***SHARKWATER*** BUY IT ON DVD TODAY 4/8! A film everyone should see!
There is alot of information on this page to educate & inform; to help you be proactive! My hope is that when you join this group, you take the initiative & sign the important petitions posted on this page. Any one can join this group, but please, if you are here, the very least you can do is add your signature to some very important petitions. You can sign anonymously if you like. Take 2 min out of your day & sign. You will have contributed to a very important environmental issue. Thank you in advance for your time >.. classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" width="425px" height="360px" >
Finning makes use of only 2 to 5 percent of the animal, but shark fins are now one of the most highly valued marine commodities. A bowl of shark fin soup can sell for $100, so there is high incentive for fishermen to fin.
Sharks evolved 400 million years ago, we could now lose some species in the next decade. Sharks in general have a small litter size, slow growth rate, and a relatively long gestation period 1-2 yrs. It takes a long time for a shark to mature (approx 6-8 years)
Sharks are critical to the entire marine ecosystem: they are top predators and help to keep smaller sharks and rays from devouring too many scallops, clams and other commercially important species of marine life.
Six more of the sharks were added to the official Red List of species at risk of dying out yesterday (5/21/08) bringing the total to 11 sharks and rays out of 21 species studied, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The six named were the Thresher shark, Silky shark, Shortfin mako, the Pelagic thresher, the Bigeye thresher and the Salmon shark.
They join a list already occupied by the Whale shark, Great white shark, Megamouth shark and Basking shark.
***Jacques Cousteau had warned us about declining shark populations
in 1970*** We are now at a critical point in shark conservation...a critical point in our own lives...
Life on Earth is disappearing fast and will continue to do so unless urgent action is taken. There are now 41,415 species on the IUCN Red List and 16,306 of them are threatened with extinction, up from 16,118 last year. The total number of extinct species has reached 785 and a further 65 are only found in captivity or in cultivation.
It is urgent to bring attention to this matter now!!! It is imperative to all life forms on the planet. We cannot keep over fishing & toying with the delicate balance of the ecosystem. Please do not eat shark fin soup or buy shark products. If we do not buy, there is no market!
A news story released today (3/25/08) from CNN shows how shark populations are being monitored & studied...here’s the link:
http://www.cnn.com/video//video/us/2008/03/24/zarrella.pip.saving.sharks.cnn
The Cost of Shark Fin Soup: Its Source May Vanish!!! We divers inherently know that this is critical to all life forms.
All for a bowl of soup???? This is preposterous!!!!!! No nutritional value, no medicinal value, a luxury item with no flavor!!! And listen up...THE HIGHEST MERCURY CONTENT FOUND OF ANY & ALL SEAFOOD! Not even good for you in any way, shape or form!!!!
There are alternative sustainable sea food sources! Visit www.seafoodwatch.org to see the list. This site will help you make sea food choices for healthy oceans.
Other shark uses:
Make-up
Lipstick and skin care are made out of shark’s stomach.
Medicine
Pills are used out of the liver of sharks called shark liver oil pills.
These pills are used for "medicine"
Together we CAN make a difference!
Watch SHARKWATER!
New vid from my friend & environmental film maker MA Shumin on the plight of sharks and what one chinese restaurant in NYC is doing about it. If you live or are visiting the NYC area, please patronize:
Buddha Bodai
http://www.chinatownvegetarian.com
Chinese, Vegetarian, Dim Sum, Kosher
5 Mott St, New York 10013
Phone: 212-566-8388
Check out this blog from MA Shumin:
http://notesfromtheeastvillage.blogspot.com/2008/03/shark-fin-soup-cultural-environmental_10.html
I think she lends important insight to the issue of shark finning. She will, in all likelyhood, get you to think about it differently too...and a film is in the works.
Check out The Waves of Change Conference this November in Malta...marine sustainabilty & how to get involved
http://www.thewavesofchange.org/
"As one of our most precious assets, the Ocean is indispensable to life itself. It is the largest habitat for living things in our solar system and sustains our lives with over 50 percent of the Earth’s oxygen. Without our Oceans, we wouldn’t be able to breathe; we wouldn’t be able to eat; we wouldn’t be able to live."
LET’S BEGIN HERE>>>
Help to establish a GLOBAL BAN on SHARK FINNING!!! PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION!
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/345265363
AND ><))))’>
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/400108473
AND ><))))'>
http://www.amcs.org.au/default2.asp?active_page_id=491
AND... PLEASE VISIT:
http://www.savingsharks.com
http://www.sharksavers.org
http://www.seashepherd.org
http://www.wildaid.org
http://www.stopsharkfinning.net/news.htm
http://www.oceanconservancy.org
http://www.sharks.org
SHARKWATER DVD Release Party & Fundraiser for Shark Savers NYC with Captain Paul Watson of Sea Shepherd & Rob Stewart!