Stop Shark Finning recently featured a post about CITES and in particular how Dr Giam Choo-Hoo is subverting the organisation by using it as a way of allowing the shark fin trade. Because here's the thing: Although Giam is a member of the UN body that is supposed to protect wildlife, he actually supports the shark fin trade. So what we have here in effect is a wolf guarding the hen house.

Ocean Correspondent for The Times, Frank Pope, recently interviewed Giam and published an article about said interview on his blog, "In Conversation With the Shark Fin Godfather". It really is an astonishing read. Aside from being a member of CITES, Dr Giam Choo-Hoo is also a director for a company that trades in crocodile skins sourced from the Nile... and apparently has acted as a representative of the Shark Fin and Marine Products Association Limited at at least one CITES meeting. Seriously. You couldn't make this up.

What's more, Dr Giam will neither confirm nor deny his business interests - he doesn't think it's relevant. Even more shockingly, CITES itself recently agreed not to bring in any rules that would mean members might have to declare any conflict of interest. So, in effect, CITES is presenting itself as a protector of wildlife, but is not allowing any public scrutiny of the interests of its members. CITES is notoriously sluggish and ineffective when it comes to regulating trade in endangered species. The case of Dr Giam Choo-Hoo provides a disturbing insight into the likely motivations of at least one of its members. How many more Dr Giam Choo-Hoos are there in CITES?

A petition has been launched to get Dr Giam Choo-Hoo out of CITES. Please sign it here.

The New York Times recently ran an article about the bill that would ban the shark fin trade in New York. Sounds good, right? But why on Earth is the NY Times also running a separate article describing how to make shark fin soup? Many species of sharks are becoming endangered due to rampant over-fishing; the shark fin trade is unethical and unsustainable. If we don't stop killing sharks many species will die out. As it is populations would take many years to recover if they were given the chance to. The New York Times should not be undecided or vague about this issue - what's next, a recipe for tiger steaks?

We are asking readers to send a polite email to the editor in charge of integrity issues at the New York Times, Mr Arthur Brisbane, asking him to get the recipe removed from the website and for a public apology to be made regarding this "oversight"..

You can contact Mr Arthur Brisbane here at this email address: public@nytimes.com

 

There have been several reports in the press recently highlighting the health hazards associated with shark fin soup - and not just for sharks. It seems that eating shark fin soup can also have detrimental effects on your health.

It is well-established that shark meat (including the cartilage, which the fins are primarily made of) contains high levels of mercury. Indeed, since 2004 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has recommended that pregnant women and children steer clear of shark meat. But now new research indicates that there are other dangers associated with the consumption of shark meat. A University of Miami study has discovered high concentrations of BMAA in shark fins. BMAA is a neurotoxin linked to neurodegenerative diseases in humans including Alzheimer's and Lou Gehrig Disease. Samples were taken from live sharks of seven species in South Florida waters and levels of BMAA between 144 and 1836 ng/mg were found, which is comparable to the levels measured in the brains of Alzheimer's and Lou Gehrig Disease victims.

It is ironic that unfounded claims are made by those in the shark fin industry about the supposed health benefits of shark fin soup. The reality is that shark fins soup is the exact opposite - a danger to humans, a danger to the environment and most certainly a danger to sharks.

The Queensland-managed East Coast Inshore Fin Fish Fishery can legally kill about 100,000 sharks every year in and around our World Heritage Great Barrier Reef. Some of these sharks are exported as fins and their flesh ends up as 'flake' in Australian fish and chip shops and supermarkets.

The current export approval for this fishery expires on 28 February and Australia's Environment Minister Tony Burke is deciding right now whether to grant another export licence for the sake of shark fin soup. Please send an email to Minister Burke below and help us convince him that sharks belong swimming free undersea not finless on boats!

Sign here!

CITES - the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species - is supposed to protect endangered species - that was the reason it was set up in 1975. But it is widely criticised for being narrow in scope and largely ineffectual; for example scores of shark species are severely threatened and vulnerable yet only three are listed in CITES - the Great White, Whale Shark and Basking Shark - all others can be legally killed in most places in the world.

You might wonder why an organisation such as CITES is doing such a poor job of doing what it is supposed to do. Well, one reason is that it has members such as Dr Choo-Hoo Giam within its ranks. Dr Choo-Hoo Giam was elected to the CITES Animals Committee in 1994 and currently represents the 32 countries in Asia. He is an apologist for the shark finning industry who thinks that the best way to ensure the survival of sharks is to carry on killing them. He spends his time writing misleading newspaper articles and giving lectures intended to make Asians feel OK about eating shark fin soup.

Dr Choo-Hoo Giam is also a director of a company called Heng Long International Limited. The business of this company is making goods for the fashion industry - out of crocodile and alligator skins sourced from the Nile and other places around the world. Their website boasts that their trade is "regulated by CITES".

For a man such as Dr Choo-Hoo Giam to be involved in CITES makes a mockery of the organisation and of the United Nations. Evidently his only concern is to ensure that he can continue to make money out of trade in endangered animals. He has infiltrated and gained a position of power in an organisation and used his power to subvert and pervert that organsation's aim for his own interests.

