The cartilaginous fishes; sharks, rays, skates and the weird chimaeras have always fascinated humans; the sharks for over-blown fear of attack (more people are killed every year by falling aircraft tools, pigs, tripping over shoelaces...); all for their grace and beauty. I have personally campaigned for decades, trying to educate people; for their protection in the wild as well as for their careful selection and adequate care by folks who would take the plunge in caring for them in captivity. It is indeed a travesty that tens of millions of sharks are fished for their fins alone; the rest of the animal usually returned as waste to the sea. I have tasted the slimy, tasteless liquid that is shark fin soup... As unacceptable to me is the mis-stocking and inadequate care afforded sharks and rays placed in too small environments; improperly filtered/maintained, and/or mis-fed and lost prematurely. It is my fervent goat to help you avoid these major sources of mortality through this written work.
