A harsh accusation

[Porkfried]

I just watched Shark Odyssey. They got extremely graphic footage of a shark being caught and finned. It seems unlikely to me that the film makers would just happen to be filming Nicole (the shark) when she got finned. It honestly looked to me like they finned her themselves.

Being a documentary a great white, it's already going for sensationalism, getting a close look at shark finning is sensational.

I don't actually have any hard evidence or anything, I'm just wondering what you guys think. Have you seen the documentary? What did you think? Have you ever heard of shark filmmakers finning a shark?

[Mr.X]

I just watched Shark Odyssey. They got extremely graphic footage of a shark being caught and finned. It seems unlikely to me that the film makers would just happen to be filming Nicole (the shark) when she got finned. It honestly looked to me like they finned her themselves.

Being a documentary a great white, it's already going for sensationalism, getting a close look at shark finning is sensational.

I don't actually have any hard evidence or anything, I'm just wondering what you guys think. Have you seen the documentary? What did you think? Have you ever heard of shark filmmakers finning a shark?

Captain Cousteau used to stage shots where he deliberately killed animals like whales for feeding frenzy behaviors. Life magazine staged a shot where a baboon got mauled to death by a leopard. Happens all the time. That said - I've not seen Shark Odyssey.

[Brendon]

I saw it... Im not sure how they got that shot... I would like to think that they paid a boat captain to let them shoot the footage in an area where it is legal to fin... I get the Cousteau thing, but that was then this is now. I'll save my other comments until we can find out for sure wether they did what your saying or not...

I guess what I should have said was, that they paid a boat captain who was already going out to fin in a legal area. I didnt mean hire someone to go fin... When I read what I wrote thats what it sounded like to me. Either way its pretty screwed up...

[makochum]

I'll have to watch it. I am afraid our efforts to discourage shark finning will not be enough though. It is still a widespread practice.

[drbill]

I'll have to watch it. I am afraid our efforts to discourage shark finning will not be enough though. It is still a widespread practice.

I haven't watched it either. Mr X is certainly correct about The Captain's early filming, but of course he learned through these experiences as many pioneers do. Back in the late 60s and early 70s a number of my high school students would go out and catch the then numerous sharks in our waters and kill them until we put a stop to that. Some were eaten, but blue shark isn't high on my list of delicacies!

Shark finning will continue top be a widespread practice as long as the demand for it brings such high prices for the fins and there are poor local fishermen, or very greedy large operators out there to benefit from it. We need to either reduce demand substantially or impose SERIOUS punishment for those who do it illegally.

[smellzlikefish]

Good comments, but to add my own $.02, these movies (like Shark Odysea) are really preaching to the choir about finning. The people who would watch a film like this usually are already on the anti-finning bandwagon while the people who really need to see it won't, even if it was in their language.