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Just like so many species above water, it is the same story below. Taking away apex predators just throws a serious wrench in the ecosystem as a whole. Every creature has a purpose and changing just one part can cause a serious disruption that is not aways recoverable. The top feeds the bottom. The oceans are even more fragile on this account. Humans as a whole need to be realistic and see that all resources on this planet are expendable. I am far from a treehuggin- hemp wearing- peace monkey, but when faced with the truth on what is happening out there, it is criminal of me not to stand up and defend what is blatantly wrong. As we become more of a global culture, thanks to the internet, educating the masses will hopefully lead to changes for the positive sooner rather than later. The proper management of a resource is the key to sustaining it.
A HEALTHY OCEAN = A HEALTHY PLANET!
Happy diving and protecting sharks!
Carolyn:sharks:
Just like so many species above water, it is the same story below. Taking away apex predators just throws a serious wrench in the ecosystem as a whole. Every creature has a purpose and changing just one part can cause a serious disruption that is not aways recoverable. The top feeds the bottom. The oceans are even more fragile on this account. Humans as a whole need to be realistic and see that all resources on this planet are expendable. I am far from a treehuggin- hemp wearing- peace monkey, but when faced with the truth on what is happening out there, it is criminal of me not to stand up and defend what is blatantly wrong. As we become more of a global culture, thanks to the internet, educating the masses will hopefully lead to changes for the positive sooner rather than later. The proper management of a resource is the key to sustaining it.
A HEALTHY OCEAN = A HEALTHY PLANET!
Happy diving and protecting sharks!
Carolyn:sharks:
Yes I agree 100%. It's such a pity that people who care about their environment is so often branded as "treehuggin- hemp wearing- peace monk[ies]" as you put it. I'll wear my monkey suit then if that's what I'm labeled/pigeon-holed as but I do deeply care about our environment, not just because of whether my children will one day not know what a shark is because it got expunged decades ago, but also because I've dived with these creatures, I've shared space with them in their domain and I walked away from it with a very healthy respect and a sense of awe of what majestic creatures they are. I don't just want to protect them for my children's sake, but for my own. The same goes for our coral reefs, rhino's, elephants etc. I think that's a selfish enough reason for me to be quite unperturbed about what others think about what monkey suit they make me wear today or tomorrow [edit: in their minds].
__________________
"Don't raise your voice. Improve your argument." - Desmond Tutu
Last edited by Melicertes; May 7th, 2008 at 01:41 PM.
I am all for banning the practice of finning and shark fishing in general. I will tell you why, sharks are on the brink of collapse and will soon be extinct if we continue at this rate. One of the key problems is "out of sight, out of mind". We look at the ocean as this bottomless bounty, and such just is not the case. At this point very few of the world's fisheries are sustainable and i suspect that too is short lived.
I am all for banning the practice of finning and shark fishing in general. I will tell you why, sharks are on the brink of collapse and will soon be extinct if we continue at this rate. One of the key problems is "out of sight, out of mind". We look at the ocean as this bottomless bounty, and such just is not the case. At this point very few of the world's fisheries are sustainable and i suspect that too is short lived.
I agree with everything you've said. The problem is the ocean is too difficult to police and even in the countries where shark finning is illegal, it is still happening on a massive scale. It's the people that have to say enough is enough and stop supporting the fin trade.
This member has said "Thank you." to bikefox for this useful post:
sorry guys but i fish for sharks and eat what i catch. i hunt for deer and bear with a bow and eat what i catch. i have no trophies taxidermed. i don't condone hunting for trophy alone. but i do not condone outlawing my freedoms as a member of earth either. that being said, commercial destruction of wildlife is a travesty.
i am an environmentally sound individual and have not only respect for nature but do preach regard for nature to whom ever I take out into the wilderness whether it be above or below sea level. i DO NOT agree with anything related to shark fin soup because of the obvious ways in which they abuse the bodies (carcass) by not using it in a practical manner. but shark steak is finer then the purest youngest most perfectly cooked piece of beef you have ever had the chance to dine upon. and if you want to go ahead and open a shark farm to supply me with steaks, i wont buy wild caught anymore when i cant catch them myself. but although many of your points are valid, the way to go about addressing the issue needs to be revamped in order to be more widely accepted.
I am all for preventing ecosystem changes through preventing extinction of a top feeder, let's figure out a reasonable and acceptable way to bring it about. Ironically, they have been around over 1000 times longer than the oldest relative of humans, hard to believe we will outlive them here and now ... im thinking we are on our way out too though.... (not a joke)
Don't worry in another hundred years or so, no one will be eating shark fin soup.
Just watched a video sharkwater by Rob Stewart. He points out that 15,000. sharks were killed while I watched the video. Sick! He points out that shark fins do not add taste, just texture to the soup. An interesting disagreement with Ronzo but Tastes vary. I have no problem with eating what you kill, it's the mass killing and wasting that makes me want to go postal on some folks.
Last edited by farsidefan1; May 8th, 2008 at 12:05 AM.
Reason: more data
Does anybody put the blame on Delta for not investigating this possibility beforehand and if so for not being up to speed on the current state of affairs in the worlds oceans and the shrinking population of sharks?
sorry guys but i fish for sharks and eat what i catch. i hunt for deer and bear with a bow and eat what i catch. i have no trophies taxidermed. i don't condone hunting for trophy alone. but i do not condone outlawing my freedoms as a member of earth either. that being said, commercial destruction of wildlife is a travesty...
