Whale Shark (Rhincodon typus)

According to the news release, possession or slaughter of whale sharks in the Philippines is prohibited by Republic Act No. 8550 of the Fisheries Administrative Order. Violation of this act is punishable by a maximum fine of P10,000, four years in prison, and revocation of the violator’s fishing license. A GMANews.TV article on the story notes that whale shark meat, known as “tofu meat,” sells for P360 ($8) per kg, while shark fins sell for approximately one hundred times as much at P36,000 ($800) per kg.

The WWF has officially condemned the act and is calling for “enhanced enforcement” and for the responsible parties to be prosecuted.

Tucker addresses the shark fin industry and the impact that is having on global shark populations. Tucker suggests ways that the audience can contribute to shark conservation efforts. Unfortunately, while discussing the shark fin industry, Tucker not only references the “100 million” magic number but also goes on to claim that 100 million is a conservative estimate and that “they believe it is even more.” While I certainly support Tucker’s good intentions, I believe that using “statistics” that have no scientific research behind them is potentially more harmful to shark conservation efforts than helpful. Within the past few months, the unsubstantiated claim of “100 million shark killed annually” has been used as a platform to discredit shark conservation efforts. In order for conservation efforts to be taken seriously, those promoting these efforts would be better served using the estimate of 26 million to 73 million sharks killed commercially each year, which is backed up by research (Clarke et al. 2006)

In addition to discussing shark finning and promoting conservation awareness, Tucker also plugs his latest episode of Expedition New England, “Last Blue Shark.” Expedition New England is a public access wildlife show which airs throughout Connecticut, as well as a few other localities (including Melbourne, Australia, believe it or not).

An estimated 26 million to 73 million sharks are killed annually for commercial markets, research shows.

Research conducted by Shelley Clarke estimated the global number of sharks killed annually at 26 million to 73 million. Clarke’s Global Estimates of Shark Catches using Trade Records from Commercial Markets journal article published in 2006 in the Ecology Papers Vol 9 Issue 10 follows a generally accepted scientific methodology and is backed up by solid research.

While “26-73 million” might not roll off the tongue quite as easily as “100 million,” there is data to support the former, while there seems to be no solid data supporting the latter. Considering that I make a point of calling attention to instances of misrepresentation and misinformation in the media with this blog, I think it’s important to point out that the use of the 100 million number is not based on any specific scientific evidence, and I would encourage shark conservationists to reference the global estimates from Clarke’s research. At the end of the day, even the low-end estimate, from Clarke’s study, of 26 million is still alarming number of sharks being plucked from the ocean.

The other lesson to be learned from the lack of scientific data to back up the claim of 100 million sharks killed per year, is that opportunistic filmmakers will use the baseless number as springboard to devalue the entire shark conservation effort, as can be seen in the video below.

The gentlemen in the video have a point when it comes to the magic “100 million” number (and the “90% of the species” statistic), but nowhere in the video do you hear mention of the estimates from Clarke’s study, which would be far less disputable.

When it comes to shark conservation efforts, I recommend sticking with data that can be backed up by science. There’s already enough conjecture and flat-out misinformation out there without shark conservationists adding to it (as a couple of the people in the video above do a fine job in displaying).

Phillipe Restaurant will no longer serve shark fin soup.

Kudos to Chef Chow for his change of heart on the issue and for encouraging other restaurants to follow suit. As I’ve seen so often on another shark blog, “It starts with one.”

In related news, The Times-Picayune is reporting that Chef Scott Boswell has removed shark fin soup from the menu at Stella! in New Orleans. The decision to remove shark fin soup from the menu comes on the heels of a review in The Times-Picayune that made mention of shark fin soup, which elicited some negative response from readers (see Readers respond to "Stella!" rave with enthusiasm, outrage. Boswell is quoted as saying that he does not know whether the shark fin he had been using was “humanely harvested” or not, and he currently does not feel right about serving it. Boswell also went on to say that he decided to remove shark fin from his soup recipe until he can get a better grasp on whether or not he should be using it.

