Whale Wars-Wagging the Conservation Dog

Our Whale Wars post this week has generated a mass of offline and thoughtful emails here at Underwater Thrills. We also got a few hysterical foaming-at-the-mouth diatribes as well.

Here's one example highlighting how Wagging the Conservation Dog harms an entire movement:

Sea Shepherd are not helping whales, they are exacerbating the problem. Every time they clash with the whaling ships in the Antarctic, the Japanese look like the victims, and they spin this for all it's worth at the IWC - "irresponsible NGOs, terrorist organisations" etc. SSCS are gifting the Japanese whalers a bargaining chip to use within the international diplomatic community. Whilst their hearts might be in the right place, and their passion evident, SSCS are sadly out of touch with reality.

Conservation doesn't happen by putting yourself between a harpoon and a whale - although admittedly that is a great way to get publicity. Real conservation happens in international fora - at the IWC, at CITES, within CMS, ACCOBAMS and ASCOBAMS. It's only though negotiation and diplomacy that NGOs can persuade governments and decision-making bodies to lay down new laws that protect wildlife . A £10,000 donation to an NGO that does this kind of work will secure the future of thousands or perhaps millions of whales and dolphins - SSCS would burn through it in a couple of days chasing the Japanese whalers around icebergs, giving just a handful of whales a temporary reprieve.

SSCS are attracting a lot of attention for their antics, and this is diverting funds from the organisations that can really make the difference. The environmental NGO community has come a long, long way in the past 20 years, and we've got inside governments and international fora to a point where we affect REAL change. By tackling the economics of whaling and trade, creating legal frameworks, working with industry and governance - we are making a huge difference to the conservation and welfare of these animals worldwide.

SSCS are alienating and undermining the conservation movement, not helping it. Funders should think long and hard before giving money to SSCS, and question the true value of what they get in return.

Re-Casting Sharks-Suzannah Evans-Oceana.org

One of the strongest "winds of change" in the world of commercial shark diving has been the support and recognition of well respected NGO's for sustainable shark diving.

These "winds" have also been re-casting the image of the shark while highlighting the ongoing global slaughter.

What started as a whisper a few years ago in the lone pines of NGO forest has become a well rehearsed and continuing tornadic "Op-Ed of Pressure" to educate the public to the reality of sharks beyond the Jaws Mythos and foster commercial shark diving as a viable bridge solution to sustainable shark management.

Here's the latest example from Suzannah Evans from Oceana.org:

Every summer, familiar headlines creep into the news: stories of sharks terrorizing beaches around the world, sending swimmers racing for shore with the ominous display of a dorsal fin.

The shark's reputation as a killer was sealed in the public imagination with the 1975 release of Jaws, a movie with imagery so powerful that the original book's author devoted the rest of his life to dismantling the character he had helped create. The shark in Jaws was a brutal, instinctive killer with a dozen rows of jagged teeth and a taste for human flesh. The bloodthirsty great white has become an archetype so pervasive that even a news story reporting on a harmless two-foot sand shark can't resist recalling the Jaws mythos.

Iemanya Soiree and Charity Auction Invite

The second annual Iemanya Soiree and Charity Auction will be held on Thursday, May 29th at the Skirball Center in Los Angeles at 6pm.

I.E.M.A.N.Y.A stands for Research, Education, Management, and Advisory (Investigacion, Educacion, Manejo y Asesoria in Spanish). We are also named after Yemanjá, the celebrated Afro-Brazilian Goddess and guardian of the sea, and mother of all life.

Shark Diver will be donating one free 5 day all inclusive expedition to cage dive (value $3100) with the Great White Sharks at Isla Guadalupe, Mexico and meet famed CICIMAR white shark researcher Mauricio Hoyos on site with proceeds to going to Iemanya.

If you don't have your tickets yet, sign up online at www.iemanya.org. We look forward to having you at this dinner celebrating the ocean and sharks!

At the dinner Iemanya will be presenting their first annual SHARK WARRIOR Award.

There will also be a live and silent auction with sports memorabilia, event tickets and fantastic get-aways. Live Brazilian Samba dancers will provide the entertainment. It will be a fun evening.

Please join us!