Jacks and snappers feed primarily on smaller herbivorous fish. These herbivorous fish, such as parrotfish, feed on the algae that constantly grow around these coral reefs. Algae need shallow water and sunlight to survive and a coral reef is the perfect place. Without sharks to keep jack and snapper populations in check, their populations thrive. When jack and snapper populations thrive, they eat too many herbivorous fish. With too few herbivorous fish, the algae soon outnumber the coral; overcoming it until there is very little, if any, left. That's why eliminating sharks from the food chain would have devastating effects on the surrounding environment, as well as the ocean as a whole. However, this problem does not only concern coral reefs. It has actually been observed on the east coast of the United States. This hits close to home for those of us who live in eastern North Carolina. In this particular case of declining shark populations, it is not the coral that suffers, but the populations of commercially valuable molluscs