murphdivers286
Guest
I just received my first issue (#8) of SharkDiver Magazine. While reading I came across this letter to the Editor "A Plea For Help..." It moved me so much, I thought my fellow members of Scubaboard would also benefit from it. It was written by Deena Cooper Brehm, March, 2002. I know you all will feel the same as I did at the end.
After I read this, I was about in tears. I have never had these meals, but I have heard the plea for others to stop eating them. This story puts us in the shark's place. For me, it is a great story. I hope you all feel the same as I do.
Deena Cooper Brehn:I have traveled thousands of miles in the beautiful oceans of my world. Sometimes by myself and other times with a group. The sun has risen and it appears it will be another beautiful day. I set out for my day of cruising the ocean and hunting for food. While swimming, I hear a loud noise. I look up to the surface, following the sounds of a large vessel passing overhead. These sounds are so common on the oceans these days. I continue my cruising and see others going about their day as well.
As I swim I pick up the sent of food. I am on the move, I need to move fast before another shark beats me to it. To my amazement and luck I find a dead fish floating in the water...it is going to be a great day. It is a perfect little meal and I swallow it whole. I swim off with my prize, only to find I am stuck. What is going on? Why can't I swim away? I swim in another direction, but I can't swim away!
The fish I ate must be attached to something. It's a long rope! I try to spit it out, but it is not coming out, it's stuck! I swim in all directions, but I am going nowhere. I can't get away! I look around for my friends, but they have all left, I am all alone. I stop struggling to rest a bit, I am so tired. I'm having trouble breathing. All of a sudden the rope starts pulling my up to the surface. I am fighting against the rope as hard as I can, but it keeps pulling me. I am so tired, I just need some rest, but I have to get away! The rope has pulled me out of the water. The light is so bright; I can't see what's going on. I feel pain race through my body as I hit the side of something very hard.
I am dumped in a pile with others like me on a hard surface. Why are they piling us all here? Its very confusing and I'm scared. There are so many of us here. To my horror, I see what is about to be my destiny. The men are approaching with long sharp knives. They are cutting my fins off and throwing them in a pile. There is blood running all over the deck. But I can't swim without my fins! None of us can! Why are they doing this?
I feel pain, then...nothing. Next thing I know, I am back into the ocean. The water feels good, but I can't move. What is happening to me?
Slowly, very slowly, I sink to the bottom of the ocean. The ocean is so beautiful...my home. I hit the ocean floor, its so hard to breath. I look around and I see my friends lying next to me. I guess I'm not alone. I am so tired, I need to sleep, maybe just a nap, just a little nap...
From the author,
Fisherman kill millions of sharks each year. All for the high price of shark fin soup. At the rate they are killing sharks there won't be any around for future generations of shark divers to enjoy. The eco-system of the world will be affected by the loss. Dead zones in the ocean will be created with the loss of so many of the ocean's apex predators.
What started out as a beautiful day for a shark has ended in terror. It's too late to help him, but please do what you can to help his friends that are still trying to survive. Say no to shark fin soup and other meals made out of endangered open ocean species. Refuse to shop at markets and eat at restaurants that offer these meals, and let the owners and managers know why.
We Need Your Help To Survive!
We Cannot Do It Alone!
From the Sharks of the World's Oceans.
Written By: Deena Cooper Brehn
March 2002
After I read this, I was about in tears. I have never had these meals, but I have heard the plea for others to stop eating them. This story puts us in the shark's place. For me, it is a great story. I hope you all feel the same as I do.