Hey guys,
Here's a sample e-mail we could use as an e-mail campaign to draw the attention of the media relations department at alibaba.com to the growing online petition for them to remove shark fins from their website:
Their media contact is Christina Splinder, and her e-mail addresses is:
csplinder@alibaba-inc.com
Their agency contact is Bruce Shu, and his e-mail is:
bruce.shu@citigatedr-hk.com
TEXT:
Dear Mr. Ma, Ms. Splinder and Mr. Shu,
I am writing on behalf of a growing group of concerned global citizens who are working hard to increase global awareness about the worsening problem of the increasingly illegal practice of shark finning for the Asian shark fin soup market.
I believe that as China's largest online store, and possibly the world's largest online distributor of dried shark fins and shark-related products, you have a moral and corporate obligation to recognize that your current business practice has served to foster the unprecedented rise in the wasteful, cruel and increasingly illegal practice of shark finning worldwide in recent years, and to take immediate steps to address this situation.
Here is an example of your product listing displaying multiple suppliers of dried shark fins and related shark products from many different countries in the world:
http://www.alibaba.com/trade/search...rchText=shark+fins&IndexArea=offer_en&CatId=0
As you may be personally aware, the practice of shark finning involves removing the shark from the water, cutting off its fins with knives, and dumping the shark back into the water - in most instances while still alive - to drown or be eaten.
The economic incentive behind this wasteful and cruel practice is driven by the high value placed on shark fins in the Hong Kong, Chinese, Taiwan and other major Asian markets for the making of shark-fin soup, compared to the low value placed on shark meat per se. Indeed, pound for pound, shark fin is currently the highest prized marine commodity in the world. It is so profitable that even tuna fishing fleets are engaging in this practice "on the side," since, being able to discard the low-value shark carcass into the water after removing the high-value fins, they can keep their hull space for more valuable tuna meat.
It is estimated that currently anywhere from 40 to 100 million sharks are being "harvested" (i.e. finned) around the world per year, with the resulting collapse of shark populations worldwide. Furthermore, since shark populations in the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans have plummeted in recent years, shark finning fleets have started operating within the boundaries of international marine sanctuaries and preserves such as the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador), Cocos Island (Costa Rica), Malpelo Island (Colombia) and Socorro Island (Mexico). Indeed, the monetary rewards from the sale of shark fins are so high, that, sadly, even local fishermen throughout many regions of the world (including in the Galapagos Islands, Costa Rica and Indonesia) have changed their fishing practices and have increasingly engaged in shark finning either as their primary activity or as a significant secondary fishing activity.
As a direct result of this uncontrolled and unsustainable practice globally, most shark species, including but not limited to the great and scalloped hammerhead sharks, the oceanic white-tip shark, the whaleshark and the blue shark, have suffered population declines of 80-90% in the last 10 -15 years. Furthermore, the scalloped hammerhead shark, which was once one of the most abundant shark species in the oceans and, coincidentally, is one of the most highly prized shark fin species, was placed on the endangered species list by CITES 2 weeks ago. The combination of the rapid removal of a large number of sharks, compounded by the sharks' naturally low reproductive rates and delayed age to reach sexual maturity - sharks do not "spawn" like other fish do; instead, females carry the developing fetuses in their wombs until they are ready to be born, - has led to the drastic and rapid decline in shark populations worldwide.
As apex predators, sharks play a vitally important role in maintaining the delicate balance of the coral reef and other marine ecosystems wordwide; and their drastic, systematic removal is already leading to severe ecological imbalances that will ultimately lead to the collapse of a large portion of the marine ecosystems on the Earth. As a species, we humans cannot survive without healthy oceans.
While it was not previously possible to determine from which shark species dried shark fins on the market were, new DNA coupling and marking technologies have recently been developed, which allow researchers (and environmentalists) to determine if the shark fins available for sale in a particular shop or marketplace come from any of the multiple species listed as endangered; these technologies will soon be put in practice.
One more important point to take into consideration when engaging in the business of distributing shark fins is the fact that, as apex predators, sharks ingest and concentrate the toxins present in the prey they consume. This is particularly important when it comes to one of the most common (and hazardous) pollutants present in our oceans - mercury. In fact, it is estimated that a single bowl of shark fin soup may contain up to 10x the maximum permissible mercury level according to the US Food and Drug Administration (5 ppm, compared to a maximum FDA level of 0.5 ppm). Mercury toxicity in humans is known to cause sterility (males are particularly vulnerable) as well as central nervous system defects in developing fetuses and young children.
