Shark finning...

[bigfish1965]

I have a few friends who are what most of us would call..kinda wacky tree huggers. But we respect each others position on the matter and do not generally bother trying to push one way or the other.

But one friend showed me a video on shark finning. At first I was unmoved cause I can find a video on just about anything that will make even Mother Theresa look bad.

But I looked into it further myself just to have a comeback...and I was left without one.

It was pretty disturbing to see the lack of respect for the resources...sharks were caught, their fins cut off and the rest of the shark tossed back in the water. Obviously they cannot swim and the sink and drown. The more I looked into this the more it became clear this was really poaching. Illegal in almost every country in the world, but still accounting for more than 80% of the sharks harvested each year. It would be the same as catching a musky or walleye and cutting off the fins and throwing the rest of the fish back to die.

I've got no problem with harvesting animals as long as you use all of it. I have had shark steaks before and it was really quite good. These fins are used to make soup...which I have no problem with if the rest of the shark is used as well.

So my friend and I made a deal....I won't support any store or restaurant that has shark fins, and she won't call those poachers 'fishermen' anymore because there is a huge difference between what we do and what they do.

[Zubris21]

I agree 100% Those videos are incredibly disturbing. It is unreal, that the fins can be so profitable that the extra weight caused by the rest of the carcass is such a burden that it is wasted. I think there are many examples like this, just not as highly publicized. Turtles also come to mind. Unfortunately I believe cultural and traditional beliefs would need to be re-examined with an "eye" on the environment for things to change.

 

Wasn't such a problem in the past when there were less people, and less people who could afford these delicacies, but times are changing.

[Moosebunk]

Saw the movie "SharkWater" too Rick.

 

Appalling to say the least. Sad to think that Costa Rica is one of the worst... yet they lead the world in % of lands set aside for National Parks, are at the forefront of environmentally friendly energy production and are enough at peace with the world to have no military.

 

Who knows if those that love their soup and are in obvious support for shark finning, are people who may be opposed to hooking fish for only the simple pleasure of it... or may be opposed to taking a bear for a rug and head mount... a rhino for a horn... or some animals testicles for an aphrodesiac???

 

Too many savages and too much savagery... or is it just being "human?" Naahhh, we can't be thinking like that.

 

Anyways, yup Rick... unless your tree hugging friends aren't human... I'm sure they are contributors to the race in some sort of the same ways as the rest. They just sound as though they don't fish or fin.

[wallyboss]

There was a movie on one of the TMN channels about that. It was incredible. At one part they filmed the roof of one of the buildings and it was covered with fins to dry out.

[ozaibak1]

"I've got no problem with harvesting animals as long as you use all of it."

 

Exactly my position. I would also add killing the animal in the shortest time you can to minimize suffering. Always fascinated me how the natives used every single piece of the animal they could, and very few pieces are useless...

[Uncle Buck]

There was a movie on one of the TMN channels about that. It was incredible. At one part they filmed the roof of one of the buildings and it was covered with fins to dry out.

 

That was "Sharkwater"

 

disturbing to say the least, hack off all the fins, then throw it back in...