Help establish a new shark sanctuary in Raja Ampat, Indonesia

Please support this very important petition to protect sharks, mantas and mobulas in Raja Ampat

The shark population there has been depleted almost to the point of no return -- it's very urgent to protect what's left now!

And the manta rays that are now being targeted have even slower reproductive rates than most sharks - only one pup every one to three years! They absolutely cannot withstand directed commercial fishing pressure.

More background info:

Indonesia is one of the top shark fishing nations in the world, and supplies a large percentage of the fins that wind up in the world's shark fin markets. Many of you have seen the finned -- still breathing and bleeding -- baby nurse shark in the "Say 'No' to shark fin soup" PSA. That scene was filmed in Raja Ampat.

In the Raja Ampat Regency in Eastern Indonesia, the shark fishing pressure is coming mostly from the outside, and there's frustration among the local people as their resources are being plundered by outsiders. Shark finning has been going on there for quite some time, but manta and mobula fishing is fairly new there.

There have been some meetings with the Heads of Raja Ampat's Tourism and Fisheries Departments, and these government officials are open to hearing more about the value of sharks, mantas and mobulas to the economic future of their Regency. At the next meeting in early August, a full proposal will be presented, and this petition will be an important part of this proposal.

Note: This is not another "feel good" petition! The petition is one piece of a comprehensive initiative. It's very important that we show the Raja Ampat Fisheries and Tourism Departments that sharks, mantas and mobulas are very valuable to their local economy - ALIVE!

Please sign and share! Thank you!

Update on Hawaii Shark Fin Bill: SB2169

An historic bill is moving through the Hawaiian Legislature calling on a prohibition of shark fin. Since passing the Hawaiian Senate, and then, last week's vote in the Hawaiian House of Representatives, SB 2169 - Relating to Shark Fins - has now moved to the next step in this long legislative process. And once again, it is necessary to rally support to ensure its final passage. There are still a few more steps to go, so please bear with us! Following is an update from Stefanie Brendl of Shark Allies in Hawaii with instructions on how you can help today. Here is where we are with this bill: After passing the House vote, the bill went into "Conference", where Representatives from the House and the Senate are meeting to discuss a final version. Because the bill went through so many changes in the different Committees, the House and Senate disagree on some details of the final language. This is why the Conference is necessary. The main issue now is that some members of the House are asking for changes that dilute the bill to the point of changing the whole intent. For example, taking out "possession" so that shark fins could still be imported for shark fin soup. And if the Senate and House cannot come to agreement on the language during this Conference process, the bill will not be able to move forward and won't even make it the next step. The Hawaiian people are overwhelming in support of the measure, including more and more among the Chinese community in Hawaii. But there is still some opposition in the House that is not completely clear. We have scheduled a press conference for Sunday where we will show the depth of support that we really have. We have invited members of the community to represent the Hawaiian and the Chinese culture, as well as representatives of conservation groups. We will have videos, photos and articles available. Here is how you can help: 1) Please send a letter to the Hawaii House Representatives: The important points to include in the letter are: Ask the members of the legislature to please make sure SB2169 will move ahead and become law. Don't let this important opportunity slip away. Legislators, please listen to the majority, and not to the interests of a small group that is trying to hold up this ground breaking movement. The world is watching. Hawaii can make a difference. Legislators can show great leadership by taking a strong stance. It is important that they realize how many people are watching this effort, and how much impact this will have. Please address your letters to: Hawaii State Legislature State Capitol Building Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 Re: S.B. No. 2169, Relating to Shark Fins Dear Members of the Hawaii State Legislature, Also please send a copy to all the Representatives at this address: reps@Capitol.hawaii.gov 2) If you have time, give these offices a call ASAP. These are the House Representatives on the conference committee that still have objections to the bill. Speaker Say is not on the committee, but he is the speaker of the House, and therefore has a great deal of influence on all of the Representatives. Feel free to ask some tough questions and demand answers on why they are hesitating to support this bill. But please keep it polite and respectful! Email addresses are included below in case you want to follow up with materials etc. Representative Jon Riki Karamatsu ph 808 586-8490 e-mail repkaramatsu@Capitol.hawaii.gov Representative Ken Ito: ph 808 586-8470 e-mail repito@Capitol.hawaii.gov Representative Angus McKelvey ph 808 586-6160 e-mail repmckelvey@Capitol.hawaii.gov House Speaker Calvin K.Y. Say ph 808 586-6100 e-mail repsay@Capitol.hawaii.gov Thank you for your continued support and patience! We will continue to keep you up to date as this bill moves through this - sometimes tedious - process! Stefanie Brendl Shark Allies

Hawaii Shark Fin Bill Passes the House of Representatives!!!!

