Human predators driving sharks to the brink of extinction

Human predators driving sharks to the brink of extinction
Wednesday Jan 07, 2009, Kirstie Knowles, New Zealand Herald

Sharks are monsters of the ocean - creatures of myth and movie. Or so they say. In reality, they are the victims of the horror stories, not the perpetrators, as shark populations worldwide decline.

Only one threatened species - the great white shark - is protected in New Zealand. It is ironic that this species, which was portrayed in the Jaws films as a relentless human killer, is now at risk of extinction largely at the hands of humans.

Blue sharks are recognised internationally as a threatened species by the IUCN and are estimated by Australia's national science agency to have declined by 40 per cent in the Tasman Sea over the past decade. Ministry figures also show that from 2002-2007 more than 80 per cent of blue sharks caught in New Zealand had just their fins landed, with their carcasses dumped at sea.

We know that sharks are long-lived, slow-breeding fish that are highly vulnerable to over-fishing. If we allow finning to continue, we are adding to the serious decline in shark populations caused by this wasteful and abhorrent practice.

High-profile chefs and food writers Peta Mathias, Richard Till, Annabel Langbein, Peter Calder and Julie Le Clerc support a campaign to help stop shark finning. The New Zealand Recreational Fishing Council also backs the pledge, and a Colmar-Brunton poll last year found that 83 per cent of New Zealanders support a ban on shark finning.

Malaysian fishermen face fine over (whale) shark catch

An update on Report: Injured whale shark dies on Malaysia shore.

Good on the Malaysian Fisheries Department! I wonder how much the fine will be...?

Malaysian fishermen face fine over shark catch
Associated Press - January 4, 2009 4:53 AM ET

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - Four Malaysian fishermen are facing fines after reportedly netting and killing a rare 23-foot-long, two-ton whale shark by accident.

The giant fish was towed shore after it got entangled in the nets. 1 of the fishermen tells the New Straits Times newspaper that the shark was still alive when it reached shore but it died shortly after from its propeller wounds.

A Fisheries Department official told the Sunday Star that the four men should have immediately released the shark since it was an endangered and protected species. He says the four have been questioned and their statements have been forwarded to the department's legal unit for further action.

You have the power

A powerful article that enforces the need for individuals to take a personal stand against the problems in our environment and be responsible for our world!

When I have children I want them to still have sharks to admire. I think I can pass on a bowl of sticky soup that will come out my backside anyway!

You Have the Power
Korea Times, Opinion, 01-04-2009, By Rick Ruffin

It seems people are always waiting for scientists, experts, policymakers and government to find the answers. However, the solutions to all our problems can be found at the personal level. Change begins with the individual.

Each year, around the globe, millions of sharks are killed. Their fins and tails are hacked off and they're dumped back into the sea to sink and die. The fins are dried and shipped to Hong Kong and elsewhere in Asia.

These shark fins provide the gooey matrix from which highly popular shark fin soup is made. This dish is popular in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, and wherever rich Chinese people gather. It is especially popular at Chinese weddings.

Because the soup is so popular, the shark population around Cocos Island ― a lush tropical Eden in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Central America ― is rapidly being depleted. If we don't stop eating shark's fin soup, there will be no sharks left.

So let's take this opportunity to say goodbye to the sharks, the giant bluefin tuna, the African rhino endangered by the ivory trade, and thousands of other species of life as well, because unless we start changing our consumption habits radically, they will all disappear.

Second rare shark dies in aquarium mystery

Just realised I never posted the article about the whale shark deaths at the Georgia Aquarium!

The comments are particularly insightful for this article. If the general public understands that large pelagic marine animals are not meant for captivity, there is no reason why aquariums and such facilities do not. The truth is, these facilities ignore this blatantly obvious fact because they are only concerned with profit.

They can white-wash what they are doing with the word "conservation" as much as they like but in the end the sheer action of keeping these animals in captivity proves that they only care about making money!

Second Rare Shark Dies In Aquarium Mystery
Two Rare Whale Sharks Die In Same Atlanta Facility Months Apart
ATLANTA, June 14, 2007 by David S Morgan, CBS News

(CBS/AP) Another whale shark (Norton) died Wednesday at the Georgia Aquarium, the second this year at the only facility outside Asia to display the huge, rare fish.

In January, Ralph, a whale shark who was one of the aquarium's first stars when it opened in 2005, died from peritonitis, an infection in his abdomen.

Aquarium officials said Wednesday that Norton had stopped eating in recent months and swam erratically. Early Wednesday, he settled to the bottom of the aquarium's centerpiece Ocean Voyager tank.

Norton was euthanized after his health didn't improve. His death will be investigated for any possible link to Ralph's death, aquarium officials said.

Ralph had stomach problems that inflamed a membrane in his abdomen, but the aquarium has also said a chemical used in cleaning the sharks' tank may have contributed to Ralph's loss of appetite. The tank-cleaning routine since has been changed.

