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Written by Administrator
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Monday, 17 December 2007 12:23 |
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Our programs, which will be announced in greater detail after the new year, will combine awareness, education, and action in the following areas: - Lower demand for shark fin soup within the United States and Canada. We have some valued relationships in Chinese American communities throughout the U.S and we are excited about working with them to make this a successful initiative. We will provide our presentation and printed materials to local community organizations, churches, and social groups.
We will also be placing advertising in Chinese community newspapers in an effort to raise awareness about the adverse effects of shark fin soup on one’s own health and the health of the oceans.
We will continue to reach out to and join with global partners who are committed to the goal of lowering demand for shark fin soup in China (Asia). We recognize that ultimately this is where the greatest change must take place and we will work in a manner that is consistent with and respectful of other cultures.
- Enhance our education programs in local communities and on our web site. We will soon be providing a range of educational presentations to schools and clubs in local communities. On the web, we will be expanding our 'Shark Knowledge' material and photography of individual shark species. Each species of shark we can illuminate adds to the literally hundreds of reasons to protect sharks! For you underwater photographers out there, please consider providing us your less common shark species photos and the rights to use them on our site.
- Conduct research into U.S. fishery policies to identify policy actions and legislation we can support to lower shark bycatch numbers and stop the illegal trade of shark fins. In the past year, fishery quotas of sharks were exceeded and one of the major reasons was bycatch, the unintentional capture of other species while fishing for a specific 'target' species. We would like to play a role in determining how fishery policies can be better structured and administered to ensure sustainable survival of all shark species. We will be calling on you for your support!
We feel especially energized going into 2008 and hope to begin to make a real impact on shark survival and increasing the positive awareness of sharks. If you have any thoughts on our focus for next year or ideas of how to ensure success, please send us your comments, below.
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