Sharks are in trouble. For 400 million years sharks have protected and shaped the health of our ocean ecosystems. But many species are threatened with extinction within our lifetime. Shark
fin traders may kill as many as 8,000 sharks per hour. Global attitudes are rapidly shifting in
favor of sharks. What can Texans do? We can ban the sale and consumption of shark fins in our state.

Join our grassroots campaign to spread the word!
Hawaii, California, Oregon and Washington have already done it and we can, too! WHY?

#1 Sharks are at risk
According to scientists, at least 107 species of sharks worldwide have had population
sizes so dramatically reduced they warrant international concern. When shark
populations are destroyed, the overall health of ocean ecosystems decline.

#2 The shark fin trade is destructive
Like elephant ivory, rhino horn, bear paws, and other rare or exotic animal parts, shark
fin is sold for astronomical sums as a status symbol. The shark fin trade drives mass
slaughter, poaching, inhumane practices, and crime. Shark fin sells for up to 250 times
the value of shark steaks and other body parts. This economic distortion means that
most sharks are “finned” at sea or on the docks and their bodies left to rot.

#3 Texas supports the problem…and the solution
Though Texas ended its participation in the ivory, rhino horn, and bear paw trades, our
state has not yet banned shark fin trading. Even worse, Texas is a key facilitator for the
international fin trade. In addition to selling fins here, traders use our ports and borders
to traffic fins from all over the world to countries in Asia and elsewhere. Measures in the
Hawaii, California, Washington, and Oregon passed with near-unanimous bipartisan
support after voters called upon policymakers to shut down the trade. Let’s join them.
Together we can make a difference! Join our Facebook page and sign our petition.
We’re also forming a new Texas chapter of Shark Stewards, a nationally-recognized
non-profit for ocean advocacy. Contact Anna Clark at anna@earthpeopleco.com.

Texans for Sharks
Help us save the oceans by protecting these important predators!

Sign the petition.

Sharks are in trouble. For 400 million years sharks have protected our ocean ecosystem. But many species are threatened with extinction within our lifetime. Shark fin traders may kill as many as 8000 sharks per hour. Global attitudes are rapidly shifting in favor of sharks. What can Texans do?  We can ban the sale and consumption of shark fins in our state. Join our grassroots campaign to spread the word!

Hawaii, California, Oregon and Washington have already done it and we can, too! WHY?

#1 Sharks are at risk
According to scientists, at least 107 species of sharks worldwide have had population sizes  so  dramatically  reduced  they  warrant  international  concern.  When  shark populations are destroyed, the overall health of ocean ecosystems decline.

#2 The shark fin trade is destructive
Like elephant ivory, rhino horn, bear paws, and other rare or exotic animal parts, shark fin is sold for astronomical sums as a status symbol. The shark fin trade drives mass slaughter, poaching, inhumane practices, and crime. Shark fin sells for up to 250 times the value of shark steaks and other body parts. This economic distortion means that most sharks are “finned” at sea or on the docks and their bodies left to rot.

#3 Texas supports the problem…and the solution
Though Texas ended its participation in the ivory, rhino horn, and bear paw trades, our state has not yet banned shark fin trading. Even worse, Texas is a key facilitator for the international fin trade. In addition to selling fins here, traders use our ports and borders to traffic fins from all over the world to countries in Asia and elsewhere.  Measures in Hawaii, California, Washington, and Oregon passed with near-unanimous bipartisan support after voters called upon policymakers to shut down the trade.  Let’s join them."

Together we can make a difference! We’ve formed a new Texas chapter of SharkStewards, a nationally-recognized non-profit for ocean advocacy. Join our Facebook page Shark Stewards Texas Chapter  and sign our petition.

Contact chapter chair Anna Clark at anna@earthpeopleco.com.

Shark  Stewards  is  a  program  of  Sea  Stewards,  a  501c3  non-profit  dedicated  to conserving our oceans through the protection of sharks.  Visit  www.sharkstewards.org for information and videos from experts."

Local Chapter to Spearhead Efforts and Legislation to Conserve Oceans & Sharks

Contact Email  dmcguire@tirn.net

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) March 25, 2012

Shark Stewards, a non-profit shark conservation organization based in California and responsible for leading that state's recent campaign to ban the shark fin trade, announced the launch of its new Chicago chapter to support shark conservation efforts in Illinois. Shark Stewards is dedicated to conserving ocean health through the protection of sharks. The local chapter of Shark Stewards will focus on engaging citizens and supporting legislation HB 4119 (Feigenholtz) to ban the trade, sale, and consumption of shark fin in the state of Illinois.

