Over 90% of the world’s sharks are already gone.
They are fishing out 100 million a year.
It is not just in Asia, the Spanish have just about eradicated the Atlanic Blue shark.
They are easy to catch, lines miles long with baited hooks every few yards.
The value is in the fins so they chop them off and throw the shark back in still alive. Some species drown through lack of forward motion others lie on the bottom till they starve to death, which can take weeks.
All this to make a tasteless soup for the Chinese. It is a mark of prestige and essential at any banquet. As the Chinese get richer they just want more and more of it. The price goes up so it becomes more prestigous so they want even more. Soon there will be none.
Two things need doing. Firstly the Chinese need educating. When we were in Singapore and went into a restaurant my wife would ask for the menu. If she found shark on it she would tell them why they weren’t getting our business and then walk out.
Secondly they need protection. This worked for elephants. Civilised countries can ban shark fishing in their waters, ban the sale and purchase of shark products and ban the posession of shark products.
What you can do is lobby governments worldwide but also the media. Write to your local politician, to the Palau government and tourist authority. Likewise with the Indonesians and Phillipines. You can make a difference. Search the internet for your facts and start emailing now.
If a land animal was being needlessly slaughtered like this it would be all over the news and would be stopped. This is the biggest slaughter by man in history.
They are fishing out 100 million a year.
It is not just in Asia, the Spanish have just about eradicated the Atlanic Blue shark.
They are easy to catch, lines miles long with baited hooks every few yards.
The value is in the fins so they chop them off and throw the shark back in still alive. Some species drown through lack of forward motion others lie on the bottom till they starve to death, which can take weeks.
All this to make a tasteless soup for the Chinese. It is a mark of prestige and essential at any banquet. As the Chinese get richer they just want more and more of it. The price goes up so it becomes more prestigous so they want even more. Soon there will be none.
Two things need doing. Firstly the Chinese need educating. When we were in Singapore and went into a restaurant my wife would ask for the menu. If she found shark on it she would tell them why they weren’t getting our business and then walk out.
Secondly they need protection. This worked for elephants. Civilised countries can ban shark fishing in their waters, ban the sale and purchase of shark products and ban the posession of shark products.
What you can do is lobby governments worldwide but also the media. Write to your local politician, to the Palau government and tourist authority. Likewise with the Indonesians and Phillipines. You can make a difference. Search the internet for your facts and start emailing now.
If a land animal was being needlessly slaughtered like this it would be all over the news and would be stopped. This is the biggest slaughter by man in history.
There are already organisations out there trying to bring some sense to the world before we have total disaster (which losing an apex predator would be).
Try http://www.sharktrust.org/ , the website is full of useful information and a forum which will help you become an activist. Everyone who does something makes a difference. You can also join the organisation which gives them funds to lobby professionally and gets you a magazine.
They have had great success. CITES, http://www.cites.org/ have started to give some sharks, such as Basking Sharks, levels of protection. CITES is the main global organisation for protecting endagered species so you could also let them know what you think.
Then there are tourist organisations. An economist once worked out that a single shark on a Maldives divesite was worth over US$ 100,000 in tourist revenue and only tens of dollars if caught for it’s fins. (This does not stop the Maldivian government from being a major exporter of shark fins to China!!!). There are tourist offices to promote tourism in every country and they also have offices in USA and all the main Western countries. Their job is to add to the economy of their country by attracting Western tourists. If those Western tourists say we might come if there are sharks to see but we won’t come if you are killing them, they have to take notice. This works, SCUBA diving is a major earner for Egypt in the Red Sea, last year they banned all shark fishing. They can easily see the right course of action when there is so much money involved.
Try http://www.sharktrust.org/ , the website is full of useful information and a forum which will help you become an activist. Everyone who does something makes a difference. You can also join the organisation which gives them funds to lobby professionally and gets you a magazine.
They have had great success. CITES, http://www.cites.org/ have started to give some sharks, such as Basking Sharks, levels of protection. CITES is the main global organisation for protecting endagered species so you could also let them know what you think.
Then there are tourist organisations. An economist once worked out that a single shark on a Maldives divesite was worth over US$ 100,000 in tourist revenue and only tens of dollars if caught for it’s fins. (This does not stop the Maldivian government from being a major exporter of shark fins to China!!!). There are tourist offices to promote tourism in every country and they also have offices in USA and all the main Western countries. Their job is to add to the economy of their country by attracting Western tourists. If those Western tourists say we might come if there are sharks to see but we won’t come if you are killing them, they have to take notice. This works, SCUBA diving is a major earner for Egypt in the Red Sea, last year they banned all shark fishing. They can easily see the right course of action when there is so much money involved.
If you want to do something to help the plight of the shark you can sign this petition.
To: Hu Jintao president of the People's Republic of China.
Currently the Chinese people are eating a soup which is causing the biggest ecological disaster of our time. Supplying the demand for Shark's Fin soup involves the death of what best estimates say are between 50 and 150 million sharks a year. This is unsustainable and will inevitably lead to all sharks becoming extinct, many species are already over 90% eradicated.
The shark is the apex predator that keeps the whole ecology of the sea in balance and healthy. Nobody knows what the effects of their removal will be but is can be guaranteed to involve a lot of unwanted harmful outcomes.
This petition seeks the Chinese government to ban the catching, import and sale of sharks and all shark related products.
Sincerely,
Comments
Write New Comment ▼
Write New Comment
Sorry! This knol's owner(s) have blocked you from editing, making suggestions, or commenting here.