Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hermanusbackpackers/3343254977/

In my opinion, one of the funniest lines ever uttered on TV is Tracy Jordan of 30 Rock telling us to “live every week like it’s Shark Week.” As you may have heard, it is in fact Shark Week — the Discovery Channel’s annual week of programming dedicated to toothy, swimming predators. But there are important lessons to be learned as you watch sharks put a dent in the seal population.

There are currently 50 species of sharks listed as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered, yet they continue to be maimed and overhunted in certain parts of the world. According to Oceana, a charity working to protect and restore shark populations, there are two brutal practices that most threaten sharks: 

• Shark finning is a practice in which hunters catch a shark only to cut off its fins, then throw the shark back into the water to bleed to death. Shark’s fin soup is a delicacy served in many Asian social events such as weddings and business meetings. People pay upwards of $100 for a bowl, making it an extremely lucrative practice.

• Bycatching refers to when a species is caught unintentionally while fisherman are trying to catch a different species. Sharks are often caught by accident, after which they’ll be finned and tossed overboard to die.

Because sharks reproduce slowly, their population numbers are being severely decimated by its greatest predators — humans. But that doesn’t mean humans can’t do something good, too. What can you do to help sharks?

• Oceana has a form letter here that you can fill out with your information and send to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, encouraging the United States to take action to protect vulnerable shark species.

• You can also donate to Oceana here to help finance its efforts to protect sharks. (Oceana has been rated as a four-star organization on Charity Navigator for the past three years.)

• The PEW Charitable Trusts is also very involved in shark protection. Sign a petition and/or donate to its Global Shark Conservation here.

• If you’re ever in Asia, don’t buy shark’s fin soup. Seriously. And say something to anyone you see eating it.

The Discovery Channel’s website has a lot of great information about shark conservation here, and you’ll undoubtedly learn a lot just by watching this week’s programming. Do your part so we can have many more Shark Weeks to come!