According to scientists, at least 107 species of sharks worldwide have had population sizes so reduced that they are threatened with extinction. The shark fin trade is widely believed to drive the world-wide overfishing of sharks, with over 100 million sharks killed every year. “The process of shark finning – killing sharks solely for the fins – is wasteful, cruel and causing shark populations to decline dramatically,” explains David McGuire, Shark Stewards’ executive director and award-winning conservation filmmaker and marine biologist. “When shark populations are reduced, the overall health of ocean ecosystems declines. By reducing the demand for shark fin we can help stop the devastation occurring in our oceans.” Shark Stewards is presently creating a legislative toolkit to support volunteers for similar legislation in other states.

“I am thrilled to help Sharks here in Chicago,” said Janet Thomas, chair of the Shark Stewards Illinois Chapter, a dive expedition leader and owner of 3rd Coast, an award winning restaurant located in the Gold Coast of Chicago. “Measures to eliminate trade in shark fins have been passed with near-unanimous bipartisan support in Hawaii, California, Washington, and Oregon. I believe we can make it happen here, too. We are dishing up something special to support sharks at 3rd Coast Friday night the 30th to support shark protection.”

Similar efforts are underway in Texas, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, Florida, and New York.

The newly launched Shark Stewards Chicago Chapter has already begun assembling a team of volunteers and supporters  to participate in two awareness and fund raising events March 29 and 30th in Chicago.

“I am energized by the number of people who are interested in this important issue,” said respected local jazz musician and sustainable energy champion Jeff Morrison. “We are going to party for the sharks!”  Morrison will be playing as a benefit at the popular venue The Local Option on 1102 Webster Thursday March 29. The Local Option is in Lincoln Park, and features the city's largest and most unique selection of local, regional and international beers on tap.  McGuire will be attending both events with other shark specialists in support of the Illinois effort.

For more information and resources, visit sharkstewards.org.

About Shark Stewards

Shark Stewards is a 501c3 non-profit dedicated to conserving our oceans through the protection of sharks. The program was launched in 2006 to champion shark conservationa nd ocean health. Visit http://www.sharkstewards.org for information and videos from experts.

At the current rate we will have fished out all the large beneficial species by 2048.

If you have ever dived with a shark as it slides through the sea, watched a swordfish flare its dorsal and feed, or experienced a wild Bluefin tuna the size of a Volkswagen swim past, then you realize how beautiful and how important these fish are in there own right.  Not just sushi, not just a swordfish steak, not just a fin in a bowl of soup. Perfectly adapted to the marine world as apex predators, these ocean animals are important components of a healthy ocean.  Top predators are also getting contaminated through accumulating toxins like mercury and organic pollutants.  Some fish are just not health to eat anymore and this includes sharks, swordfish and most tuna.

We need to think of these animals as benefitting humans alive and not just at the end of a hook.  Its time we appreciate ocean predators and work to protect them. 

Take the pledge to Protect Ocean Predators.  Please take the pledge to keep these animals alive for the health of the oceans and the health of humans.

Please support our work by Donating so we can continue this campaign to combat harful fishing and consumption practices.

Shark Fins are in the news and it is a controversial topic pitting ecosystem and animal protection against cultural values.

Despite Dr. Giam Choo Hoo's denial that shark finning is a problem and the trade is not overfishing sharks, there is a global movement beginnning to appreciate the importance of sharks and stop the harmful shark fin trade.  Despite that Dr. Hoo participates on CITES and well knows that these agreements are international, non binding and subject to pressure from large powerful nations with fishing interests, he argues that only a few listed species of sharks are endangered because only a few are listed. Dr. Hoo's criticism of racism are as specious as his allegations that there are no other movements to protect species associated with other cultures or nations.  How about whaling in Antarctica and the Faroes, the Canadia Harp Seal hunt, Taijii dolphin massacres?  This circular reasoning and the fact that Dr. Hoo (A Veternarian, not a scientist)  is well known to be associated with the shark fin interests in Singapore reduce his credibility to that of his limited arguments.

