fbpixel shark finning Archives - Mission Blue

Blog Archives
A Conversation with a Shark Fisherman

Kip Evans: Tell me about yourself and what you do for a living.
Juan Lucas: My name is Juan Pablo Lucas and I’m a fisherman based out of Puerto San Carlos. I also live here, in La Paz, Baja California. I’ve been a fisherman my whole life. We were raised here when my mom and my dad took us over. During our childhood, we built small wooden or cork barges. We made small nets. We worked with basically what we saw around, you know? We did it because our parents did that…they made nets and fished. That was my life and I’ve been fishing ever since. We used to go for anything we could get, but now we have rules. We’re constantly trying to learn everything that’s going on in the protected areas.…

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Destination Cocos Island: One of the Sharkiest Places on Earth

Considered to be the most beautiful island in the world by Jacques Cousteau, the island of Cocos in Costa Rica is a sight to behold. Located 350 miles off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, lives a diversity of large pelagic species including sharks, rays, tunas, and dolphins. Sharks including hammerhead, Galápagos, silky, tiger, white tip reef and whale sharks are common sightings, making it a haven for scientists, divers, and marine enthusiasts alike. The iconic animals are known to migrate throughout the Eastern Tropical Pacific from the Galapagos to Columbia, Panama, and Costa Rica. Sharks are integral apex predators that shape the food web and maintain a healthy ecosystem for all marine life. Unfortunately, they continue to be hunted for their fins and exported to China in violation of international agreements, despite Cocos Island designation as a World Heritage Site. …

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The Case for Shark Fin Trade Bans

This article originally appeared on Southern Fried Science. 
By: Mariah Pfleger, Oceana

The demand for shark fins is widely recognized as one of the major contributors to shark mortality around the world. However, solutions to decrease this demand are hotly debated, especially in the scientific community. Southern Fried Science and other websites have published opinions that debate the effectiveness of shark fin bans, but as a shark scientist working to implement this policy I would like to present the case for shark fin trade bans.      
The conversation is newly relevant with the introduction of the Shark Fin Trade Elimination Act in the Senate on March 30th by Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Shelly Moore-Capito (R-WV) and in the House on March 9th by Representatives Ed Royce (R-CA) and Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (I-MP).…

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House Introduces Legislation to End Shark Finning

The demand for shark fins is still one of the greatest threats facing shark populations around the world, usually intended as an ingredient in shark fin soup. Fins from as many as 73 million sharks end up in the global market every year, and more than 70 percent of the most common shark species involved with the fin trade are considered at high or very high risk of extinction. Sharks declines and extinction can have significant impacts on marine ecosystems. Many species of sharks are top predators and have the potential to structure ecosystems in crucial ways, triggering domino effects through the food chain. On September 22nd, 2016, Mission Blue alongside 80 other NGO’s sent this letter to Congress urging support and passage of the Shark Fin Trade Elimination Act.…

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Letter to FedEx: Stop Shipping Shark Fins!

To:  Fred Smith, CEO, FedEx <>
CC: Carmine Echols, Assistant to the CEO <>
CC: Melissa Charbonneau, Director of Communications, FedEx <>
CC: David Cunningham, President, FedEx Asia Pacific <>

3875 Airways, Module H3
Department 4634
Memphis, TN38116

Dear Mr. Smith,
We are writing to inform you that we can no longer patronize FedEx, as we have done exclusively for the last 5 years, due to FedEx’s unfortunate policy that allows for the shipment of shark fins. As you may know, shark populations have been drastically depleted worldwide due to the legal and illegal shark fin trade. We believe that each individual and organization on the planet has a responsibility to do whatever is in their power to end this barbaric and senseless killing of one of the most ancient animals on Earth.…

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Sharon Kwok is FIN-ished with Shark Finning

By Sharon Kwok, Mission Blue Board Director
I’m a Eurasian American raised in Hong Kong. Until recent years, every banquet I attended seemed to include shark fin soup. Although the exact origin of this ostentatious dish is shrouded in mystery, we do know it had to come from China’s southern coastal regions, and it was never a favorite of the Northern Chinese. Therefore l doubt the truthfulness of claims that it was a fancy dish created for the Emperor. Perhaps it was a fancy marketing ploy but we’ll never know for sure. I’ve even heard a version that shark fin soup’s origin was simply the fishermen’s frugal use of their catch. In bygone days, any obviously useful parts would either be sold fresh or salted to survive a trip to inland China.…

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PETITION Hong Kong Government: Legislate a ban on the sale and possession of shark fin in Hong Kong.

SIGN PETITION HERE
From Ecuador to Brunei, from the Bahamas to the Maldives, the people have spoken. And governments have listened. Now is the time for Hong Kong to wake up! The public is ready. The business sector is behind us. Now is the time for a total sale and possession ban on shark fin in Hong Kong. By doing so, Hong Kong will take a giant step to join the conservation efforts of numerous countries around the world who have enacted shark protection legislation. In Latin America it will join Ecuador, Honduras, Colombia, Brazil and Chile. In the United States it will join California, New York, Hawaii, Washington, Maryland and Oregon. In the Pacific region it will join Palau, Tokelau, Marshall Islands, French Polynesia, Cook Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, and New Caledonia.…

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