Reef - thanks also in large part to excessive netting - is identified by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority as an ongoing ‘high-risk’ threat to Reef health. Sharks are critical to its resilience, helping to ensure its critical balance, a balance which is at its tipping point
On August 30 this year, an Australian government report downgraded the reef's future outlook from "poor" to "very poor." Even estimating The Reef could be gone forever by 2050, coral bleaching caused by global warming cited as a key cause.
Which is somewhat ironic, as it global warming wasn't something he subscribed to. Either way, it didn't stop him being hugely influential or from being right about the future - now our present - plight of sharks or their homes.
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