I'll probably get for this by some, but...
I come from a hunting family myself and I have done my fair share of tracking, hunting and fishing - I've had the foot aches and hook punctured fingers to prove it.
I believe there are two kinds of hunters/gatherers:
1. Those, like me, who believe it is ok to hunt responsibly and ethically for the purpose of using the meat, hide, whatever can be used, and yes the trophy also counts as part of that for some people, although if you knew me IRL, you'd also know I'd never pride myself on the death of something else by glorifying a trophy on my living room wall, but that's just me; and...
2. Those who slaughter indiscriminately only for the trophies and Roland Ward records on their wall without any ethical concern or regard for the consequences of their actions and decisions whatsoever.
I have no beef with someone who hunts with compassion, forethought, and respect. A true hunter often, more than most others, knows how intertwined our relationship is to the animal kingdom. They choose to take skillfully from the land/sea so that there will always be more next year and always take only with discretion, respect and with compassion. I grew up with my Dad's mantra still ringing in my ears - "never take the shot unless you are 100% sure it will be the last and only shot, and always give the prey a fair chance to outwit you and survive. If you want to hunt, then hunt, but don't ever go corner and simply murder something".
Obviously shark finning is a deplorable act in my mind simply for the facts that it's being done for no good reason - texture in your soup? C'mon! And beyond that, the total waste of the entire animal after it's been mutilated and not even to speak of the horrible suffering that animal is put through before dying - despicable. Furthermore the numbers are dwindling because of this practice (amongst others) which goes against everything in me when I need to decide whether such a practice is done with discretion in regards to the health and stability of the marine ecosystem. This is not ethical gathering IMHO, not by a looong shot.
There is a very big difference between commercialized outstripping of resources that leaves a kind of scorched earth, so to speak, in it's wake, and a responsible hunter who gathers with discretion and care.
(Now let me get into my foxhole before the starts! /me swats at that crawling bug on his screen and runz!)
__________________
"Don't raise your voice. Improve your argument." - Desmond Tutu
Does anybody put the blame on Delta for not investigating this possibility beforehand and if so for not being up to speed on the current state of affairs in the worlds oceans and the shrinking population of sharks?
I think we'd really only be speculating without more information; with more information it would certainly weigh a bit in my mind if I were to make a judgment.
1. It could have just been a total situation of ignorance and they may have been as surprised as anyone else when the dish was served but didn't know what to do about it without creating political "waves";
2. They might have known about it from the start and just did not know of the controversial background of the dish, and so nobody did/said anything; or
3. They did know about it and the sensitivity of serving the dish and couldn't have given a blue sea cucumber's intestine about it.
In case 1, I feel that ignorance is no excuse and I would have expected them to still make a statement about their position relating to shark finning as a practice after the event once they figured out there was a bruhaha about the dish being served - I did not see anything published so I don't know if they did. Besides sometimes making "waves" for the right reasons is not such a bad thing IMHO.
In case 2, again I feel that ignorance is no excuse - they could have done the same as I wrote in the paragraph above although I'd be pretty cheesed at them still for knowingly serving the dish without even trying to distance themselves from it - I'd also like to know why they did not do so.
In case 3, well then in that case I feel that I will certainly be making sure that I inform anyone I meet and who plans to fly Delta about their crappy attitude and disregard towards marine conservation. I'll most certainly also not be booking my tickets through them personally. I would rather not support a corporate, or any entity for that matter, who turns such a blatant eye against prudent management of our natural resources, much less even support such mismanagement.
__________________
"Don't raise your voice. Improve your argument." - Desmond Tutu
sorry guys but i fish for sharks and eat what i catch. i hunt for deer and bear with a bow and eat what i catch. i have no trophies taxidermed. i don't condone hunting for trophy alone. but i do not condone outlawing my freedoms as a member of earth either. that being said, commercial destruction of wildlife is a travesty.
i am an environmentally sound individual and have not only respect for nature but do preach regard for nature to whom ever I take out into the wilderness whether it be above or below sea level. i DO NOT agree with anything related to shark fin soup because of the obvious ways in which they abuse the bodies (carcass) by not using it in a practical manner. but shark steak is finer then the purest youngest most perfectly cooked piece of beef you have ever had the chance to dine upon. and if you want to go ahead and open a shark farm to supply me with steaks, i wont buy wild caught anymore when i cant catch them myself. but although many of your points are valid, the way to go about addressing the issue needs to be revamped in order to be more widely accepted.
I am all for preventing ecosystem changes through preventing extinction of a top feeder, let's figure out a reasonable and acceptable way to bring it about. Ironically, they have been around over 1000 times longer than the oldest relative of humans, hard to believe we will outlive them here and now ... im thinking we are on our way out too though.... (not a joke)
Most hunters are environmentally sound. If fishermen just took what they could eat, used the entire animal, and were careful not to harm anything they didn't need, the oceans wouldn't be in nearly as much trouble. This is why I gave up seafood. I don't want to support the irresponsible behavior of fishermen. If I take part in it, I have no right to complain. And odds are if you by a tunafish sandwich from the local sub shop, the guys who caught that tuna are causing just as much ecological damage as the sharkfinners.
I respect your right to feed yourself and I believe you are doing it in a responsible manner. Probably more so than someone who hasn't become intimately involved with the sorce of his food.
THE SHARK RESEARCH INSTITUTE 
for this by some, but...
starts! /me swats at that crawling bug on his screen and runz!)
