The protection of the great hammerhead does matter because of its role as an apex predator, its act of mixing nutrients within the ocean levels, and the ensuing effects if we were to lose them altogether. Shark-finning is the process of removing the shark’s lateral, dorsal, and lower tail fins, and is generally followed by releasing the alive shark back into the ocean, where it can no longer survive, and dies. (Rafferty, John P.) The great hammerhead shark is harvested worldwide for its large fins, which are used to make shark-fin soup. Great hammerheads regulate the ecosystem by keeping prey populations down. They are apex predators, which means that they are at the top of the food chain in their ecosystem, which, for the great hammerhead,…show more content… The World Economic Forum interviews Andy Cornish, leader of the World Wildlife Fund’s ‘Sharks: Restoring the Balance’ conservation effort. Cornish remarks that even though the upper levels of the ocean receive the most sunlight, they are still nutrient poor. Cornish makes the point that sharks bring “essential nutrients” by “[excretion]” to these upper levels after diving to the deeper ones to hunt for food. “Great hammerheads primarily feed on prey at the seafloor, such as stingrays, cephalopods (octopus and squid), crustaceans and other sharks.” (Oceana) The extinction of great hammerheads would lead to a “trophic cascade”. A trophic cascade is essentially a domino effect caused by the loss of an ecosystem’s apex predator. (Couto) For example, if the great hammerhead were to disappear from its natural ecosystem, then its prey’s (called mesopredator) numbers would increase. With a greater number of these mesopredators, the numbers of their following prey would decrease. According to Márquez, great hammerheads have been listed on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List as Critically
