The Dorsal Fin

To counterbalance the stupid whale shark video posted earlier, I thought I’d re-visit one of WildAid‘s excellent shark conservation public service announcements. The video features 7-time Olympic medalist (2-time gold medalist) Amanda Beard and addresses the impact of finning and over-fishing on the world’s shark populations. While the video has been around for over a year, I figured it was worth re-visiting to hopefully give it some more exposure (it only has about 3,500 views on YouTube versus the 137,000 views of the guy riding the whale shark, as I write this). I think the people who put this one together did an awesome job.

According to the PETA press release, PETA’s Pro-Shark Banner to Fly Over Cape Cod, the organization will be flying a banner over Lighthouse Beach in Chatham, Massachusetts today. Strangely, the banner, which will read "Dangerous Predator in Water–YOU! Go Veg!" suspiciously reads more like a pro-vegetarian message than it does a pro-shark one. Perhaps, PETA is trying to take a cue from Finding Nemo, and the message itself is actually intended for the sharks to encourage them to switch to a vegetarian diet, which could result in a healthier lifestyle for the sharks. That would certainly be a "pro-shark" message.

All kidding aside, the PETA press release states that the message is part of campaign "raise awareness of the plight of sea animals who are killed for food." The press release goes on to discuss the detrimental effects of overfishing on marine species, including sharks. While I certainly support efforts to raise awareness about responsible conservation efforts, I’m not sure that pro-vegetarian grandstanding, really constitutes pro-shark efforts, per se.

While the concept of, "If everybody (and every animal) was a vegetarian, no marine animal would ever be killed for food,” is not lost on me, I don’t really see this as a realistic solution to overfishing or shark conservation efforts, at all. I’m also not convinced that the shock value of over-the-top, attention-grabbing efforts (such as pointing the finger at anyone within the visibility range of a banner, and calling him/her a "dangerous predator") actually do anything to help a cause. Sometimes, it seems like certain campaigns are intentionally offensive, in order to simply draw attention. While drawing attention is typically the goal of these types of campaigns, if the general public is offended by a campaign, the underlying message of it is going to be lost. That’s just my two cents, though, and you can’t even buy a gumball with two cents any more.

According to the article Chinese belly-gods warn: Eating shark fins to have ecological, health consequences, not only does the shark fin market pose a devastating risk to marine ecosystems, it may also pose a health risk to its consumers. Steve Trent of Wild Aid is pushing for promoting awareness about dangers of shark fin consumption in China, the world’s largest consumer of shark fins. Part of this awareness campaign includes Public Service Announcements like the one below (Warning: contains brief finning imagery)

According to Trent,

"Research shows they contain heavy metals such as mercury, which can cause damage to the nervous system and male infertility."

According to the article, Trent said that most Chinese shark fin consumers were not aware of the ecological effects of the shark fin industry. He also noted that many consumers did not even that shark fin delicacies actually contained the fins. This is due to the literal translation of &quotyu chi" meaning "fish fin". Due to this confusion, some consumers assumed they were eating highly nutritional domestic fish. Trent encourages responsible fishing practices and goes on to say that the "hunting of sharks should be carried out in a sustainable way, restraint should be exercised in consumption of the cartilaginous fish, and the practice of hunting sharks merely for fins should be banned."

My Fox Tampa Bay recently released two video segments about shark attacks, which seem to be in response to Wednesday’s attack at St. Pete Beach involving 19-year old, Jenna James. Kudos to the producers and reporters involved with these segments for taking the high road and reporting the facts of shark attack odds and stressing awareness as opposed to fear when it comes to sharks and swimming in the ocean.
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