Conservation Video Done Right

Hat Tip to Mark and to Mike for passing this first rate video around. Opening eyes and changing perceptions is what this latest video is all about.

If there was an award for this kind of front line reporting and presentation fact, the team behind this video would get it. Perhaps we should start with something like this?

Sit back and ab-sorb this, once you're done we defy you not to want to "grab a flight to join the fight".

Japan International Seafood and Technology Exhibition - Mexico

One of the keys to ending shark finning is to be vigilant and aware of the global shark fin trade including new and emerging markets.

Conservationists who focus on fishermen and not key market trading partners are at a disadvantage when it comes to curbing trade:

Mexican companies who participated in the Japan International Seafood and Technology Exhibition (JIST) this year, managed to market their seafood products for around MXN 11 million (USD 865,300), as reported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA).

The news was announced in a report prepared by the general coordination of Trade and Export Promotion, through MexBest who were present at the show.

For the first time, customers and visitors at JIST had access to marine products from Mexico.

Among the resources exhibited were octopus, sea cucumber, shark fin, different varieties of frozen fish, canned abalone and conch and fresh bluefin tuna.

According to the general coordinator of Trade Promotion, Gabriel Padilla Maya, the reported short-term sales amounted to MXN 3.2 million (USD 251,700) and medium term, MXN 7.5 million (USD 590,000).

Maya stressed that the Japanese fair is important not only for the specific sales but also as it will increase the presence of Mexican products in the Asian market.

During the presence of the Mexican delegation, between 21 and 23 July, business meetings were held with more than 15 Japanese importers. These contacts are expected to help boost the marketing of annual production of nearly 200 tonnes of abalone, 1,300 tonnes of lobster and 200 tonnes of shrimp.

SAGARPA indicated that Mexican exports of seafood to Japan account for between 10 and 12 per cent of their total sales in the Asian market.

The main marine products exported to Japan are: tuna, shrimp, sardine, sea urchin and octopus.

According to the Mexican Agricultural Ministry, in 2009 total agri-food exports amounted to around USD 661 million.

JIST 2010 brought together 600 exhibitors and received around 35,000 visitors, El Universal reported.

Shark Conservation Coverage - Al Jazeera

Surprising and in depth front line coverage of the shark situation in Palau, recently declared a shark sanctuary. As we have said many times in the past shark tourism is a viable bridge solution to sustianable fisheries. When local and regional fishermen have the financial incentive to save sharks they are more than likely to push back against outside fisheries.

Pacific Islands Regional Plan of Action (PI-RPOA)

The announcement of the Pacific Islands Regional Plan of Action on Sharks sounds like a good idea, but as they say "the devil is in the details."

While this plan of action "tips a hat" towards shark fining as a regional issue along management of shark stocks, it fails to look at sustainable shark tourism options that generate per shark, thousands of dollars to local and regional economies.

Shark tourism is a viable bridge solution to successful shark conservation and management.

Where local inhabitants adopt "safe and sane" shark tourism, sharks, reefs and surrounding areas flourish:

The Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) today launched the Pacific Islands Regional Plan of Action (PI-RPOA) on Sharks.

At least 80 species of sharks and rays occur within the Pacific Islands region. Around half of these species are considered to be highly migratory, therefore fishing impacts upon them must be internationally managed. Due to their low productivity and long life span, these species are particularly vulnerable to overexploitation. Sharks and rays are also of cultural significance to many Pacific Island communities.

White Shark Projects - FTTSA Certified

Kudos are in order for the recent good news.Two industry members located in S.A have recently been awarded the S.A Fair Trade in Tourism. These are the only two operators who have been awarded this certification based on a long history of regional research efforts and operational leadership within the community.

A blog post about this award and certification was an interesting read both in terms of it's candor and reservations for the industry as a whole, and the negative industry perceptions we battle every day.

Quote:

I've been loathe to give publicity to the booming white shark cage diving industry in South Africa. While I also haven't gone out of my way to criticise it either, I just feel conflicted about the practice and so have avoided the subject entirely. However, Fair Trade in Tourism SA (FTTSA) has recently certified their second shark cage diving tour operator and I just had to look a bit deeper.

Helen Turnbull (of Serendipity Africa and FTTSA) was commissioned to do extensive research into the industry and its practitioners as FTTSA wrestled with this issue for the first cage diving applicant, and I cornered her at Indaba 2009 to ask a few questions. She's promised to forward some of the findings from her research, but she did share that she also had reservations about the industry overall when she began the project. After the research, she advises me that she has no reservations about either the first operator, Marine Dynamics Tours, or the second, White Shark Projects, receiving Fair Trade in Tourism certification.

Complete blog post