Chinese all over the world, including China are now speaking up for sharks.  Lets take this agrument away from the people profting and stand up for sharks for all cultures, before its too late.

New York, Texas, Illinois, Maryland and Florida are joining in the effort to limit the trade and stop selling the blood diamonds of the sea. 

From our partner the Humane Society US.

Please find attached, the PDFs of the New York Times print story and final press release – linkable online version here.

CNN Report: Scientists Say Millions of Sharks are Killed Each Year to Make Shark Fin Soup

New York Times: Bill in Albany Would Ban Sale of Shark Fins

Wall Street Journal: Lawmakers Move to Sink Shark-Fin Soup (a shorter version ran in print)

AFP: New York Eyes Shark Fin Trade Ban

Washington Post: Is the Shark Fin Ban Culturally Biased?

Gothamist: Shark Fin Soup May Be Sunk in New York

Crain’s New York: Should New York state ban shark fin sales?

Huffington Post: Shark Fin Ban Likely to Be Approved in New York State

Blog by Jupp from SRI: Shark Fin Legislation – Long Overdue

Chinese media – The World Journal and China Press stories were distributed internationally on major Chinese media wires including the state-owned Xinhua news wire and Sina Weibo news site. Here are links to some of the primary coverage. The Sinovision TV story and Chinese radio stories are not available online.

World Journal: Grace Meng Sponsors Bill to Ban Trade in Shark Fin

Sing Tao: Animal Advocacy Groups Urge Public to Support Shark Fin Ban Bill

Ming Pao: Grace Meng Sponsors Bill to Ban Shark Fin

China Press: State Assembly Members Sponsor Bill to Ban Shark Fin Bill

New Tang Dynasty TV: State Assembly Members Sponsors Bill to Ban Shark Fin Trade

Epoch Times: Banning Shark Fin Trade, New York Assembly Members Sponsor Bill

Last year I participated in a six week expedition to the Philippines with the California Academy of Sciences, as part of a joint Biological Diversity Expedition with the Philippines Natural History Museum. As filmmaker and a research assistant, I was searching for sharks.

Our team dove approximately 6000 total hours off the main island of Luzon. In that entire time, we discovered hundreds of new species of invertebrates and fish but only observed two small White-tipped reef sharks hunkered down in the dubious protection of a dive resort.  In this region known as the "Center of the Center of Biodiversity" we witnessed few fish bigger than a dinner plate swimming on the coral reef.  "The first time I dove here thirty years ago there were so many sharks it made me nervous." Dr. McCosker confessed to the camera in part of a series produced with ABC News titled Reefs to Rainforest.

In the fish market we did not find any sharks for sale.  They had all been finned and sold to China.  "But we do have rays," one man offered.  Among the reef fish in the iced bins I observed Eagle Rays and Mobula Rays: the new shark fin.

Philippine Senator Loren Legarda has called yesterday for the passage of a law that will make shark hunting punishable by law.
The Senator cited how the inhumane practice of finning sharks is also causing harm to the environment and sea ecosystem.

"Clearly, the absence of a law forbidding the catching of sharks gives people the courage to continue the practice, which could eventually lead to the extinction of shark species in the country, especially that they reproduce slowly," Legarda said in a statement.   As in other areas of the world, shark tourism is increasing in the Philippines creating ongoing economic opportunities.

Asian countries like Singapore and Hong Kong are working towards shark finning regulations as well as limiting the shark fin trade. Recently passed laws in the Western US banning the shark fin trade is limiting the market and making trade more difficult. Banning the fin trade is omportant, but we have to stop overfishing sharks.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature assessed in its Red List of Threatened Species that 30 percent of shark populations around the world are Threatened or Near Threatened with extinction. Since sharks are top predators, their depletion also damages the health of entire ocean ecosystems. Encouraging countries in Asia and elsewhere to stop shark killing is of paramount importance.

There is increasing evidence that Asian countries are becoming aware of the plight of sharks. In December, Taiwan, the fourth largest shark hunting nation passed a law banning the practice of shark finning. Several large hotel chains in Hong Kong and Singapore announced they would stop selling shark fin soup.

On our Philippine's expedition we did see another shark, a new species of Swell shark collected from a deep sea trawl.  With building momentum here in the west and awareness in the east to protect sharks from finning, perhaps there is hope we can protect sharks and even understand them as a species before they go extinct.