Synopsis:

Perhaps the most significant legislation involving sharks in US history was passed yesterday by the Hawaiian House of Representatives. This bill will prohibit the sale, possession, and trade of any type of shark fin or shark fin product in the State, including State waters.

This bill has stirred up a great deal of political debate, pitting the concerns of ocean health against a lucrative trade. And has also spurred somewhat of a cultural debate, since the Chinese cultural preference for consuming shark fin soup runs counter to the Hawaiian reverence and respect for sharks as powerful "aumakua", which in Hawaiian is defined as a benevolent guardian spirit or family protector.

History:

Former Hawaiian First Lady Vicky Cayetano is the inspiration behind the bill and asked Sen. Clayton Hee to write the legislation. She is a Chinese immigrant, extremely well respected, and a very outspoken proponent of the bill. Sen. Hee, who is half Chinese and half Hawaiian, has served in Hawaii's State Legislature since 1982 and is Chairman of the Native Hawaiian Culture and Arts Program. He introduced the bill on January 20th.

Both Sen. Hee and Mrs. Cayetano have fought hard to keep the bill alive and are determined to see it passed into law. Mrs. Cayetano provided powerful testimony at the recent House Judiciary Committee Hearing, including her statement that "shark fin soup is about as cultural as bound feet". Their efforts were also instrumental in getting the meaure resurrected last week after it had been deferred by the House Judicial Committee by Rep. Karamatsu.

Local conservationists, Stefanie Brendl of Shark Allies and Inga Gibson, of The Humane Society of the United States, have completely dedicated themselves to advocating the passage of this bill for the past two months. Stefanie, through her tireless grass roots efforts, has garnered widespread international attention and support. And meanwhile Inga has been working non stop to help to iron out legal issues, drafting amendments and working on wording changes to ensure that the bill is fair and will hold up to scrutiny. The efforts of these two dedicated women have contributed greatly to keeping SB 2169 moving through all the various committees that had to review and vote on the measure. They have spent almost every other day at the capitol meeting with committee members, working with the opposition and helping to draft amendments, all the while spreading education about sharks, finning and the bill.

And of course the groundswell of public support from within the Hawaiian community and from around the world has been nothing short of phenomenal. Stefanie has rallied the troops at every critical step along the way, assisted by some key contributors, all of whom have spent many, many hours glued to phones and keyboards, pulling out all stops in efforts to keep the bill going.

Among this avalanche of support, most notable has been a statement signed by fifty one members of the Mission Blue Voyage, a National Geographic project which was imagined to fulfill Sylvia Earle's 2009 TEDPrize wish to save the oceans!! This list is a who's who of the world’s most renowned ocean experts – marine scientists, deep sea explorers, technology innovators, policy makers, business leaders, environmentalists, activists and artists.

More letters of support came from renowned Artist of the Sea and Hawaiian resident, Wyland, as well as Hollywood actors, prominent business leaders, and scientists.

The combination of all of these elements has contributed to getting the bill to this point. It has made it through two Senate Committees, three Judicial Committees and a full vote on the House Floor. Many hurdles have been overcome, but there are still a few more steps to go.

Next Steps:

Next week the bill will go to a Conference meeting, in which one Senate Committee and one House Committee get together to clean up any issues with the language, and the "defective" 2050 date will be corrected - see note below. For example, many of you read about opposition from Shark Researchers at the University of Hawaii. They were initially opposed to the bill, because they feared that it would make it illegal for them to possess specimens needed for their research. The original bill did include an exemption for educational and research purposes, but this exemption was taken out at some point in the process. After addressing this concern with the researchers, they are now strongly in support of the bill provided the education and research exemption is included.

Because attempts to kill the bill were not successful, it's very possible that a new wave of opposition may surface.

During the Conference meetings, there will likely be many voices trying to be heard. Some interest groups will surely be vocal in wanting exemptions and less stringent language. Some compromises may have to be made. Support for the bill and full protection for sharks is strong, however.

