In a new study published in Frontiers in Marine Science, researchers used DNA barcoding to test 45 different pet food products from Singapore. They found about a third of all 144 samples contained DNA from sharks, including some from endangered species.
Endangered shark species in pet foods
Silky sharks face tremendous hunting pressure for their fins. The researchers speculated that the presence of the silky sharks may reflect the use of the rest of their carcasses in pet food.
The most identified species found in the cat and dog food were blue, silky and whitetip reef sharks. Before you buy any type of food, it doesn't hurt to take a look at the ingredients.
The DNA of sharks is actually larger than human DNA, about one-and-a-half times. That means there are things coded into the animal's DNA that humans are unable to do, according to the report. Given enough time and research, the scientists believe there are numerous applications that can be learned from shark DNA.
Shark DNA is one-and-a-half times bigger than human DNA, meaning there are things coded into the animals that, at the moment, humans can't do. And scientists hope to unlock those secrets and use them to treat the problems that DNA is already solving in sharks.
Some 450 million years ago, sharks and humans shared a common ancestor, making sharks our distant cousins. And according to recent research, this kinship is evident in our DNA, as at least one shark species possesses several genes that are nearly identical to those in humans.
In a new study published in Frontiers in Marine Science, researchers used DNA barcoding to test 45 different pet food products from Singapore. They found about a third of all 144 samples contained DNA from sharks, including some from endangered species.
Sharks are an apex predator, which means they are at the top of the food chain. This also means that there are not a lot of them because if there were it would upset the balance of the ocean and they would eat too much until there was no food left in the ocean.
"Flake, which is the primary ingredient in your fish and chips, is gummy shark either from Australia or New Zealand," he said.
And while eating shark meat is legal in the U.S., not all means of getting that meat are. The primary means of getting shark fins is through finning, in which fishermen catch sharks, remove their fins, and then return them back to the water.
Shark meat is popular in Asia, where it is often consumed dried, smoked, or salted. Shark meat is consumed regularly in Iceland, Japan, Australia, parts of India, parts of Canada, Sri Lanka, areas of Africa, Mexico and Yemen.
Feeding fish, sharks or other marine species while diving or snorkeling is prohibited. It is also prohibited to operate a boat that is hired to carry passengers to any area within state waters to engage in fish feeding while divers are in the water.
Just like the name implies, imitation crab contains no crabmeat. Fish is, however, one of the main ingredients. It is made using surimi, which is a paste made of fish and a few other ingredients. Surimi is often made with pollock, which is also used to make fish sticks and breaded fish products.
If squalene or squalane is listed – look for the words '100% plant-derived,' or 'vegetable based' or “vegetable origins”. If the label doesn't indicate the source, don't buy it!. Or reach out to the company and ask. Better yet, always choose products you know do not contain squalene.
Shark meat has been shown to carry levels of toxic metals such as mercury that far exceed what is allowable for human consumption. A recent article demonstrates that sharks can also carry the dangerous and often fatal marine toxin ciguatoxin.
Sharks are fish. They live in water, and use their gills to filter oxygen from the water. Sharks are a special type of fish known because their body is made out of cartilage instead of bones like other fish.
Alternate names for shark meat include flake, dogfish, grayfish, and whitefish. Imitation crab (surimi) and fish and chips are sometimes made from shark meat as well.
Meat from endangered sharks is being served up in Australian fish and chip shops, researchers have found. The study, from the University of Adelaide, discovered meat from four threatened species was being sold as "flake" in some takeaways in South Australia.
There are many fish in the sea, but the most common types of fish used in commercial dog food are shorter-lived species like salmon, ocean whitefish, lake whitefish, herring, walleye, flounder, and Arctic char.
Think alligator and chicken. Depending on who is doing the dining, shark meat tastes like chicken — or roadkill. It's meaty and mild — but has to be soaked well before it's eaten because sharks urinate through their skin.
Meat by-products in dog food are the ingredients left over from human food production after the meat is removed. They can include things like meat trimmings, lungs, spleen, liver, and kidneys from the non-rendered, clean parts of an animal.
A recent article published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B suggests that humans and sharks shared a common ancestor some 440 million years ago.
Contrary to popular belief, however, sharks are not attracted to human blood. A shark is more likely to be attracted to a bleeding fish or sea lion than a human being with a cut in the ocean.
FACT: Sharks know the difference between fish and human blood and, while they can smell our blood, it is not a scent they associate with food. Scientific experiments have repeatedly shown that sharks have no interest in human blood.