shark finning, it´s cruel and have to stop

[MIST]

I prefer to have sharks at a distance, but I can´t stand this cruelty

"Every year tens of millions of sharks die a slow death because of finning. Finning is the inhumane practice of hacking off the shark's fins and throwing its still living body back into the sea. The sharks either starve to death, are eaten alive by other fish, or drown (if they are not in constant movement their gills cannot extract oxygen from the water). Shark fins are being "harvested" in ever greater numbers to feed the growing demand for shark fin soup, an Asian "delicacy".

Not only is the finning of sharks barbaric, but their indiscriminate slaughter at an unsustainable rate is pushing many species to the brink of extinction. Since the 1970s the populations of several species have been decimated by over 95%. Due to the clandestine nature of finning, records are rarely kept of the numbers of sharks and species caught. Estimates are based on declared imports to shark fin markets such as Hong Kong and China.

StopSharkFinning.net is campaigning to achieve a worldwide ban on shark finning. That means that all sharks caught must be landed intact - their fins must not be removed while the shipping vessel is at sea.

If you are concerned about the plight of sharks - an animal that has been around since before the dinosaurs - there are plenty of things you can do to help. So go to our campaigns page and take action now! "

http://www.stopsharkfinning.net/petitions.htm

Avoid these restaurants , they sell shark finn soup
http://www.stopsharkfinning.net/boycott.htm

 

[Travis]

How disgusting. I don't understand the cruelty of this world.

 

[Ashtanga]

:no:


Human beings are very cruel... I wonder to what extent can reach such cruelty. Very sad.

 

[Severus Snape]

Ah, yeah...the soup. I was wondering what on Earth people would want a shark fin for, but yeah, the Asian delicacy. They should raise the price--no one would want to buy it then, lol.

 

[Ashtanga]

I stumbled across this yesterday:

"I am totally against the practice of finning, that cruel fishing of shark fin, that worth much money", says Jacques Dequeker

In 2009 he was invited to be artistic ambassador of Sea Shepherd, an NGO that supports marine life.


seashepherd.org.br

jacquesdequeker.com




Pictures by Jacques Dequeker

Amazing pictures! :wild: He is a photographer passionate about sharks.

http://seashepherd.org.br/

 

[MIST]

The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF), the world’s largest tuna conservation coalition, recently passed a comprehensive resolution that will prohibit its members from supporting the shark finning industry.

On Tuesday, the ISSF Board of Directors passed a resolution that will require its members to adopt written policies that prohibit the practice of shark finning and refrain from transactions with fishing vessels that engage in the practice.

Shark finning is a controversial practice whereby sharks are separated from their fins while still alive and then tossed back into the sea to die. Harvesting the fins, which are a delicacy in Asian cultures, is directly responsible for 73 million shark deaths every year.

The resolution, which will go into effect on June 1, 2012, is intended to urge ISSF members to strengthen their management of sharks caught in association with tuna fisheries by prohibiting shark finning and adopting the mandatory reporting of shark catches by species.

And by September 2012, processors, traders, importers, transporters and others involved in the seafood industry will be required to refrain from transactions with vessels that carry out shark finning or with vessel owning companies that do not have a public policy prohibiting shark finning.

“There is no room for shark finning in a sustainable tuna fishery,” said Susan Jackson, President of ISSF. “We’re calling on the tuna industry as a whole to prohibit this practice while we work with RFMO member nations to strengthen management and enforcement measures and for national governments to follow through with implementation.”

The ISSF’s resolution helps to reinforce the U.S. states and other nations that have already taken a stand against shark finning. In October 2011, the state of California joined Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, Toronto and Guam by enacting a law against the sale, possession or distribution of shark fins.



Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/worlds-...alition-bans-shark-finning.html#ixzz29GJKv5o2

 

[MIST]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zep7B1esW-M" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

EU Finning Regulation: Latest News23 Apr 2013
EUROPE// On the 22nd November 2012, shark conservationists around Europe celebrated as the European Parliament demonstrated overwhelming support for strengthening the EU finning ban in a landslide vote - 566-47 members voted in favour of the proposal to land sharks with their fins naturally attached.

Since then the Shark Trust and Shark Alliance colleagues have been closely monitoring the regulations progress:

22nd April 2013: The EU Finning Regulation has continued its frustratingly slow progress through the European &#8216;process&#8217; passing from translators to lawyers to Committees, but not yet bearing that final signature which will trigger implementation. However, it is understood that today the final version has been reconsidered by the Coordinator of the Fisheries Committee and we hope this will lead to final adoption sooner rather than later! We&#8217;ll be sure to keep you posted!

18th December 2012: Following the overwhelming support (566-47) of the European Parliament in late November the Shark Trust, and Shark Alliance colleagues, have been closely monitoring the regulations progress as it returned to the Council of Ministers. Despite such a resounding defeat Mrs Patrão Neves, the Portuguese Rapporteur, maintained ownership of the file and potentially had opportunity to seek introduction of further amendments to the final regulation. However, the Council of Fisheries Ministers have held their ground, and despite protests from Spain and Portugal, intend to see the regulation adopted in the new year (2013) under the Irish Presidency.

http://www.sharktrust.org/en/news/article/255

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xVKrwsXvC0A" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

What can I do as an individual?

There are many things you can do as an individual against the exploitation of sharks:

1.Refuse to eat in restaurants that serve shark fin soup or any other shark products
2.Do not shop in any grocery stores that sell shark - All sharks are endangered on a global level.
3.Tell as many people as you can about the wrongful act of shark finning.
4.Open your mind and understand these magnificent creatures.

http://www.oceanicdefense.org/campaigns/stop-shark-finning.html

 

[MIST]

Success! EU Closes Shark Finning Ban Loopholes
by Beth Buczynski
July 12, 2013
5:00 am

In a big win for sharks, the European Union earlier this week finally adopted a strict ban on shark finning.

