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Petition to Palau: Stop Senate Bill 8-44 that opens up shark fishing

This petition has been closed, following the September 25, 2009 announcement that Palau will ban all commercial fishing and declare a Shark Sanctuary.

President Johnson Toribiong

Senator Adalbert Eledui

Regarding: Please reject Senate Bill 8-44

Dear Sirs,

We are writing to you to express our grave concern over Senate Bill 8-44 which promises to open Palau waters to foreign commercial fishing of sharks. It is especially disturbing because in recent years, Palau has been recognized for its extremely positive and proactive protection of sharks. Palau currently has among the best shark protection laws in the world, only now being emulated by the Republic of the Maldives with its own ban on shark fishing.

We understand how Bill 8-44 may bring in some greatly needed revenue. We fail to see, however, how it will succeed in compensating for the shortfall in tourism revenue that it will certainly result as your sharks and marine ecosystem decline.

Many of the signers of this petitions are divers who have either visited Palau or keep Palau on their short list of greatly admired diving destinations. Many others signing this petition are aware of the importance of sharks to the ecosystem and the healthy balance of marine populations upon which Palau, and all of us, depend.

Palau is a country that we have come to respect for its strong and early protection of sharks. We urge you to reject this short-sighted and misguided bill. Instead, please recommit to your valued leadership position on shark conservation that attracts so much dive tourism to your waters and the world's appreciation to your people.


Comments (38)
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Caleb Stokes said:

Stop the cruelty
killing animals for body parts is terible. If that were you how would you feel. and how they feel isnt even the bad part its the fact that you are decreasing the population of the sharks. Unlike rabitts they dont have their off spring in 2 weeks it takes them longer and that mean the death rate will be higher than the birth rate therefor decreasing the population. You horrible horrible people.
 
March 03, 2010
Votes: +1

David said:

...
you should not do this. This goes against what you said before. I want my kids to see sharks!
 
March 03, 2010
Votes: +0

Stacy said:

Nursing Student
I have also been to Palau to go diving with friends and family, if this bill is passed I'm sure very many will be dissapointed not only because there will be no more beautiful sharks to dive with, but based on principal as well. If the bill is passed I will not be traveling to Palau and I know many others feel the same.
 
January 21, 2010
Votes: +0

Daphanie Ngirachelsau said:

are you crazy
seriously! This is one of the reason tourists come to palau! the sharks never done anything wrong. leave them alone!
grown up these days!
Please! leave them alone!
 
November 30, 2009
Votes: +0

Len Campbell said:

Mr.
Concerned citizen, interested in preserving world Shark population's. Concerned with world's overfishing ,in general.
 
September 25, 2009
Votes: +3

maleka Robbins said:

SAVE OUR SHARKS FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS
ARE THEY MAD.
Palau is a beautiful island full of wondrous sea life. I am so fed up with sharks getting such bad press, they are a truly spectacular animal, why don't more people care?.
Where I live in Jersey CI UK, if a person catches a shark, it is tagged and put back in, the anglers are really in to preservation, more places should do this. I would hate not to be able to swim with sharks in the future or know that they would not be around for my grandchildren to see.


The worlds echo system needs sharks to keep it healthy.

BAN FINNING. do not let commercial fisherman invade Palau, SAVE OUR SHARKS.

 
August 28, 2009
Votes: +5

Louise McElhill said:

stop killing sharks
I LOVE SHARKS !!!
 
August 06, 2009
Votes: +7

stephanie Moore said:

save the earth
we must remove the nets . we are doing so much damage to the frail ecosystem of the reef.
 
August 02, 2009
Votes: +4

Mark Thomson said:

Elementary Teacher - North Vancouver School District
Please stay strong and do not cave into corrupt economic interests at the expense of our oceans - we humans have done too much damage already, now is the time to turn the tide!
 
July 27, 2009
Votes: +8

kelly of Singapore (MyQute.com) said:

Please re-consider if shark-fishing is REALLY needed in waters of Palau
Please re-consider allowing shark-fishing in waters of Palau because:
1. Sharks are what attracts divers and tourists to Palau
2. Sharks' meat is never sent for any testing (we may be eating sharks with diseases like diabetes, bronchitis, etc)
3. Shark-fishing pollutes the sea.

Thank you for re-considering!
 
