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Ban shark fishing, finning
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Posted on Apr 13 2009
I received disturbing news from a good friend in Palau concerning the Taiwanese and Chinese longline fleets. The want to restart the practice of shark finning. That means they catch the shark, cut the fins off while it’s alive or dead, then throw the carcass into the water, retaining only the fins. It’s used in a soup in Asia where there it is a status symbol to serve it. It has very little taste. As the apex predators of the ocean, removing sharks is a ecological disaster. Here is some of the info that was passed along to me: Please visit: http://sharksanctuary.blogspot.com/ for the latest update on threats to Palau’s sharks and marine environment. There are two bills before Palau’s Senate that, combined, propose to repeal Palau’s ban on shark fishing; permit shark finning; promote purse seining within Palau’s exclusive economic zone; and exempt fishing companies from any export tax on fish taken from Palau. The private industry organizations Palau Chamber of Commerce (pcoc@palaunet.com) and Belau Tourism Association (bta@palaunet.com) and the government tourism office Palau Visitors Authority (pva@visit-palau.com) are alarmed at the potential damage passage of these laws could do to our tourism industry and are urging those around the world opposed to shark fishing, shark finning and unsustainable fishing practices to please express their opposition by e-mailing your comments to each of the respective organizations. Senate Bill SB 8-44 proposes to allow commercial fishing for sharks. Senate Bill SB 8-50 proposes to exempt fishing companies from tax on any fish caught by purse-seining methods. I encourage all people living in Micronesia to oppose such fishing practices and to write the listed above saying so.
[B]William McCue[/B] [I]Wellington, Florida[/I]
