Welcome. I'm Christina; eighteen-year old marine conversation enthusiast. With this blog, I hope to bring awareness to the troubles our oceans and the beautiful creatures that call it home are facing. As each minute goes by we, the human race, are damaging our oceans. It is our responsibility to do what we can to put a stop to these bad habits.
REVOLUTION (2013) dir.Rob Stewart.
“Revolution is a film about changing the world. The true-life adventure of Rob Stewart, this follow-up to his acclaimed SHARKWATER documentary continues his remarkable journey; one that will take him through 15 countries over four years, and where he’ll discover that it’s not only sharks that are in grave danger — it’s humanity itself.”
01 Mar 2013 @ 09:58PM /
30 notes 
Shark Saver’s long-term partners, LUSH, is joining the non-profit marine conservation organization with a tour through Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong to raise awareness about shark conservation and the sale of shark fin soup. 100% of the profits go to Shark Savers.
Singapore kicked off in January, and beginning in February LUSH’s retail locations and the Shark Savers Taiwan team will conduct the largest awareness and education campaign on shark fin soup yet in Taiwan. Then it’s off to Hong Kong in March with joint promotions running through May.
LUSH and Shark Savers have joined for a two week event called “Soap not Soup”, featuring the sale of ‘shark fin soap’. LUSH produced this special edition soap out of seaweed and sea salt, topped off with a small cardboard shark fin. All sales proceeds will go to Shark Savers.
YOU can take the pledge support ending the shark fin trade in your country HERE.
I’m FINished with Fins campaign: http://www.sharksavers.org/
LUSH cosmetics: http://www.lush.com/
05 Feb 2013 @ 04:34PM /
3 notes Why We Defend Oceans - Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
Really enjoyed this.
24 Sep 2012 @ 02:06PM /
6 notes Sharkwater Saipan
The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands enacted the world’s second shark fin ban on January 27, 2011.
Sharkwater Saipan tells the story of Kathy Pagapular’s sixth grade class at San Vicente Elementary School and how a class project led to the world’s second shark fin ban. The video features interviews with Kathy and the students, as well as Rep. Benavente and Beautify CNMI’s Cinta Kaipat.
CoastGuard - A Waterlust Film About Sharks
This short film was made by biologist Austin Gallagher, who is also a graduate student at my school (UM RSMAS). This film describes his fears and fascinations associated with sharks.
A must see!
(Source: wwf.org)
The sale of shark fin may soon be banned in Vancouver, Richmond and Burnaby as the three cities work together on a bylaw to have the Chinese delicacy removed from restaurant menus.
The move follows bans in several smaller communities and in Toronto, in response to a rapid drop in shark populations, believed to be caused by the high demand for expensive shark fin as a status symbol in Canada’s Chinese community.
I’m happy they are considering a ban, but I hope they actually go through with it. That would be a huge step forward!
Also from that article:
David Chung, president of the B.C. Asian Restaurant and Cafe Association, strongly opposes a ban. He says there is no scientific data that shows shark fin soup is threatening endangered sharks.
“Endangered species are not the level of the municipal government,” Chung said.
“They should leave this to the federal government, which has … scientific knowledge to back up their actions, instead of at this level where none of the councillors really knows too much about it.”
Meanwhile, at least 73 million sharks are killed mercilessly every year for their fins.
From WildAid:
An estimated 1/3 of open-ocean shark species are currently threatened with extinction, with certain populations experiencing a 99% population decline.
But ignorance is bliss, right? Let’s wake up, PLEASE!
16 Aug 2012 @ 01:45PM /
28 notes 2. The Tables are Turned
Every year, humans kill an estimated 70 million sharks. The threats we pose are many. By-catch: the accidental killing of sharks in fishing gear intended for other species. Illegal poaching and hunting: selling shark fins for soup and sportfishing for shark-jaw trophies. Nets: placed along coastlines to keep sharks away from beaches. It turns out that sharks have more reason to fear humans than the other way around. That’s why even shark attack survivors have started speaking up in defense of sharks.
“Consumers of shark fin soup really have no idea what they’re getting,” saidDemian Chapman, a biologist with the Institute for Conservation Science at Stony Brook University. So he and collaborators from the Field Museum in Chicago and the Pew Environment Group collected samples of shark fin soup in 14 American cities and used DNA sequencing to try and figure out what species were used.
The researchers were able to match 32 of the 51 shark fin samples they collected from those cities, which included New York, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. (A ban on the shark fin trade took effect in California on Jan. 1, but existing stocks can be used until July of next year.)
Among the eight shark species identified in the study were blue, shortfin mako and bull sharks. One soup sample from Boston contained scalloped hammerhead DNA. Scalloped hammerheads are listed as endangered on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List. Four other species of sharks found in various soups are listed as vulnerable by the organization. (The I.U.C.N. designations do not have the force of law.)None of the species found in the soups are on the United States Endangered Species List or are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, commonly referred to as CITES. “It’s all perfectly legal,” Dr Chapman said. (The American list does not include any shark species; under the international convention, countries can agree voluntary to refrain from trading in specific species from certain places.)
Read the full article here.
15 Aug 2012 @ 12:41AM /
2 notes 
How Many Sharks Are Caught Each Year?
Tens of millions of sharks die each year to supply the multi-billion dollar fin trade. But how many exactly, how do we know, and why is it important?