July 27, 2009
Votes: +4

ella young said:

experienced diver
Palau is still considered by many clients as one of the world's premier dive destinations and the shark population is a large part of why divers go there. Allowing shark fishing will have an enormously negative impact on the number of divers and will very quickly remove Palau from divers wishlist. For everyone's sake, please do not follow that treacherous course.
 
July 27, 2009
Votes: +5

Lily Kral said:

Student
I hope that we are able to turn this bill around. The disgusting process of shark finning is barbaric and cruel, not to mention the fact that humans seem to think we have the right to eradicate a beautiful species, many times older than us, simply for money. If we allow the sharks to slip out of existence through incredibly cruel shark finning, how are future generations going to see us? As barbarians, only worried about our wallets and not for the diverse beautiful planet we live in.
 
July 27, 2009
Votes: +5

hysa said:

...
l'indifférence est aussi mortelle que la violence alors il est tant que le monde entier ouvre les yeux !!!
 
July 27, 2009
Votes: +1

Cathy Church said:

Photographer/tour operator/travel writer
President Johnson Toribiong
Senator Adalbert Eledui:

IT ISN'T WORTH IT! You are destroying the underwater world that you have promised to protect for your children's children's children. Your ancestors have guarded your ocean's lifeblood for you and have used their good sense to hand it over to you intact and now you senselessly trade it off for a few dollars. Are you out of your minds? Do you so disrespect your children that you would hand them a dollar instead of a future? Please do not do this. You know better. You know that it isn't just a few sharks, but a part of an entire system that is all interdependent. Thank you for considering my comment.
 
July 18, 2009
Votes: +9

Shark Savers said:

The bill
I don't think I can include a link to the bill in this comment (I'll try), but if you can't see it, go to the Shark Savers blog section of this site and look for the April 8 entry.

https://mckenziewestmore.com/images/stories/documents/Palau S.B. No. 8-44 (Sharks).pdf
 
July 08, 2009
Votes: +2

Brian said:

bill
Where can I see the actual bill?
 
July 08, 2009
Votes: +2

Cynthia St. Clair said:

Don't give away the treasures of your oceans...the long term loss you will not recover from
Having just booked my 2nd trip to your lovely islands in a year's time, I'm horried to hear that you are loosening your shark fishing laws. Please keep Palau a place that tourists will return to! You will lose huge amounts of money in tourist dollars without your beautiful undersea life and marine environment. Please think about the long term disadvantages over the short term advantages. Thank you for your time.
 
July 03, 2009
Votes: +9

Leslie Barnard said:

...
I take no less than 3 dive trips per year. The opportunity to view sharks in their natural environment and strong protective laws were key determinants for selecting Palau as a dive destination.

If the government passes Bill 8-44, Palau will be removed from my list of destinations for future trips.
 
July 03, 2009
Votes: +11

R Rutledge, MD said:

Preserve it
Things are always more interrelated than one thinks. Please take a longer deeper look. Sharks and the ecology make Palau the unique diving destination that it is - preserve it.
 
July 02, 2009
Votes: +8

Michael Lawrence said:

Photographer
This happens over and over again in smaller nations who think a quick return is more important than the money gained over a much longer period of time. The money gained from tourism devoted to diving with all types of marine life, particularly peak predators such as sharks, is a sustainable resource. In other words, Palau's sharks are worth far more on the fin (so to speak) than in the soup.

Giving away the island nation's natural resources to foreign concerns is certainly not in the best interests of Palau or its citizens and is reprehensible on every level. Both ecologically and economically - it is a decision that will echo through generations to come.

Michael Lawrence
 
July 02, 2009
Votes: +11

Rudolf Rudman said:

STOP , STOP , STOP
mankind is not worthy of this planet. we destroy in the name of religion, science , politics and then point fingers when all fall apart, the planet will bite back and when she does say thank you. only then when mankind is but a few souls left, We will learn (maybe)?
 
July 01, 2009
Votes: +7

Caroline said:

Unbelieveble!!!!
I can not believe that the gouvernement will allow that! It is shooting in their own feet!
 
July 01, 2009
Votes: +8

6510 said:

...
no more ...
 
June 22, 2009
Votes: +5

Thatcher Drew said:

...
Please do not allow shark fishing in Palau. This is truely a "Living Eden" and we need to protect it in every way we can.
 
June 16, 2009
Votes: +7

Cynthia Weston said:

Ethics aside
Surely it makes better economic sense in the long run to preserve Palau's tourist value rather than to let fishermen lay waste to the area?
 
