The strange creatures of the ocean will be studied further to close on a more definitive understanding of the underwater.
This will be the one solution for conservationists, who have endlessly trying to get more information from the same data, shares Dune Ives, senior director of philanthropy at Vulcan Inc.
Marine biologist Mike Heithaus, a leading shark researcher from Florida International University explains, sharks play a key role in the food chain, being the top predators in these oceans. They restore the natural balance underwater by eating turtles and sea cows and keeping down populations that might otherwise overgraze on sea grass. This is an important locale smaller fish and shrimp that people consume. He worries that sharks might be falling in population in some parts of the world, due to almost 100 million sharks taken from the oceans every year for their fins and meat.
The Global FinPrint project is getting four million dollars in investment from Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen’s Vulcan Inc., which funds a series of scientific initiatives on ocean health, space flight, and understanding the human brain.
Ives adds, a recent International Union for the Conservation of Nature report indicated that the data to accurately assess the current population status for almost half of shark and ray species is not available. This project will supply critical trend analyses and establish baselines in places that have never before been systematically assessed.
Heithaus pinpoints, this project may not necessarily give a definitive number however, it will provide a relative estimate of how many sharks are in different areas, which places have healthy populations, and which are areas that are of big concern.
