.. thank you thank you thank you…

Posted on November 2, 2009 by bansharkfinning

Hey everyone – Thanks for all of your visits and comments on my blog =D I really do appreciate each and every one. It means so much that people would take time out of their busy lives to read up a bit on these beautiful creatures. Sorry that the posts haven’t been up to date recently, I have a lot on my plate at the moment. Here’s just a brief glimpse…

I have been working full time, going to school full time, studying for the LSAT, as well as starting and hopefully soon finishing my law school apps. That all on top of time with my family has been enough to take it out of me.

I appreciate your patience and want you all to know that educating people about sharks and finning will always been in my thoughts. I haven’t turned my back on this endeavor, nor will I ever, I have simply taken a brief  hiatus so that I can pursue avenues that will help me to more actively save our sharks. Thanks again for your support (the sharks can really use it!). I do hope you’ll follow me on twitter @banfinning =D

Love always,

a girl with a dream

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Ban On Shark Feeding

Posted on September 22, 2009 by bansharkfinning

This looks to be another great step .. Oahu is set to ban shark feeding in popular diving areas. While this is a set back to the diving industry this will be immensely helpful to the conservation of sharks. At least the diving industry can make up it’s losses, sharks however cannot. They have become increasingly subject to what humans do in their oceans and have no choice but to attempt to survive.

“(Shark feeding) raises public safety concerns for ocean users, is disrespectful of Hawaiian culture, alters the natural behavior and distribution of sharks, and may be disruptive of ocean ecology and the natural environment,” Councilman Charles Djou said.

Reasons why shark feeding is dangerous:

1. Poses a threat to sharks natural processes

2. Threat to the ocean ecosystems

3. Threat to swimmers/surfers nearby (sharks associate humans with food and become less wary of us)

4. Offensive to native Hawaiians who consider sharks sacred

Here’s a link to the article, it’s a must read!!

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Shark Attack Survivors Saving Sharks

Posted on July 16, 2009 by bansharkfinning
Mike Coots surfing after attack 12 years earlier, courtesy of Mike Coots

Mike Coots surfing after attack 12 years earlier, courtesy of Mike Coots

Now that title is something to behold is it not? Shark victims (not just one but quite a few) are standing up to save sharks in Washington D.C. The very people who have the right to fear the impeccable creatures that Discovery Channel portrays as being bloodthirsty eating machines. But in fact they are doing the opposite, they are trying to save the world’s top predator. They are helping Congress to realize that the sharks in our oceans don’t have a fighting chance unless we stand up for them.

One of the survivors: “It’s like a massacre,” Coots said by phone from his Washington, D.C., hotel room. “To kill off that many animals that quickly, it’s completely devastating to the ecosystem.”

Read more of what Mike Coots has to say here

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Sharks don’t get cancer? FAT CHANCE!!

Posted on July 8, 2009 by bansharkfinning
Shark Fin Cartilage Powder

Shark Fin Cartilage Powder

“… more than 40 tumors had been documented in sharks, skates and rays,” reported by researchers at George Washington University Medical Center in Washington D.C.

A study done by the George Washington Medical School found that shark fin does not in fact help keep  from getting cancer or other sicknesses. Shark fins have in fact been used for thousands of years in Africa and Asia. The shocker? The use of shark fin remedies has moved to the West with increasing popularity. Another shocker? “Clinical studies on cancer patients, including a 1998 study by the Independent Cancer Treatment Research Foundation in Illinois, haven’t shown cartilage powders to have any anti-cancer benefits.”

What else?” Cancer Research UK, an independent cancer-research organization, states “We don’t recommend alternative therapies such as shark cartilage, as there is no scientific or medical evidence to back up the claims made for these ‘treatments’.”

Moral of this story: Shark fins are tasteless and provide no medical benefit at all! They’re only beneficial when attached to the Sharks they come from.

Read this article: Understand how useless Shark Fin meds are here!

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.. Whale Sharks are all one big family ..

Posted on June 23, 2009 by bansharkfinning
Whale Shark

Whale Shark

For Whale Sharks (RhincodonTypus) it is all, very literally, in the family. The Whale Shark has been around since the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods (that translates to be around 245-65 million years ago). Pretty impressive for a species that lives on incredibly small species as a main daily diet.

Looking to see a Whale Shark? Australia has the most recorded sightings and there is always India, the Maldives, South Africa, Belize, Mexico, the Galapagos Islands, Southeast Asia and Indonesia. As you can tell by these locations Whale Sharks prefer the warmer, more temperate waters.