June 10, 2009
Votes: +11

33066 said:

...
Having been to Palau to dive a couple of years ago, the notification of this venture literally brought tears to my eyes. I have never in my life had such a dive experience as I had there, and I will never return if this venture goes forth.
 
June 10, 2009
Votes: +9

Sue Laing said:

...
I am so angry that yet again the commercial interests of a cash-rich cultural majority may win out, to the huge detriment of the rest of the world, driven by a devastating and debilitating disease of self-interested short-termism. Palau's government is looking at hte dollars for the near future and like many less developed nations cannot afford to plan for the long-term, hence their vulnerability to the machinations of selfish overseas business interests. The only consolation if this succeeds through the Palauan parliament is that those foreign commercial enterprises will soon find themselves out of business because they, like businesses and cultures before them over centuries exemplified by blinding stupidity, manage to wipe out the very source of their business growth. And in the meantime those of us who spend large amounts of money during visits to dive and see these magnificent natural wonders, supporting the local economies of places like Palau (twice so far for me and as many times for many of my dive friends who but for this would be returning in the future), will stay away in droves as that's the only way we know how to protest against this appalling proposition.
 
June 04, 2009
Votes: +13

Beth and Shaun Tierney said:

Authors of Footprint Guides: Diving the World and Diving Southeast Asia
It is genuinely hard to believe that the Palau government would go down this route. When we were there a couple of years ago, we noted the number of Chinese people living and working in the country. Is this the reason why shark finning is being considered? All the reasons why this should not be allowed have been documented above - we can only hope that someone reads this and makes the right decision.
 
June 04, 2009
Votes: +10

DAN said:

Unbelievable
How did a bill like this even get introduced?
Don't you understand that tourism in Palau depends on divers and the divers go there to see the sharks. How can you be so stupid!
 
June 03, 2009
Votes: +13

deb berglund said:

shark finning
Shark finning is one of the most useless and wasteful forms of fishing there is. Cutting a fin and tossing the rest of the dying shark back in the water just so a few elderly wealthy "gentlemen" can pretend to "enjoy" the fins is shameful.

Please do not allow shark fishing in the Pacific; the economy of your beautiful islands partially depend upon those of us to spend fairly large amounts of money with you. The influx of divers and tourists will decrease dramatically as the shark population decreases.
 
June 03, 2009
Votes: +10

Linda Gettmann said:

Don't ruin this pristine ecosystem
Why would the Palau government want to jeopardize the reason tourists visit their islands? We just returned from a 2 week dive vacation to Palau, back after having been there 15 years ago -- and were very pleased to see the abundant fish life, many sharks and turtles, and healthy corals on every dive. If this legislation goes into effect, the reason tourists of all nationalities visit will disappear and the economy of the islands will suffer in addition to the decimation of their marine ecosystem. Surely the diving and tourist industry means more to the country than allowing this shark finning and commercial fishing to occur in their waters. Please do whatever is possible to ensure this doesn't happen. If it does, we'll never come back.
 
June 03, 2009
Votes: +8

Michael Emerson said:

Reason for visit
Palau is one of the few remaining places to see sharks in their natural environment. It is absolutely one of the reasons why we have been there twice and will return again.
 
June 03, 2009
Votes: +13

Gek L Stevens said:

enthusiastic diver and visitor to Palau's Blue Corner
It would be a shame to allow sharks in Palau to be harvested so wastefully. Since visiting the Blue Corner I've sworn off Shark's fin soup and made all my family and friends to swear off the dish. It is bad karma to destroy such a beautiful creature for only their fin. I voted above but am not sure that I made it clear that I will no longer go to Palau if sharks are allowed to be killed for their fins. Fins don't even taste like anything. We should encourage vegetarian Shark's fin soup with gelatin substitute. WE WILL NOT RETURN TO PALAU IF THE LAW GOES INTO BEING AND LOBBY ALL OUR FRIENDS TO NOT GO AS WELL. Blue Corner would not be the treasure it is today.
 
June 03, 2009
Votes: +12

M. Ibnur Rashad said:

Palau must Be the Difference
Enough of Shark's fin!

Palau must be different and have a stance against supporting an activity that is fundamentally against the Palauan philosophy of environmental stewardship.