There are 2 new, groundbreaking documentaries that aim to increase worldwide awareness about the growing global problem of shark finning and plummeting shark populations, which, as mentioned above, has direct repercussions not only for the shark populations themselves, but also for the marine ecology at large, and, ultimately, for the survival of our own species.
You can view the video synopsis / previews for these documentaries at these sites:
www.sharkwater.com
www.sharkstewards.com/synopsis.htm
The director of the second documentary, David McGuire, is the person who started this wordwide online petition campaign to increase awareness about the direct detrimental ecological impact that your company's current business practice is having on our oceans.
As of this writing, we have collected signatures from [FILL IN NUMBER FROM SITE BELOW] concerned global citizens from 5 different continents (many residing within China and other Asian countries), who, like me, ask you to review your current business practices and take the necessary steps to stop lending your website as a marketplace for the distribution of shark fins in order to reduce the pressure placed on shark populations worldwide from the illegal practice of shark finning.
You can monitor the growing number of people worldwide who are constantly adding their names to this petition at this site:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/400108473
Of important note, Amazon.com, as recently as 6 months ago, featured shark fins in their product list. However, thanks to a strong public awareness campaign stemming from multiple environmental groups, scuba divers and concerned citizens worldwide, they have agreed to stop lending their website to the distribution of shark fins and have since removed shark fin products from their product list, in doing so recognizing that their former business practice was fostering the unsustainable practice of shark finning worldwide. Similarly, Hong Kong Disneyland removed shark fin soup from its banquet menu prior to its opening, and Hong Kong University has also recently removed shark fin from its menu. In addition, the Chinese government is currently considering not offering shark fin soup on its official banquets during the 2008 Olympic Games.
We encourage you, as a global corporation and important internet marketplace, to join other responsible global corporations such as Amazon.com in recognizing the effect that your current business practice is having on shark populations and the marine ecosystems worldwide, and to take immediate steps to stop lending your website as a means for the distribution of shark fins, which is fostering the illegal practice of shark finning around the world.
We will fervently continue this online awareness campaign, aimed at educating people around the world about the effects that your company's current business practice is having on the world's dwindling shark populations, marine ecosystems, and the illegal practice of shark finning, until you agree to stop distributing shark fins on your website.
Sincerely yours,
YOUR NAME
Hope this helps bring their attention to the effect that their actions are having, as well as the fact that a large number of people are aware of it!
J.
Here's a sample e-mail we could use as an e-mail campaign to draw the attention of the media relations department at alibaba.com to the growing online petition for them to remove shark fins from their website:
Their media contact is Christina Splinder, and her e-mail addresses is:
csplinder@alibaba-inc.com
Their agency contact is Bruce Shu, and his e-mail is:
bruce.shu@citigatedr-hk.com
TEXT:
Dear Mr. Ma, Ms. Splinder and Mr. Shu,
I am writing on behalf of a growing group of concerned global citizens who are working hard to increase global awareness about the worsening problem of the increasingly illegal practice of shark finning for the Asian shark fin soup market.
I believe that as China's largest online store, and possibly the world's largest online distributor of dried shark fins and shark-related products, you have a moral and corporate obligation to recognize that your current business practice has served to foster the unprecedented rise in the wasteful, cruel and increasingly illegal practice of shark finning worldwide in recent years, and to take immediate steps to address this situation.
Here is an example of your product listing displaying multiple suppliers of dried shark fins and related shark products from many different countries in the world:
http://www.alibaba.com/trade/search...rchText=shark+fins&IndexArea=offer_en&CatId=0
As you may be personally aware, the practice of shark finning involves removing the shark from the water, cutting off its fins with knives, and dumping the shark back into the water - in most instances while still alive - to drown or be eaten.
The economic incentive behind this wasteful and cruel practice is driven by the high value placed on shark fins in the Hong Kong, Chinese, Taiwan and other major Asian markets for the making of shark-fin soup, compared to the low value placed on shark meat per se. Indeed, pound for pound, shark fin is currently the highest prized marine commodity in the world. It is so profitable that even tuna fishing fleets are engaging in this practice "on the side," since, being able to discard the low-value shark carcass into the water after removing the high-value fins, they can keep their hull space for more valuable tuna meat.
It is estimated that currently anywhere from 40 to 100 million sharks are being "harvested" (i.e. finned) around the world per year, with the resulting collapse of shark populations worldwide. Furthermore, since shark populations in the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans have plummeted in recent years, shark finning fleets have started operating within the boundaries of international marine sanctuaries and preserves such as the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador), Cocos Island (Costa Rica), Malpelo Island (Colombia) and Socorro Island (Mexico). Indeed, the monetary rewards from the sale of shark fins are so high, that, sadly, even local fishermen throughout many regions of the world (including in the Galapagos Islands, Costa Rica and Indonesia) have changed their fishing practices and have increasingly engaged in shark finning either as their primary activity or as a significant secondary fishing activity.