As with any type of shark they are in major danger … one Whale Shark can sell for around $20,000 US due to the fact that it is considered a delicacy in China, Taiwan, Singapore, Korea and Japan. Hopefully their status on the endangered species list will overtake their status as a delicacy. If it doesn’t this majestic, peaceful creature will cease to be on any type of list.

Please help this creature by informing everyone you know of this issue and keep one of the oldest families around for as long as possible.

Here’s the article: It’s all in the family

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Bangkok Post : Sharks and shark fin soup

Posted on June 22, 2009 by bansharkfinning

What will it take for the food to be outlawed?

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Animal Rights Activists Protest Shark Tournament

Posted on June 19, 2009 by bansharkfinning

Stop the Shark Tourney

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Do you have what it takes to be a Shark Angel?

Posted on June 15, 2009 by bansharkfinning

Who are the Shark Angels?

Shark Angels Logo

Shark Angels Logo

Logo of the Shark Angels

Shark Angels is an organization that does for sharks what the Sea Shepherd Organization does for whales and seals. This organization is headed up by three phenomenally fearless women who specialize in various areas of shark education and conservation. These women are who I want to be, very actively “saving sharks on the last frontier.”

Shark Angel Julie, Shark Angel Alison, Shark Angel Kim

Shark Angel Julie, Shark Angel Alison, Shark Angel Kim

Each of these women has a different take on shark conservation and each are closely affiliated with a shark conservation group. Shark Angel Julie started Shark Savers, Shark Angel Alison is affiliated with the Save Our Seas Foundation and Shark Angel Kim is affliated with the shark conservation portion of the Sea Shepherd Organization (a personal favorite of mine!!). These women are everything I wish to be in the world and I can’t help but feel proud of them for taking control of a condition that went into a downward spiral. Hopefully I can one day join their fight and actively disrupt the shark finning that is raging throughout the world.

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.. fisherman (or villain) single handedly kills almost 60 Hammerhead Sharks in two trips..

Posted on May 21, 2009 by bansharkfinning

You call yourself a fisherman?

Here’s a brief summary of the article (in my own, very biased words): Fisherman goes out to sea. Fisherman catches a beautiful predator. Fisherman kills beautiful predator. Fisherman gets another notch in his belt  via world record submission/death of an innocent predator. Fisherman FAILS in everyone’s but his own eyes.

Now let’s be realistic, my desire to vent is over and I’m prepared to be fair. Are Hammerhead Sharks aggressive? Yes they are.

That’s all I have for now. I’m having writer’s block and will add more as soon as it goes away. There’s so much to say about this atrocious act and I can’t seem to put it into words.

1,060-pound great hammerhead shark off Boca Grande, Fla. for a world record submission by Capt. Bucky Dennis

1,060-pound Great Hammerhead Shark off Boca Grande, Fla. for a world record submission by Capt. Bucky Dennis

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New Japan mission to hunt minke whales

Posted on April 27, 2009 by bansharkfinning
One of the many that are at risk of being slaughtered

One of the many Minke Whales that are at risk of being slaughtered

Repeat with me here: You MUST be kidding?!

So let’s just sort through the BS the Japanese government is attempting to feed journalists here. First, they want to conduct “lethal research” on Minke Whales (around 60 being killed up to 80 kilometers off of the coast) because the ecosystems in the Pacific are SOOO much more different that the ecosystems in Antarctica … yet they send out a fleet of ships for 100 days to hopefully bag around 700-800 Minke Whales in Antarctica. Redundant much?? Thank god for the Sea Shepard Conservation Society for cutting this killing spree short, roughly 16 days short.

Now, research is all well and good except that the fisheries who host these research expeditions (yes, that’s right, fisheries fund the slaughtering not scientific research companies) and “makes no secret of the fact that the animals’ meat is then served as food.” This loophole in the 1986 international moratorium on commercial whaling is considered acceptable. Something needs to be done about this “loop hole.” This is more like a gaping black hole than a loop hole. This does a complete and total disservice to these peaceful creatures that are a major staple to the oceans ecosystems.

Considering such a loophole exists aren’t there ethics issues to be considered? Isn’t it a requirement that the research subjects be disposed of in a respectful manner? I’m sorry but ending up as poop does not constitute ethical disposal.

Say no to hunting minke whales!!

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