22 Saving Sharks

Saving Sharks written by John Lockyer

《拯救鲨鱼》作者约翰·洛克耶

Sharks have lived in the oceans for millions of years. There are about 350 different kinds of sharks. Some sharks are small and some are large. All sharks help keep the oceans healthy. Sharks are different to other fish. They don't have skeletons made from bones. Their skeletons are made from cartilage. The tips of your nose and ears are made from cartilage too.

鲨鱼在海洋中生活了数百万年。 世界上大约有350种不同的鲨鱼。 有些鲨鱼很小，有些很大。 所有的鲨鱼都有助于保持海洋的健康。 鲨鱼和其他鱼类不同。 它们没有骨头做成的骨架。 它们的骨骼是由软骨构成的。 你的鼻尖和耳尖也是由软骨构成的。

prey Sharks can have as many as 3,000 teeth. Their teeth fall out often, but it only takes a day for them to grow new ones. Baby sharks or pups hunt for prey as soon as they are born because they already have teeth. Sharks eat fish, seals, dolphins, turtles and even sea birds. Often, their prey is sick, slow or weak. This helps to keep the numbers of animals living in the oceans balanced.

鲨鱼可以有多达3000颗牙齿。 它们的牙齿经常脱落，但只需要一天就会长出新的牙齿。 幼鲨或幼鲨一出生就开始捕食，因为它们已经有了牙齿。 鲨鱼吃鱼、海豹、海豚、海龟甚至海鸟。 通常，它们的猎物生病、行动迟缓或身体虚弱。 这有助于保持生活在海洋中的动物数量平衡。

catching sharks The numbers of sharks in the oceans are becoming fewer. This is because people are catching too many of them. Large fishing ships with long lines and big nets catch most of the sharks. Some people think that sharks must be killed because they are too dangerous. There are fewer than ten people killed by sharks each year. People catch and kill around 100 million sharks each year.

海洋中鲨鱼的数量越来越少。 这是因为人们捕获了太多的鱼。 用长线和大网捕鱼的大型渔船捕获了大部分的鲨鱼。 有些人认为鲨鱼必须被杀死，因为它们太危险了。 每年被鲨鱼杀死的人不到10人。 人们每年捕杀约1亿只鲨鱼。

shark parts Shark meat is used to make food for pets, plants and people. Shark skin is used to make shoes and bags and the cartilage is used in medicines and body creams. Sometimes fishermen only want a shark's fins. On the boat, they cut off the fins, put them on ice and then throw the shark back into the sea still alive! Millions of sharks are killed each year just for shark fin soup.

鲨鱼肉被用来做宠物、植物和人类的食物。 鲨鱼皮被用来制作鞋子和包，鲨鱼软骨被用来制作药物和身体霜。 有时渔民只想要鲨鱼的鳍。 在船上，他们切下鲨鱼的鳍，把它们放在冰上，然后把鲨鱼扔回海里，还活着!每年有数百万条鲨鱼被捕杀，仅仅是为了制作鱼翅汤。

releasing shark pups Many sharks have their pups in warm, shallow water that is close to land. In some of these special places, people have taken back the land from the sea to build houses. The pollution has stopped sharks having pups there. Sharks grow slowly. Many sharks don't have pups until they are four years old. Most sharks have four or more pups at a time. Many sharks that get caught on long lines and in nets haven't had any pups yet.

许多鲨鱼把幼崽生在靠近陆地的温暖浅水区。 在其中一些特殊的地方，人们从海上收回土地建造房屋。 污染已经阻止了鲨鱼在那里产卵。 鲨鱼长得很慢。许多鲨鱼直到四岁才有幼崽。 大多数鲨鱼一次有四个或更多的幼崽。 许多被长线和渔网捕获的鲨鱼还没有幼崽。