Horrible
 

I came across this and it sickened me to see where society has progressed or should I say regressed.
http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2008/12/1...as-witnessing/

Horrible. :cry:

I can't say I even like shark fin soup. I tried it once (before the time I knew better). Never again. And now I know better anyhow, so never again anyhow.

that is so bloody sad. unfortunately it happens day in and day out and I"m glad somebody captured it on video and camera. They should just ban shark fin soup becase there is no other reasons for doing this but that chinese soup for the rich and wealthy.

Disgusting

I could say more but it's a family friendly forum so I won't

Wow... Spreading this one.

Everyone should see "Sharkwater" by Rob Stewart if you have not already. Its very hard to watch but an incredible documentary on shark finning. The cinematography is amazing.

Not to get too far off subject but you should see areas of the reef in the Philippines that collectors have used cyanide or gasoline to collect fish. I was on a dive there a few years ago and was disgusted by the areas we would come across with literally dozens and dozens of what looked like very healthy fish dead on the sea floor. May have even been hundreds in some areas.

The description of the dying sharks reminded me of that. I think most people think shopping at a good LFS here in Canada means you are not buying illegally caught fishes but thats not the case. Most wholesalers here have no idea how their fish are caught regardless of what they are told. I spoke to our dive guide after that dive and he said he sees WAY more collectors using poison than nets hands down and that was why he had no more amazing reefs to show us. The collectors have quietly moved even into tourist areas.

http://www.sharkwater.com/

I love the shots of him hand feeding the sharks and then hugging them :)

I saw a documentary on shark finning, all those dead sharks just tossed out for the fins. Just wrong. I still don't understand why the whole shark has to be wasted just for the fins, if a shark is going to be killed atleast use the whole shark as food or something, I tried shark fin soup once and was not impressed. I know it symbolizes luxury in some cultures, but come on, there are many other ways to show off luxury that don't take needless killings.

The majority of sharks fins have great value to only a select few countries. Really just one or two. This is the very sad part. They are being slaughtered all over the world in countries that would never otherwise kill sharks if there was not the demand from another part of the world.

In Costa Rica for example, the problem has gotten so bad that government has been "bought out" and turns they're heads to the problem and in return have roads and schools built by the "shark fin mafias". Illegal shark finning is now a bigger industry than cocaine worldwide. More money to be gained from it.

Even worse is many countries stance (or lack there of) on the issue including our own (Canada will still will not sign the treaty to protect sharks and maybe that makes sense since many other counties would see this as very hypocritical as they see our Salmon and Seal collecting as very inhumane at times...There is a reason Europe will not buy Canadian Salmon but thats another issue :D )

The reason the entire shark is left is because again in those select few countries, ONLY the fin has any value. Pressure needs to be put on the demand countries because so far trying to stop the finning is useless. On the planet in peril documentary a very successful poacher who travels all over hunting animals illegally said he would be out of business if it were not for ONE country. He said he can take any animal there and find demand.

Another sad part of all this is how many other fish are killed for no reason. They often use miles and miles of baited hooks that catch hundreds of different species of fish near the surface. Then go along in boats and look for sharks, hack the fins off and leave the rest of them along with all the other fish they have "caught". It was likened to if hunters were allowed to set miles and miles of bear traps in the forest to hunt bears but these bear traps caught all kinds of dear, moose, rabbits ect. which were all left to die on that spot because all they wanted was bear...obviously this would not be allowed to happen the there would be huge campaigns to stop it. Too often what happens in the ocean is out of sight and out of mind.

I think we both were watching the same documentary during shark week on the Discovery Channel. It is messed up, and I agree that unless those select few countries change their buying ways there will always be corruption and the senseless killing. I guess it all comes back to good ol economics, if there is demand someone will fill the supply.

I watched Sharkwater as well. and i think alot of it has to do with the fact that Sharks have always been portrayed to be monsters who will kill you in a heartbeat. No one has sympathy for them. I am totally sickened by sharkfinning. I think its a disgusting practice, as is shark fin soup. I think one of the stats has been like a 80 or 90% reduction of the worlds sharks... It has got to stop....

thats absolutely terrible... after watching that short clip im going to go buy that documentary and watch it. probably make everyone i know watch it cause it looks extremely moving

Yes its a huge number.

The documentary has a really nice line about how sharks have survived 450 million years (modern sharks 100 million though) on this planet through all kinds of disasters and climate changes but the one thing they can't survive is people.

Absolutely disgusting.
It could take 15 years for the Asian market demand for shark fin to stop, but only if western governments ban it now and speak out! Every year that we delay, the shark populations will continue to dwindle.
Awareness is only the beginning, we should try our best, especially as reefkeepers to be the voice of oceanic issues! Email your MP!

Its clear that the only way the demand is going to stop at this point is when they go extinct. China has made it VERY clear they have no intention of helping with the situation. No matter what they have said over the years, they're action speak louder than words. Whether it be how they treat captive black bears only for bile or the shark finning. Its just not fair to the rest of the world in this case.

If others have not done this, I highly recommend it.

A few years ago I found myself in a restaurant and saw shark fin soup on the menu. As loudly as I could I explained that I would not eat at the restaurant and I dragged my entire table of people out with me. I doubt it made one bit of difference, but I felt good for a few seconds.

Thanks for the reality check, but I'm just not ready to be pessimistic and complacent. I have lots of environmental cliches if you need some motivation!

LOL. Thats not even close to being complacent. Why would you think I am happy with that scenario? I have met and spoken to Rob Stewart in Toronto as one of my brothers is good friends with him and trust me, the situation is grim. There is no sense in trying to make it sound hopeful. Unless of course you know of a way to convince 1 billion people to abandon their culture. Ok...saying 1 billion is not quite correct since not everyone in China is eating shark fin and many, many people there comdemn it as well but you get the idea.

very sad indeed,

I saw it... twice. I knew it was happening and am glad there is a documentory about it. I don't know why people don't care what happ-ens in our world. Some day future generations will look at ours' with disgust and contempt. I hope. I also think sharks kept in aquariums is very sad as well, but we saw my post about large fish in captivity.

Sadly the way things are going now, captive animals will be the only one left.

I saw sharkwater as well and to tell you the truth I almost cried. The senseless killing of millions of sharks for a tastless piece of cartilidge. WOW. It really makes you think about what kind of place this world is turning into. Future generations WILL look at us with disgust and contempt because we kill everything we touch. There should be a law that if you want to kill an animal you must do so with your bare hands only. That should even things up substantially eh? Jump in the water with that shark and see what happens when you try and kill it then. I am startimg to be really disgusted with our human race and feel it's almost time for another 40 days and 40 nights if you know what I'm saying!