Officially shark finning, a process whereby fins are harvested from living sharks, has been illegal in the EU since 2003. However, as we reported in late 2012, loopholes and exemptions in the law allowed the process to continue. Now, at long last, the process has been outlawed once and for all.

Under the previous law, EU Member States were allowed to issue &#8220;special permits&#8220; for fishing vessels to remove shark fins on board.

In 2012, members of the European Parliament voted to pass a European Commission proposal that would close these dangerous loopholes by discontinuing the issuance of the special permits. The resolution was adopted with 566 votes in favor, 47 against and 16 abstentions.

Although it was a step in the right direction, the proposal didn&#8217;t solve the issue of shark finning directly, since it only prohibited the removal of fins at sea, not the hunting and killing of sharks, which could later be de-finned on land.

Now, with the new regulation in place, conservationists finally have a law that can make a difference for these vital members of the marine ecosystem.

&#8220;At long last, the EU has a real and enforceable ban on shark finning, with global implications,&#8221; commented Xavier Pastor, executive director of Oceana in Europe, in a press release.

&#8220;The EU catches more sharks than any country in the world and plays a key role in regional fisheries management organizations where finning remains an acknowledged problem,&#8221; the statement continues. &#8221;After ten years with a flawed ban in place, it can now make a serious effort to tackle the issue internationally.&#8221;

Care2 Success: It&#8217;s thanks to millions of concerned citizens around the world that the European Union was not allowed to continue with a toothless shark fin law for too long. Thousands of Care2 members signed petitions like this one, asking the EU to reevaluate its stance on shark finning, and outlaw the practice permanently.

Thanks to dedicated community members like you, the sharks will now have a fighting chance in European waters. But the battle doesn&#8217;t end here.

&#8220;Now that the finning ban has finally been amended, it&#8217;s time for the EU to focus on other, equally important measures to reduce fisheries threats to sharks,&#8221; added Dr. Allison Perry, marine wildlife scientist with Oceana. &#8220;The EU&#8217;s Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks, adopted in 2009, laid out a broad suite of actions that were &#8211; and remain &#8211; necessary for these vulnerable fish.&#8221;


Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/success-eu-closes-shark-finning-ban-loopholes.html#ixzz2YuYj1wv0

 

[MIST]

Uh Oh, People Are Still Shark Finning Legally in Costa Rica Despite the Ban


Sharks are paying with their lives for this loophole

When you create a law to regulate something, there&#8217;s always the danger that people will drive a truck through the loopholes, adhering to the letter of the law but not its spirit. When we wrote about Costa Rica banning shark finning last year, we couldn&#8217;t have known what would happen&#8230;

INTERPOL reports:

An INTERPOL Purple Notice has been circulated for a modus operandi of the technique where only a band of skin to keep the fin attached to the spine is retained and the remainder of the body discarded at sea. This method is aimed at circumventing legislation banning finning which states that the fins of the shark must be &#8216;naturally attached&#8217; to the body.

Why do fishermen do this? Because shark fins are a lot more valuable than the rest of the shark, so it&#8217;s more profitable to fill your boat with just the fins. But now that there&#8217;s a ban on just fins, they are circumventing the prohibition by keeping the fins attached to the shark&#8217;s spine, something that is totally against the spirit of the law.

INTERPOL&#8217;s goal is to alert other governments about this method:

Head of NCB San José Gustavo Chinchilla said: &#8220;This is an opportunity to encourage other member countries to share types of modi operandi, in order to alert enforcement authorities to environmental crimes. I strongly believe that international cooperation and use of INTERPOL´s tools, such as Purple Notices, allow us to provide a more coordinated and effective response to addressing fisheries issues.&#8221;

The Purple Notice &#8211; to seek or provide information on modi operandi, objects, devices and concealment methods used by criminals &#8211; was requested by Costa Rica following its first National Environmental Security Seminar (NESS) held in San José in August of this year.

Hopefully it is made clear to fishermen that this is not &#8216;ok&#8217; and not legal and rules against shark finning are enforced. Poor sharks already have a hard time enough as it is&#8230;

This post was originally published in TreeHugger



Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/uh-oh-p...costa-rica-despite-the-ban.html#ixzz2kY3tfq8v

 

[MIST]

Stop Shark Finning: Add Your Picture Now
Sharks are essential members of ocean ecosystems. They cull sick fish before disease can sweep through entire fisheries. Without these apex predators, we will be faced with a global collapse of marine resources that will devastate coastal communities that depend on the ocean as their primary food source.

Scientists estimate that more than 100 million sharks are being killed each year. Most sharks are killed for the harvest of their fins. They are hauled aboard, their fins are hacked off, and the living animal is thrown overboard. Unable to swim, it sinks to the ocean floor, where it slowly dies. The fins are used as the principal ingredient in a high-priced soup that symbolizes success in many Asian cultures.

Here's how you can take action:

Take a picture of yourself or your friends holding your hand above your head to depict a fin, which symbolizes shark support. Be creative.
Sea Save Foundation is building a photo mosaic that will be used as an ocean-protection billboard. Each uploaded image will become one pixel in this mosaic. Twenty thousand images will send one clear message: “Be Part of the Global Picture: Say No to Shark Fin Soup.” Submit your image here, and it will be incorporated in our powerful mosaic and PSA billboard or e-mail your picture to giveemfin@seasave.org.
Then share your story: Why do you believe sharks should be protected?
https://takeaction.takepart.com/act...ture-now?cmpid=action-eml-recurring-shark-sys