This Atlanta Journal-Constitution article provides more information about Ralph's death, stating:
The aquarium had four whale sharks until January, when a male, Ralph, died. A necropsy showed the fish died of peritonitis, an inflammation of the abdomen. He also had stomach perforations, possibly caused by force-feeding through a PVC pipe.

Adding to the controversy is the death of Gaspar, a Beluga whale that also died at the aquarium in January. Gaspar, who was rescued from a Mexican amusement park (and was 300 pounds underweight at the time), died of a bone infection.

The deaths of these sharks has the critics circling, reports Strassmann. Much of the criticism is philosophical — whether creatures so enormous, and whale sharks can grow to 40 feet — can ever be kept healthy in captivity.

"There’s sadness over the death of a magnificent animal," Lori Marino, Behavioral Biologist from Emory University told CBS. "And then anger because that animal should not have been there in the first place."

Transformative travel: Readers' tales of trips that changed their lives

Divers have a truly important role to play as advocates of marine conservation. Especially those who have dived with sharks and experienced being with these amazing animals in close range, send me your stories!

Transformative travel: Readers' tales of trips that changed their lives
3 January 2009, USA Today

HE WAS IN OVER HIS HEAD - AND LOVING IT

I learned scuba diving at the request of my daughter Philipa when I was 60 years old and fell in love with it. As a thank you, I invited her on a cage dive to see great white sharks at the Pacific island of Guadalupe, Mexico, with sharkdiver.com. Standing in the cage, I saw my first shark swimming by, so close that I could almost touch him. I was 64 years then and I never imagined how this trip would give my life a totally different direction.

When I sold my ranch in upstate New York a couple years later, I started to book dive trips where sharks were included. My first shark dive without a cage was in the Bahamas. Jumping into the ocean, knowing that there were at least a dozen Caribbean reef sharks down there, was a bit weird. But I jumped in anyway.

The sharks were inquisitive but never aggressive. I fell in love with those beautiful, amazing and highly developed animals. I started to read every book I could find and started my own website, sharkprotect.com. I am now an avid shark protector and am now on the Board of Trustees of the Shark Research Institute in Princeton, N.J. I give presentations about sharks in schools and colleges to tell as many young people about the importance of sharks in our oceans.

After 120 shark dives, I am still in love with sharks and take every opportunity I get to dive with them.

— Jupp Kerckerinck zur Borg, Millbrook, N.Y.

Report: Injured whale shark dies on Malaysia shore

News from Malaysia. I'm interested in seeing what their fishery officials have to say about this, if they will say anything at all.

Report: Injured whale shark dies on Malaysia shore
January 3, 2009, International Herald Tribune

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: A rare 23-foot-long (7-meter-long) whale shark got entangled in a fishing net off Malaysia's northwest coast and was towed to shore but died due to injuries, local media reported Saturday.

Fisherman Key Chai Yang told the New Straits Times newspaper that it took two hours to tow the two-ton shark, known as a Rhincodon Typus, to land after it got entangled in his fishing net early Friday.

He said the shark was still alive when it reached shore in northern Penang state in Malaysia's northwest, but it died shortly after from the multiple cuts it suffered from the propeller blades under his boat.

Why would you tow it to shore? Just cut it loose! Of course it would die from such senseless and cruel treatment!

I'm surprised that the article didn't mention the Endangered status of the whale shark. Such a shame that people are treating this incredible gentle giant with such ignorance.

Which also raises the question... how is Resort World Sentosa planning to "import" their whale shark, which most definitely will have to be transported from another country?

Whale sharks net a saviour

Happy New Year! I hope everybody had a good break over Christmas. I've been busy with preparations for 2009 and our campaign events will be revealed very shortly.

Meanwhile, here's a nice snippet from India again to start the new year on a happy and hopeful note. Remember, we all can make a difference, no matter how small!

Our unsung heroes
1 Jan 2009, 1408 hrs IST, The Times of India

WHALE SHARKS NET A SAVIOUR
Once indiscriminately slaughtered by fishermen in the coastal areas of Saurashtra in Gujarat, the endangered whale shark has found an unlikely saviour in Dinesh Goswami. Goswami, who learnt about the fate of whale sharks in a documentary by environmentalist Mike Pandey, decided to make it his mission to save them.

Every time a whale shark gets caught in a fishing net, he rushes to the rescue. Even if it means giving up his daily wage of Rs 160 at a private company in Sutrapada taluka of Junagadh district.

Most times, it's not an easy mission. Rough weather and a choppy sea make it a risky affair. But a saved whale shark is worth all the trouble, says Goswami, who has rescued as many as 50 so far.

Describing his most dangerous rescue so far, Goswami recounts, "State officials called me after reports that a shark was trapped in a net. After we set off, the sea got very rough and every minute, we thought the boat would overturn. Thankfully, we managed to save the whale shark and return safely." Goswami now runs Paryawaran Mitra, an NGO for the protection of sea animals.