As per report by a California based shark support group, Shark Allies, in September 2020, half a million sharks may be killed in order to develop Covid-19 vaccine to save the world. Sharks are harvested for a natural oil, called squalene, that is being used in the preparation of Covdi-19 vaccine candidates. The oil is currently being used as an adjuvant in medicine, which increases the effectiveness of a vaccine. For one tonne of squalene, near about 3,000 sharks have to be killed.
The group is of the view that around 2,50,000 sharks would be required for immunising everyone in the world with one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine containing squalene. Species targeted for being rich in squalene include the gulper shark and the basking shark, which are already classified as vulnerable. Therefore, their populations could become endangered if the present circumstances continue. So, the group opines that harvesting an endangered species, particularly a wild animal, is unsustainable if it is to be used as a component in the medicine and also because it does not reproduce in huge numbers.
As for the pandemic, nobody knows for sure how long and how big it might go on. If we continue using sharks, their numbers could be really high on yearly basis. Therefore, scientists are testing an alternative to squalene in order to save sharks. As per conservationists, around three million sharks are killed every year for squalene to be used in machine oil and cosmetics.
Shark Allies is a non-profit organisation, which was originally set up in 2007 in Hawaii but was incorporated in California in 2014. The group is fully dedicated to the protection and conservation of sharks and rays by taking action, raising awareness, and guiding initiatives that reduce the destructive overfishing of sharks globally.
Courtesy: India Today, sharkallies.com