Please sign petition to Stop the Distribution of Shark Fins

[Hammerhead]

I don't intend to stir the pot, but trying to stop the shark fin trade is BS. I am a commercial shark fisherman here in Florida. I ETHICALLY havrvest sharks. Here in the US, they are not overharvested! We do not fin and release! Every ounce except for the guts are used. The fins go to Asia, the meat gets consumed, and the jaws are used in taxedermy. I don't like how they shark fin over there, it is terribly immoral, but to try to stop trade of an item where some of us are doing it ethically, is stupid.

You need to focus your efforts towards getting Asian Govt's to impose anti-finning rules like we have here.

To be fair, the emphasis in this petition is predominantly on finning. That said, the problem (of finning) is no longer limited to Asia. Have a look at recent trip reports from Cocos Island and Galapagos regarding illegal commercial shark finning in these areas.

Perhaps not in your backyard right now, this could be jeopardising your livelihood in the not-too-distant future.

 

[DiverDebbie]

If you have a chance, do see this film...

http://www.sharkwater.com/index.html

It's certainly not a "feel good" Hollywood movie, but if you want your eyes opened to reality, watch this.

 

[RonFrank]

Please go to this site and sign the petition to get Alibaba.com, the world's largest online distributor of shark fins and China's amazon.com equivalent, to stop distributing shark fins and shark products, which is fueling the shark finning trade.

The goal is 10,000 signatures, and we are reaching 2,000 at this time.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/400108473

THANKS!

J.

Signed, but I don't have much faith that this will accomplish anything. We are talking about a Communist country where they have been known to eat dogs, and kill their first born children. You think 100,000 signatures will mean anything to that government?

 

[jedah]

It's not exactly directed at the Chinese government, but at China's Amazon.com counterpart. They may actually care a bit about their corporate image, we hope. There's another petition directed to the Chinese President, but it is different from this one.

In any event, the point is to get the word out and raise awareness about this issue, including among people in China - we have over 3,000 signatures now!!

It is true that the trade will only come to a halt once demand decreases. Knowing how a shark fin was obtained is very hard to do, and, given the state of shark populations around the world, the only option at this point is to work to curb the demand, and shut down the distribution channels for all fins.

Check out this document for further info:

E-mail Template: http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dcbq44ng_3gv465j

J.

 

[Sharkfilms]

Fishhunta

Your fishery may be sustainable locally- a whole seperate topic- but the fact is that the finning trade is providing a market for sharks worldwide and especially is targeting pelagic sharks. Your fins are legal and you use the whole shark- thats great. However, the other 99% come from nations without regulation or regard for shark protection.

Once your fin goes to Hong King it gets mixed in with the rest of millions of fins processed for market that come from South America, Indonesia, India and the rest of the undeveloped world and high seas where finning is occurring. Once it is in the market, there is no way to verify where the shark came from or if it is a threatened or endangered species.- unless you do DNA testing. Researchers have done this in Hong Kong and found Great Whites, Whale Sharks and Basking shark fins- the only CITEs listed species, and other oceanic species from the longline industry such as Blues, Ocean Whitetips and other sharks whose carcasses are unmarketable.

If your local Chinese restaurant served up your fins I would say great- known source, whole shark captured, sustainable fishery. But they dont. They buy them from Alibababa or other Hong Kong sources without any known source or known sustainable fishery. IN most cases they have no idea what kind of shark it is. The economic incentive for fins is driving poor fishermen to sell just the fins, and unethical businessmen to make huge profits on the tastebuds of the ignorant masses while the fishermen gets a small percentage and the sharks get screwed.
Thus- if you eat shark fin soup you are supporting an illegaal and ocean- unsustainable practice. The most rational approach is to deny yourself a gastronomic luxury to help insure that these essential top predators endure. As divers we should support the system we love to explore, and ocean ecosystems need all their components, including sharks.


Want to learn more- go to www.sharkstewards.com