Shark fin bans have already been implemented in Hawaii, Washington, Oregon and California, and similar legislation has been introduced in Florida and New York.

"We applaud the efforts in Illinois and other states, following passage of our own State ban in California." Said Shark Stewards Director, David McGuire. "Sharks are vital for marine ecosystem balance, and the rate they are being removed from the oceans is destroying that balance."

These bans are ultimately lead  to curtail shark finning, the practice of extracting the animal’s fin and throwing it back in the ocean.  The demand for the Asian delicacy shark fin soup makes the distribution of shark fins a destructive trade throughout the world.

A poll taken by the Monterey Bay Aquarium revealed that Californians of all ages and backgrounds – including more than two-thirds of California’s Chinese-American voters – support a ban on sale, possession and trade in shark fins during that state's successful campaign.

Even as shark fin traders try to circumvent California's with a lawsuit, shark fin regulations are being proposed in Maryland and Virginia and discussion is occurring in Florida.  A grassroots effort in Texas initiated by Shark Stewards is well underway.

"Too many sharks are being killed worldwide, largely driven by the fin trade. Laws like this are necessary to control illegally harvested shark fins from entering our markets." Adds McGuire. "Reducing that trade will help dry up profits for shark finners and fin traders and reduce shark killing."

Shark Stewards is a non profit project of the Turtle Island Restoration Network.

1. What measurable outcome do you want to achieve in the world?

To protect shark populations and begin to restore the balance of our oceans by banning the unsustainable shark fin trade through grassroots activism.

2. Why? The practice of shark finning is the single gravest overfishing problem in the world’s oceans. High take levels not only threaten shark populations themselves, they create imbalance to and ultimately collapse of marine ecosystems.  Nearly one third of sharks are listed by the IUCN as threatened; a hundred shark species are listed as commercially exploited. Yet only three species of shark are protected under CITES.  Rising demand has yielded increased fishing.  The result is extirpation of local populations and poaching of protected areas such as Cocos Island, the Galapagos and Indonesia.  The reaction to this cataclysm by governing bodies remains lethargic; the enforcement of current regulations remains feeble.  The current trajectory of response virtually guarantees the extinction of multiple shark species. Only immediate measures that reduce the demand for shark fin can reverse this trend in time to ensure the genetic diversity and sufficient stock to restore healthy, sustainable populations. 

3. What activities or tactics will you do to make this happen? Develop a freely available toolkit that trains grassroots activists and provides a roadmap for two key activities: 1. Motivating and assisting campaigns for passing legislative local and regional bans; 2. Making available information, tools, and a network to combat the fin trade.

4. How will you engage new people and grow them into leadership positions? Drawing on its experience in fostering California’s AB 376 and a campaign already underway in Texas, Shark Stewards will host an international symposium and workshop to catalyze action in other jurisdictions. This symposium will host individual activists—both those already identified as possessing leadership capability, and others to be recruited through personal networking and social media sites, at meetings and film screenings, and at dive and ocean events world-wide. The workshop will train participants to form “fin teams” that take direct action that raises public awareness, initiates shark fin legislation, and further spreads the movement through social media and grassroots organizing. Shark Stewards will also continue to drive the movement via an on-line campaign that builds additional awareness, and provides the tool kit via free download.

5. How much do you anticipate spending and what would the grant funds be used for? Shark Stewards requests $9,000 dollars (of a $25,000 budget) to host a meeting of shark biologists, scientists and activists to develop the toolkit.  This meeting will first create a common strategy, and then develop the specific tactical tools and necessary supporting materials required to catalyze local, regional shark fin bans. Materials will initially be available in English and Chinese, and will include tactics such as how to negotiate the minefield that surrounds efforts that effectively ban a long-standing cultural tradition, the consumption of shark fin soup.

6. Are you applying for c3 (educational/administrative) or c4 (legislative/advocacy) funds? This proposal requests c3 funds.

Comments:

Shark Stewards is uniquely qualified to design and assist campaigns to ban the practice of shark finning. From initiating a local ban (Tiburon, California, 2007), and then leading the effort to the successful California shark fin ban in 2011, the program leader is recognized internationally as the leading authority on this strategy and has been solicited for strategic and tactical direction by activists in jurisdictions such as Vancouver, Toronto, Singapore, Texas, and Florida.  More information is available at www.seastewards.org