As a direct result of this uncontrolled and unsustainable practice globally, most shark species, including but not limited to the great and scalloped hammerhead sharks, the oceanic white-tip shark, the whaleshark and the blue shark, have suffered population declines of 80-90% in the last 10 -15 years. Furthermore, the scalloped hammerhead shark, which was once one of the most abundant shark species in the oceans and, coincidentally, is one of the most highly prized shark fin species, was placed on the endangered species list by CITES 2 weeks ago. The combination of the rapid removal of a large number of sharks, compounded by the sharks' naturally low reproductive rates and delayed age to reach sexual maturity - sharks do not "spawn" like other fish do; instead, females carry the developing fetuses in their wombs until they are ready to be born, - has led to the drastic and rapid decline in shark populations worldwide.
As apex predators, sharks play a vitally important role in maintaining the delicate balance of the coral reef and other marine ecosystems wordwide; and their drastic, systematic removal is already leading to severe ecological imbalances that will ultimately lead to the collapse of a large portion of the marine ecosystems on the Earth. As a species, we humans cannot survive without healthy oceans.
While it was not previously possible to determine from which shark species dried shark fins on the market were, new DNA coupling and marking technologies have recently been developed, which allow researchers (and environmentalists) to determine if the shark fins available for sale in a particular shop or marketplace come from any of the multiple species listed as endangered; these technologies will soon be put in practice.
One more important point to take into consideration when engaging in the business of distributing shark fins is the fact that, as apex predators, sharks ingest and concentrate the toxins present in the prey they consume. This is particularly important when it comes to one of the most common (and hazardous) pollutants present in our oceans - mercury. In fact, it is estimated that a single bowl of shark fin soup may contain up to 10x the maximum permissible mercury level according to the US Food and Drug Administration (5 ppm, compared to a maximum FDA level of 0.5 ppm). Mercury toxicity in humans is known to cause sterility (males are particularly vulnerable) as well as central nervous system defects in developing fetuses and young children.
There are 2 new, groundbreaking documentaries that aim to increase worldwide awareness about the growing global problem of shark finning and plummeting shark populations, which, as mentioned above, has direct repercussions not only for the shark populations themselves, but also for the marine ecology at large, and, ultimately, for the survival of our own species.
You can view the video synopsis / previews for these documentaries at these sites:
www.sharkwater.com
www.sharkstewards.com/synopsis.htm
The director of the second documentary, David McGuire, is the person who started this wordwide online petition campaign to increase awareness about the direct detrimental ecological impact that your company's current business practice is having on our oceans.
As of this writing, we have collected signatures from [FILL IN NUMBER FROM SITE BELOW] concerned global citizens from 5 different continents (many residing within China and other Asian countries), who, like me, ask you to review your current business practices and take the necessary steps to stop lending your website as a marketplace for the distribution of shark fins in order to reduce the pressure placed on shark populations worldwide from the illegal practice of shark finning.
You can monitor the growing number of people worldwide who are constantly adding their names to this petition at this site:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/400108473
Of important note, Amazon.com, as recently as 6 months ago, featured shark fins in their product list. However, thanks to a strong public awareness campaign stemming from multiple environmental groups, scuba divers and concerned citizens worldwide, they have agreed to stop lending their website to the distribution of shark fins and have since removed shark fin products from their product list, in doing so recognizing that their former business practice was fostering the unsustainable practice of shark finning worldwide. Similarly, Hong Kong Disneyland removed shark fin soup from its banquet menu prior to its opening, and Hong Kong University has also recently removed shark fin from its menu. In addition, the Chinese government is currently considering not offering shark fin soup on its official banquets during the 2008 Olympic Games.
We encourage you, as a global corporation and important internet marketplace, to join other responsible global corporations such as Amazon.com in recognizing the effect that your current business practice is having on shark populations and the marine ecosystems worldwide, and to take immediate steps to stop lending your website as a means for the distribution of shark fins, which is fostering the illegal practice of shark finning around the world.
We will fervently continue this online awareness campaign, aimed at educating people around the world about the effects that your company's current business practice is having on the world's dwindling shark populations, marine ecosystems, and the illegal practice of shark finning, until you agree to stop distributing shark fins on your website.
Sincerely yours,
YOUR NAME
Hope this helps bring their attention to the effect that their actions are having, as well as the fact that a large number of people are aware of it!
J.