With people like Dr Choo-Hoo Giam in its ranks, CITES seems more concerned with animal consumption than animal conservation.

Siam Makro (Thailand) is a cash and carry wholesale store mainly owned by Netherlands based SHV Holdings. At least one of their Thailand stores has been reported to be selling at least two brands of shark fins. Sharks fins were spotted on sale at the Koh Samui branch.

Please contact the store and ask them to stop selling shark fins. Important points to make are:

• Many species of shark are becoming endangered due to overfishing. Overall numbers have decreased by around 90% in the last few decades.
• Shark fins contain unsafe levels of mercury and can cause health problems, especially to young children and pregant women.
• Shark finning is an inhumane practise and it shames those who trade or consume shark fins.
• People in the Far East are becoming aware of the issue of shark finning - by removing shark fins from their stores Makro can show itself to be a socially responsible company and follow the lead of companies like Shangri-La Hotels who have stopped serving shark fin soup in their restaurants.

Important note: Makro Netherlands is part of the Metro Group and has no connection to Makro Thailand or to SHV Holdings.

Semporna, in the state of Sabah, Malaysia, is one of the last strongholds for Asia's sharks and the target of a bold new project that aims to turn it into a sanctuary over 8000 square kilometres in size. The project has already been approved by the local government and the Department of Fisheries; the plan is for the proposal to be presented to the Sabah state government for approval.

The proposal for the creation of the Semporna Shark Sanctuary will be presented by the Sabah NGO Borneo Conservancy and the local Semporna Council. In order to give extra weight to the submission, the organizers want to also show that there is huge international support for this project and for that reason they have set up a petition in support of the creation of the shark sanctuary.

Please show your support for the creation of this shark sanctuary by signing the petition and sharing it with all your contacts.

Click here for the Semporna Shark Sanctuary facebook page.

Daryl Farmer is a man with a passion for the oceans - in particular for sharks. He set up a website called Running 4 Reefs and he has set himself the admirable task of running the equivalent total length of The Great Barrier Reef (1250 miles) within 3 years - and only race miles will count, not training miles. Daryl hopes to raise funds for his chosen charity, the Shark and Coral Conservation Trust, a charity who are helping to raise awareness of shark and coral related issues, as well as lobby governments and conduct research.

Some of Daryl's runs include the Jurassic Coast Challenge, the Brighton Marathon and the South Downs Way Challenge, but perhaps his most ambitious race to date has been the Jungle Marathon, a 5 day 140 mile trek through the Brazilian Amazon dealing with 40 degree celcius heat, 90% humidity, swamp crossings and all manner of creepy crawlies and potentially lethal creatures. The next challenge on his list is the Grand Union Canal race - that's 145 miles non-stop from Birmingham to London! Daryl would welcome your sponsorship for this event.

It's fantastic to see what one person can achieve given the will and the motivation. Well done Daryl and good luck with your next race!

Contrary to popular belief shark fins are not banned in the United Kingdom, it is perfectly legal for restaurants to serve shark fin soup, and for shark cartilage to be used in so-called "health" capsules. Current UK legislation does not permit sharks to be finned in UK waters - but there is no law prohibiting trade in shark fins.

The current UK government has created an e-petition website that could lead to the subject of any petition being debated in the House of Commons - as long as it gets 100,000 signatures. A petition to ban shark fins in the UK has been created, if you are resident in the UK, please support this petition by signing it and sharing it with your contacts. 100,000 is a lot - but with word of mouth we can get there!

Please sign the petition here.

Click here for the Stop Shark Finning website.

Following a consultation in 2010, the European Union is finally proposing a complete ban on shark finning by European fishing fleets. The ban is being proposed by EU fisheries commissioner Maria Damanaki and is supported by European Parliament fisheries committee Vice-President Struan Stevenson MEP, a longstanding campaigner against the practice.

However, just because a proposal is being made does not mean it will be passed - there is every likelihood that it will be opposed by some of the largest shark catching nations in the world - notably Spain. In 2006 Spain attempted to increase the fin to fish ratio allowed from 5% to 6.5%, a move that was blocked by Struan Stevenson.

Current European legislation is inadequate as it is full of loopholes put in place to appease shark killing nations such as Spain, Portugal, France and the United Kingdom. Legislation in place since 2003 requires shark carcasses to be landed but fins can be removed at sea as long as the fin to shark carcass ratio is 5% or less. Since the ratio is closer to 2% this means that at leat twice the number of sharks can be caught than are landed at port. The proposals put forward by the EU fisheries commissioner would require all sharks to be landed with fins attached. As well as reducing the number of sharks killed this would also help with scientific research and fisheries conservation.

It is vital that all shark finning be banned if sharks are to have a fighting chance of making some kind of comeback in terms of population counts. Attempts by Spain and any other shark killing nation to water down the proposal should be seen as what they are: a cynical attempt to profit from a vile industry and deprive the world of a truly magnificent - and ecologically valuable - animal.

Click here for the Stop Shark Finning website.

Links:

EU proposes outright ban on shark finning.
Consultation document on the amendment of Council Regulation (EC) 1185/2003 (pdf)
Commission closes shark-finning regulatory loopholes
Maria Damanaki on Twitter