Commercial Trade Trumps the NGO's - Seal Hunt

The announcement of a new multi-million dollar trade agreement between Canada and China has set the seal conservation world ablaze.

For those of us a bit more left of center, this trade agreement is nothing new, and the main reason why many of "save the" campaigns ultimately fail.

While we're sure these fine ladies of PETA mean well, what they are doing here does not affect trade between nations. In fact all direct action seems to accomplish these days is in securing shows on Discovery Networks.

These shows are all but guaranteed to run 20-30 seasons of "saving the" with some colorful moments for audiences to watch. But at the end of the day markets are won and lost by trade agreements and even the top tier "save the" campaigns are at the whim of new trade agreements forged in desperation, or in multi-year packages.

As was the case recently in Canada.

The fact is after all the petitions, after all the sound bytes and protests, trade remains the driver.

Case in point Alibaba.com. Once the most egregious online platform for the sale and trade of shark fin, a global campaign to shut down this online trade was ultimately successful.

For exactly three months.

Today there are 5-8 online trade platforms that trade the same volume of shark fins. An eye opener for us when these sites were discovered, and a clear line of attack for conservation groups looking to effect change.

Go after the trade.

The debate about sustainable harvests with seals will go on forever, as apparently will the trade in seal meat and furs, to be recycled in China and sold back to us in the form of fur lined boots and premium dog food no doubt.

The end users of trade are the most vulnerable and usually have the most to lose. The folks on the front lines, the guys with the Hakapiks on ice flows in Canada make nice media targets but at the end of the day have the least to lose, because they are starting with little to begin with. Same goes for the shark finners in Mozambique, or the folks in Latin America coming in with tons of sharks fin on second and third rate fishing boats, selling their fins for a dollar a pound.

Change can come, and ultimately conservation groups can be successful, but the days of staged multi-million dollar media extravaganzas on television, small protests with semi naked protesters, and the endless cycle of online petitions has to end.

Trade agreements between nations trump everything and right now very few NGO's have a seat at the table when it comes to changing trade agreements.

It's a race everyone involved in "save the" campaigns can ill afford to lose.

Mote Marine Labs Spearheads Shark Effort

(Reuters) - A team of U.S. scientists and environmentalists met with Cuban officials this week to discuss a proposed alliance, including Mexico, to protect the Gulf of Mexico's declining shark population.

The meetings were a product of both improved U.S.-Cuba relations and concern that only a joint effort by the three nations that share the gulf can protect sharks, whose numbers are said to be down as much as 50 percent for some species.

"The Gulf of Mexico is one ecosystem, it's not just the U.S. gulf. The shark is a highly migratory fish that moves between the countries and it is troubled," said Pamela Baker, gulf policy advisor for the New York-based Environmental Defense Fund, which is spearheading the effort along with the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida.

Shark populations have fallen worldwide, primarily due to overfishing to satisfy China's demand for shark fin soup, which is rising as China becomes more prosperous, scientists say.

An estimated 73 million sharks are being killed annually mostly for their fins, the EDF said in a recent publication.

Still unknown, said shark expert Robert Hueter at the Mote Marine Laboratory, is the effect of the massive BP oil spill this summer in the Gulf of Mexico.

Complete Story.

HSI Supports Shark Finning Workshop

PUNTARENAS, Costa Rica (September 10, 2010) – A two-day international workshop on shark conservation, hosted by Costa Rica’s Fisheries Authority INCOPESCA and supported by the NGOs Pew and Humane Society International, took place in the Costa Rican port of Puntarenas. The workshop, which focused on the technical aspects of landing sharks with their fins naturally attached to their bodies, was attended by delegates from 13 North, Central and South American countries.

The “fins-attached” method has gradually been gaining international recognition because it is the best response to end the practice of shark finning and ensures fewer shark catches. The United Nations General Assembly, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and the review process of the UN Fish Stocks agreement have all recommended “fins-attached” policies.

Facts:
Sharks are apex predators whose survival affects all other marine species and entire ocean ecosystems.

"Finning" refers to the act of cutting off a shark's fins and throwing the rest of the shark back into the sea. It is estimated that tens of millions of sharks are killed to supply the wasteful demand for shark fin soup every year.

For hundreds of years, shark fin soup has been served as a symbol of social status and a traditional way for the elite to display their wealth in Eastern Asian. Countries such as China (including Taiwan and Hong Kong), Singapore, Malaysia, Japan and Thailand import thousands of
metric tonnes of shark fins each year.

The practice of shark finning is global and has led to severe declines in shark populations. Unlike other fish species, sharks produce very few young and mature slowly and consequently, overexploited populations can take years or even decades to recover.

Most fishing nations do not have finning bans in place, while others require that carcasses be retained, but allow the fins to be removed from the carcasses at sea provided that, when landed and weighed, the fins weigh no more than 5 percent of the weight of the shark. This has resulted in lengthy disagreements over the 'correct' weight ratio of the fins. Furthermore, doubts have been raised about the availability of sufficient resources to monitor compliance, which would require the weighing of every shark catch that arrives at dock.

Fins-attached policies require no weighing, therefore facilitating compliance. Shark conservation is greatly enhanced by fins-attached policies, as fishers have to store every shark that they catch, reducing the total catches and ensuring full usage of the carcasses and decreased wastage.

BLUE Ocean Film Festival & Conservation Summit

From the RTSea Blog this week, if you happen to be on Moneterey at the end of this month there's an event you have to attend:

The BLUE Ocean Film Festival & Conservation Summit will be taking place in Monterey, CA from August 24th through the 29th - and, flat out, it is an event not to be missed for the dedicated ocean conservationist to the mildly curious.

Only in its second year, the festival has grown tremendously in scope and recognition because of the wide range of films, conservation events, and just plain fun and fascinating events for people to participate in. There are single and multi-day passes and industry delegate passes, so you can build your schedule accordingly - watch some of the very best ocean films from international filmmakers, take in premiere photo exhibits and discussion panels on a wide range of ocean exploration and conservation subjects, or you can even get out in the field or get wet with some of the top experts in their field.

This year, the festival's 2010 Dr. Sylvia Earle Award will be presented to Dr. Carl Safina, director of the Blue Ocean Institute, who is one of our most dedicated and eloquent environmentalists and who will be giving a special presentation on the status and future implications of the Gulf Oil Spill. There will be other great speakers, like Jean Michel Cousteau, Dr. Sylvia Earle, and many other recognized heavyweights in the field, along with a variety of important seminars and panel discussions. I am pleased and honored to once again be participating in and moderating a Shark Conservation Discussion Panel and I will be joined by Peter Knights (WildAid), Laleh Mohajerani (Adoptashark), Stefanie Brendl (Hawaiian Shark Encounters), and Dr. Greg Stone (Conservation International).

Also, for all you beginning or emerging underwater video filmmakers, I will be conducting an Introductory Underwater Video Workshop that includes 2 dives in Monterey Bay's famous kelp beds along with a classroom workshop.

The films that will be shown range from major productions like Disneynature's Oceans, National Geographic and BBC productions to short films and online-dedicated videos (I have one in this category that will be screened and two that received honorable mentions) - over 60 films total.

The festival events will be taking place in venues throughout the city, including the Monterey Bay Aquarium, one of the festival's major sponsors. So you can really plan quite a time for yourself.

The BLUE Ocean Film Festival & Conservation Summit. Come for a day, come for a week. It's going to be one heck of an event.