According to authorities, Harrison was responsible for buying and selling millions of shark fins over his 20-year career. Harrison was caught trying to ship shark fins from three protected shark species from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in August of 2007. Authorities noted that Harrison dried the fins in potentially unsanitary conditions.

Special Agent, James Gale, of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, was quoted as saying, "Hopefully, this sentence will raise public awareness of how unlawful commercialization impacts certain species of wildlife." Personally, I think the sentence seems a bit lenient, given the length of Harrison’s career and the potential value of illegal shark fins. However, based on the article, it seems as though Harrison was only being charged for the incident at the Hartfield-Jackson Airport, so for that single event, perhaps, this sentence is considered appropriate.

This feature from 60 Minutes, , which originally aired in December of 2005 was updated on August 6, 2009. It covers the whole gamut of shark tourism and conservation. The segment does feature some footage that will clearly be seen by some as being detrimental to attitudes towards sharks and the shark tourism industry. Most notably a cage breach in which Simon implies that the divers would have “been toast” if the shark had not lost his bearing.

The lead-in to the segment also seems to state in a somewhat “matter of fact” manner that many people believe shark diving has resulted in an increase on shark attacks on beach-goers. It does seem to be somewhat balanced in featuring opinions of those both for and against shark diving, although I think it would have been more informative to see some references to research to support or contradict either point of view. I know there is at least one study on the effects of shark tourism on white shark behavior that was conducted in South Africa, which could have been relevant to the argument.

The segment started out with what I felt like was a somewhat negative attitude towards sharks from Bob Simon, in that he seems to be focused on fears toward sharks early on. However, Simon definitely seems in awe of the white sharks that he dives with in South Africa and even comments that the experience is less about fear than it was marveling at seeing white sharks up close. In the latter half of the segment, the focus shifts from shark tourism to the finning industry and the threat to global shark populations. By the end of the segment, Simon seems to be conservation-minded and even calls for people to give sharks a break.

Legally, I can’t re-post the comic strip here on the blog without paying for reprint rights, so I’ve included some links to the comic from the Seattle P.I. below…

Mutts – August 10, 2009
Mutts – August 11, 2009
Mutts – August 12, 2009
Mutts – August 13, 2009
Mutts – August 14, 2009

Mutts is currently featured in over 700 newspapers and in 20 countries. It’s always good to see the issues of finning, overfishing, and declining shark populations being addressed in a form of media across such a wide audience. Kudos to Patrick McDonnell for addressing shark conservation in Mutts. For more information about Mutts, visit the Offiicial Mutts Website.

The No Shark Fin Pledge discourages the serving and consumption of shark fin products

I pledge to help protect the world’s oceans by committing never to consume or serve shark fin or any product containing shark fin.

This move is an about-face for Waters, who earlier this year was quoted as saying, “I’d have Cecilia Chang make me shark fin soup,” at a Q&A session in Connecticut, during a “Food for Thought” forum, in which she was asked what her last meal would be. What prompted this change of heart? Well, Waters is quoted in the Humane Society Press Release as saying,

“Not long ago I learned that every year tens of millions of sharks, their fins brutally sliced off, are thrown back into the ocean to die, and that many shark species are now seriously threatened. I support Humane Society International’s efforts to end this unsustainable practice, and I encourage other chefs and culinary industry leaders to do the same.”

While Waters has come under fire from some for her “not long ago” revelation, I think it’s only fair to give Ms. Waters the benefit of the doubt here. While certainly she realized that shark fins do not grow on trees, not everybody out there is aware of the practice of finning. I have come across plenty of people who are shocked to find out that sharks are hauled up only to have their fins removed and then have the rest of their body dumped back in the sea. If nothing else, it’s nice to see that Waters has had a change of heart and is encouraging others to steer away from shark fin dishes. Another bit of encouraging news, from the press release, is that “a number of chefs have developed faux shark fin dishes to satisfy consumer demand without the attending ecological devastation.”

News of Alice Waters’ No Shark Fin Pledge also appeared in the New York Times’ Diner’s Journal blog.