Cultural elements are not static, they usually change to ensure peace, harmony and sustenance for future generations of humans and Nature. Like a river, it meanders following the contours of the ground and the passage of time. Similar statements have been iterated by Chinese philosophers long time ago, but we choose to ignore their words of wisdom and be conned by the words of less-than-wise businessmen. We are now standing on shaky grounds with mass consumerism (when every customer is King or Emperor) and there is not much time left to save sharks, our ocean ecosystems and wildlife may be underwater deserts during our kids' time.

If we can make a concerted effort to change this culture, our future generations will respect us even more. We seek not to destroy culture, but re-invent it in light of the initial intentions of the Chinese philosophers. This way, we are actually respecting the views of our ancestors even more.

I may not be Chinese, but I have immersed myself enough into its culture to greatly appreciate it in essence. Since young, I have immense respect and interest for key ancient Chinese scholars and leaders like Mencius. I hope you too will show as much or even more respect to such great wise men and women who dedicated their lives to reinstate harmony back to their lives and their environment.

I dedicate this message to the tens or hundreds of sharks being killed offshore as I typed. I urge you to spread this message and do not treat this message like a finless shark to be captured once and thrown away.

Regards to those who care,
Ibnur
 
May 04, 2009
Votes: +10

Hilary Minor said:

How sad to see good laws exchanged for bad ones!
It is really saddening to hear that a country like Palau that had enlightened laws governing the protection of sharks in its waters is now intending to open the floodgates to further degradation of the oceans. Sharks, top predators, are vital to the health of the oceans and are a vital link in the chain of life upon which we all depend. Palau does not stand to gain from this move in the long term and I hope very much that the proposed new legislation will be withdrawn.
 
April 13, 2009
Votes: +15

Todd Essick said:

Underwater fine art photographer
In hearing that the Palau government is considering changing laws that will in effect decimate the shark population and cause destruction to marine life in general is completely appalling to me.

My name is Todd Essick I am an underwater photographer, artist, environmentalists. I came to Palau twice last year and have been actively promoting the diving in which sharks are a main attraction along with the multitudes of sea life that dwell off the waters of Palau.

My artwork has been shown and published worldwide from throughout The EU, Russia, Australia, Southeast Asia not to mention my home of the United States. I am usually featured in various television productions throughout the year. I am greatly troubled that the government of Palau would even entertain the idea that these two bills proposed would be good for the country. Tourism and ecotourism should be the sole focus of Palau and protecting environment and not trying to destroy it. It is a proven fact that the actions proposed in the two bills being submitted to the government will effect the life which tourists come to see, period
I would have no choice but to actively dissuade people from traveling to Palau if these laws are passed, even with the present laws in Palau the sharks are being slaughtered at an alarming rate. Why would the government of Palau want to make it easier for more sharks to die when they are in fact such an important part of tourism. This makes no sense though it may mean dollars in a short-term for a few people, perhaps the people that submitted these laws should be asked and find out why they would want this to take place. There are no noble reasons for these proposed laws, these are the acts of a cowardice few who do not have any sense of the future.
When there are difficult economic times it may appear a solution has some merit in helping people, but these laws in turn will only hurt everyone in the end. The economic loss eventually from tourism will far outweigh any gains on the short-term that these proposed laws will give the people of Palau I strongly urge that these proposed laws never become a law.
I love Palau and wish to see the land and it's waters along with the people flourish and embrace and not damage the tourism and Eco-tourism which is the economic engine the drives the country. PLEASE DO NOT PASS THESE LAWS.


All the best

TODD ESSICK

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
www.essickphoto.com

 
April 13, 2009
Votes: +14

Dominick Macan said:

Owner & Operator Dive Advice Travel
Palau is still considered by many clients as one of the world's premier dive destinations and the shark population is a large part of why divers go there. Allowing shark fishing will have an enormously negative impact on the number of divers and will very quickly remove Palau from divers wishlist. For everyone's sake, please do not follow that treacherous course.
 
April 13, 2009
Votes: +17

Steve McCulloch said:

Founder / Program Manager - Marine Mammal Research and Conservation Program / Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
I know President Tommy and was in Palau 2x to paint the airport wall with Wyland. How can Palau's leadership give their ocean treasures away by allowing foreign boats access to what little remains. If this bill is passed, Palau will go the way of the sharks... a slow and painful death. Don't sell out for a short term gain... your childrens children will never forgive you. sdm
 
April 12, 2009
Votes: +21

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