Shark conservation panel discussion at the Blue Ocean Film Festival

August 29, 2010 @ 5:59 pm

Yesterday was an amazing day of meeting fellow shark conservationists at the Blue Ocean Film Festival in Monterey, CA.

At 10:30, I attended a panel discussion, “New Strategies In Shark Conservation,” of shark conservation experts moderated by wildlife cinematographer Richard Theiss. The panel guests brought a wide range of perspectives, disciplines and approaches to their discussion around the problems sharks are facing today.

Panelists included:

Peter Knights, Executive Director, WildAid

Stefanie Brendl, Shark Campaign Project Manager, WildAid

Laleh Mohajeran, Executive Director, Iemanya Oceanica

Dr. Greg Stone, Senior Vice President and Chief Scientist for Oceans with Conservation International

Another person who is advising members of the panel is marine cinematographer and conservationist David McGuire, founder of Sea Stewards. David is advising other activists like myself with Stop Shark Fin Soup SF team to ban the sale and trade of shark fins right here in San Francisco.

Click here for David McGuire interview

Please view (or download and share) my short interview with David on shark finning and his work, and be sure to view the ‘Shark Finning’ tab on his website to learn more and take action on this important issue. The page includes a list of San Francisco restaurants that currently serve shark fin soup. Please do not patronize these restaurants, and let them know why. You can also join the local Stop Shark Fin Soup group on Facebook for events and actions you can take here in the Bay Area. If you’d like to donate to an effective international charity doing great PSAs for sharks, please contact WildAid.

This is what shark finning looks like.

An estimated 73 million sharks are killed annually in the shark fin trade, mostly for the traditional Chinese “delicacy” of shark fin soup, served at weddings and business banquets.

From Animal Welfare Institute: “Because of the high value of shark fins and the relatively low value of their meat, sharks are often “finned” while alive, which is by far the most cruel, unsustainable and wasteful method of killing a shark. Typically, sharks are brought aboard a ship, have their fins sliced off, and are thrown back into the sea, where they suffocate, bleed to death, or are eaten by other animals. Appallingly, the animals are usually conscious throughout the entire ordeal, and thus endure unthinkable suffering.”