After the Conference meetings, the bill will move on to a Senate vote.

And after the Senate vote it will be sent to the Governor. The Governor can sign the bill into law or veto it.

At this point we need to sit tight and try to be patient for the next week as the bill goes through the conference process. We'll send another update soon.

In the meantime, thank you to everyone who wrote, made phone calls and spread the word over the past two months!! Our voices really do count and all this effort does make a difference!! Our input will be needed again soon; we'll send an update to let you know what we can do to help.

Please hang in there and stay with us over the coming weeks until this bill is finally signed into law!

** Note about 2050 date:

Legislators insert a "defective date" on many bills that are expected to go through a great deal of discussion and amendments. When a committee feels that all issues have not been resolved, but they want to pass the bill out of their committee to keep it alive, (because the deadlines are so tight) they add the defective date. This signals to everyone that more discussion is needed, but that the bill is essentially alive. Without this option, some bills would get stuck in a committee until every single issue was resolved beyond any doubt. And as a result, these bills would never make it through all the steps within the designated time.

A defective date also forces the bill into a "conference meeting", which means that the bill has to be approved by the "originating body". Again, that's because after a bill has gone through a number of changes, the originating body (in this case Senator Hee's committee in the Senate) is given the opportunity to agree or disagree with the other Committee's additions and changes. This process prevents the bill from turning into something completely different from its original intent.

Once Representatives and Senators that have been designated to the conference committee have agreed on the final draft, they remove the defective date and assign the "effective date". Generally the effective date will be July of the same year or the beginning of the next year.

Florida's Lemon Sharks Need Your Help

This is an urgent posting asking your help to protect Florida's lemon sharks. Since lemon sharks are not protected, and other species of coastal sharks and fish are, fishermen are already targeting these fascinating and eco-vital creatures for slaughter this winter.

Divers, scientists and conservationists have united to form a petition to be delivered at the upcoming public workshops hosted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission on October 19th and 20th. We need your support to reach our goal of 10,000 signatures. Please pass along the petition to everyone you know. The sharks need your help!

The petition can be read and signed here: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/4/urgent-help-needed-to-protect-lemon-sharks

If you live in Florida please join us:

October 19th - Fort Myers, FL - 6:00pm - 8:00pm - Joseph P. D'Alessandro Office Complex, 2295 Victoria Ave.

October 20th - Dania Beach, FL - 6:00pm - 8:00pm - IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame and Museum, 300 Gulf Stream Way.

You can also list the petition site as your Twitter or Facebook status. Any form of reaching the masses is appreciated.

Let's do our best to put an end to this senseless slaughter!

Thank you for your help!

Shark Rescue is here! Hong Kong based organization working to protect sharks and the oceans.

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Shark Rescue is Here! 
Welcome to the Shark Rescue Examiner, where you'll find our latest updates, get shark-conservation news, learn about the companies we've challenged and are winning over, and more. We've got big plans in store and you're invited to join us. Welcome!

Shark News Florida proposes more protection for sharks  The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) on Thursday proposed rules to enhance its long-standing policy to protect stressed shark populations in Florida waters. (More...) Mutilated sharks turning up in SA waters Foreign fishermen are continuing to hack the fins off sharks in South African waters and toss the animals back into the sea while they are alive. (More...)

No Thanks! 
How we're asking businesses to stop selling shark. Get involved!
+ We confront the Sheraton and Starwood Hotels. After our launch, one of our fans let us know that the Sheraton Futian in Shenzhen was actively promoting a shark-fin offer. Want to get involved? Send their Executive Assistant Manager and email and tell them to remove all shark from their menu!

 + We confront the City of Destin, Florida. Destin is a city that has regular 'shark rodeos', where fisherman get up to $250 in prize money for the largest shark that they kill. Makos, tigersharks and more are the casual victims of these tournaments.

 + We tell Best Bully Sticks to stop selling shark spines. The company sells chew toys for dogs, and one of their products is a thresher shark spine, which their distributor gets from India. Thresher sharks the world over are threatened, and we're trying to get Best Bully Sticks to stop selling threatened species and join Shark Rescue as a winning organization. Want to get involved? Send them an email and tell them to remove all shark from their menu!