XOOC, a non-profit marine conservation group based in Mexico, produced the video above, which focuses on the bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) of Mexico’s Playa del Carmen.
Last fall, dozens of Playa’s bull sharks were killed by a local fisherman, who was paid 118,000 pesos (roughly $10,000 USD) for the sharks, according the video. The video also goes on to note that living sharks can bring in up to $300,000 USD dollars in tourism revenue per season. However, the fisherman who caught the sharks, argued that it was more profitable for him to catch and sell the sharks, since it was less dangerous and only required 4 hours of work.
Playa del Carmen had become a popular dive site in recent years and was known as one of the hot spots for diving with bull sharks.
(Note: This video showed up on YouTube yesterday, but was originally posted on Vimeo several months ago.)