Saturday, January 17, 2009

Shark Success!


Toronto: Saturday January 17, 2009
Today, is a great day for Sharks. Organizer Bob Timmons of Ark II and a group of very dedicated shark protectors took to the frozen streets of Toronto to protest the selling of Shark Fin Soup.

The march caught the attention of the media as they marched down Spadina near Dundas (The area is known as China Town) which supports a large number of restaurants serving the controversial delicacy. More info to follow.

Shark March - Toronto Canada

To celebrate 2009's International Year of the Shark a group of dedicated and environmentally concerned people will take to the frozen streets of downtown Toronto Canada at 12:00PM on Saturday January 17th to protest the selling of shark fin products. Their march assembles at Yonge and Dundas Square and will proceed through Chinatown.

Here's a link to the event on Facebook

We will update you throughout the day as pictures become available. If you are a member of the media I suggest you cover this story. This is one story that REALLY needs to be heard.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Japanese Whaling Ship Ordered to Leave Indonesia


After hobbling into the Port of Surabaya, East Java in Indonesia. The Japanese "Research"* vessel Yushin Maru # 2 has been ordered to leave port without much needed repairs to its props. The Indonesian Forestry Authorities, the CITES Authorities and local government officials in East Java demanded the expulsion of the Yushin Maru #2 from Surabaya harbour and from Indonesian waters.


CONGRATULATIONS to ALL involved in this GREAT VICTORY for Whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

For the entire story visit the Sea Shepherd Society Website by clicking here.


* How many "Research" vessels are equipped with harpoon guns??

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

The Horror of Shark Fining (explicit content)

The realities of how your soup gets to your table:
Click here to view video

Chinese translation:

做成你的汤的真实方法
点击观看视频

WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES OF SHARK MUTILATION

Anti Shark Fin Soup Video (Chinese w/English subtitles)

We found a great video from WildAid in China. It's an awareness campaign video against shark fin soup. The video is in Chinese with english subtitles. Please forward this link to everyone you know.

Especially Chinese businesses selling shark fin products.

Click here to view this video

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Thank You Galen Weston

I wanted to share with you all the note I sent to Mr. Weston president of Loblaws thanking him for his commitment to our oceans.

"Mr. Weston & Company:

A few days ago we contacted you regarding Loblaw's and The Great Canadian Superstores plan to introduce cans of shark fin soup just in time for Chinese New Year.

We have heard from our sources that your organization has decided against such a move.

We wanted to send a heart felt thank you for considering our environment over the profit from a few simple cans of soup. Thank you for standing up against a non sustainable fishing industry.

Remember, sharks (of any kind) belong in our oceans not in our supermarkets.

You have made a difference and you should be very proud."

--
Jeff Shaw
Founder
--
Oceanic Defence Organization
Activation through Education
http://www.oceanicdefence.org

Loblaws Agrees to Remove Shark Fin Soup



A few days ago it came to our attention that Loblaws and Canadian Superstores were planning on stocking their shelves with cans of shark fin soup just in time for Chinese New Year.

Today, we at Oceanic Defence could not be more excited to announce that President and CEO, Galen Weston and the Loblaws grocery chain which includes Canadian Superstores has removed Shark Fin products from their shelves due to a public protest by concerned citizens everywhere.

Oceanic Defence thanks Mr. Weston and the entire management team that has put our environment ahead of profit. If we only had more responsible business owners like Mr. Weston we could really address this epidemic head-on.

We urge you to make environmental choices when to comes to not only the car you drive and the clothes you wear but also the businesses where you buy your groceries. Consider Loblaw's.

Congratualtions and Thank you.

We will post their official release once we receive it.

Monday, January 12, 2009

Bill Aims to End Wasteful Practice of Shark Finning

Washington, DC Yesterday, Representative Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam), Chair of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans in the 110th Congress, introduced the "Shark Conservation Act of 2009," H.R 81. The bill is aimed at ending "fining" - the wasteful practice of slicing off a shark’s valuable fins and discarding the body at sea and encouraging international shark conservation.

An identical bill was passed by the House of Representatives last year, but a companion bill in the Senate was not adopted. Ocean Conservancy strongly supports the bill.

The Shark Conservation Act would strengthen the nation’s finning ban by banning removal of shark fins at sea for all U.S. waters and vessels. Currently, U.S. Pacific fishermen can remove shark fins at sea and a complicated "fin-to-carcass" ratio is used to determine if shark bodies were retained or thrown overboard. The bill also closes enforcement loopholes, encourages other countries to adopt shark conservation programs, and establishes a process to ultimately allow for sanctions against countries that do not.
"The Shark Conservation Act contains the tools to end the wasteful practice of fining in the U.S. and revitalize shark conservation efforts on a global scale," said Sonja Fordham, Director of Ocean Conservancy’s Shark Conservation Program. "A growing number of shark populations are threatened and yet the demand for shark fins remains strong. Loopholes have allowed some U.S. shark fining to go unpunished while, in most other countries and in international waters, fining bans serve as sharks’ only safeguards. By improving its own finning ban and promoting sound conservation strategies internationally, the U.S. can lead the charge to prevent the waste of sharks and the loss of entire shark populations."

Prohibiting the removal of shark fins at sea is the most reliable method for enforcing fining bans. In addition to ending guess work about whether sharks were finned, the "fins-attached" strategy improves officials’ ability to determine the species retained in fisheries, information that is essential for assessing populations and enforcing species-specific protections. The National Marine Fisheries Service banned at-sea shark fin removal for U.S. Atlantic fisheries last year, but fin-to-carcass weight ratios remain in place to enforce finning bans in the U.S. Pacific and most international waters.
"We thank Chairwoman Bordallo for her leadership in this important initiative to safeguard some of the ocean’s most imperiled animals," added Fordham. "We urge prompt passage of these important improvements by the full House and Senate in order to ensure that the U.S. fining ban is the world’s best and a model for other countries."


"Our ocean is essential to the health of everything on the planet including our own. It provides much of the air we breathe, absorbs over a third of the greenhouse gases we produce and maintains the climate we need to survive. Fundamentally, the ocean is the life support system for our planet." [quoted from www.oceanconservancy.org]

Story from: http://www.sharkalliance.org