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<i>Biodiversity is really how we define
our own existence, isn't it?</i>

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<i>It's us and say tens of millions
of other species</i>

that occupy this planet with us.

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It's like there's this incredible web
where we're all connected.

<i>And when you start to lose
these linchpin species,</i>

<i>the environment starts to fail.</i>

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<i>When we translate human activity
into these forces of extinction,</i>

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<i>there are several major factors
that are contributing.</i>

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<i>One of the major drivers of extinction</i>

is that we hunt some species to oblivion.

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<i>It's what we're doing with sharks now.</i>

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<i>With the explosion of demand
for shark fin soup,</i>

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global estimates for the shark fin trade

put it in the neighborhood
of a billion dollars.

<i>It's a huge amount of money.</i>

<i>So sharks are targeted
by fleets around the world.</i>

<i>They may simply cut the fins off
and then release them</i>

to a slow and very unpleasant death.

Do you keep all the sharks
or put the bodies back?

You cut the fin? Then toss.

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<i>We don't actually know
how many sharks are in the ocean.</i>

<i>What we do know is that the big sharks,</i>

<i>the apex predator
in the open ocean food chain,</i>

their numbers have declined
between 90 and 99%.

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<i>Sharks have survived
four mass extinction events.</i>

<i>They've been around the planet
longer than dinosaurs.</i>

<i>A lot longer.</i>

<i>Sharks have ruled our oceans
for over 400 million years.</i>

<i>They've been responsible
for regulating and maintaining</i>

<i>the entire balance across our oceans.</i>

<i>Now we're in a situation where sharks
are being removed from that system.</i>

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<i>Humans are really the single
most impactful species</i>

this planet has ever seen.

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<i>We have these prehistoric brains
and we have this god-like technology,</i>

<i>and when you bring them together,</i>

the result is not necessarily a happy one.

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<i>You know, species
are like a house of cards.</i>

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<i>You can't just sort of take
one card out of the deck</i>

and not expect the deck to crumble.

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