Three Toronto councillors have proposed a ban on the sale of shark fin soup within the city. While local businesses say that a ban in one locality is unfair and will be ineffective, the councillors hope that the rest of the country will follow.

The proposal follows a similar ban in Brantford, Ontario. If you are in Toronto, you can support the councillors’ efforts by signing the petition which has been co-organized by Rob Stewart, director of the award-winning movie Sharkwater and representatives of WildAid.

The following points in the CBC article from shark fin soup vendors show another side to this debate: Read the rest of this entry »

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A wonderful book sponsored by the Save Our Seas Foundation, “Nicole in – The Surf is My Turf” shows children the beauty of Great White Sharks and dispels harmful stereotypes about Great White Sharks. It sounds like the last part might be hard to get across to a kid without scaring them a little (speaking from my role as a Dad) but this book looks great and I am looking forward to getting it for my boy.

Does anyone out there already have it? I would love to get your perspective in the comments!

At any rate, here is some of the official information on the book sourced from Save Our Sharks (thanks guys!): Read the rest of this entry »

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This video from Oceana is the best one I have found so far online. If we can’t move some people with the possibility that losing sharks will hurt us all in the long run then maybe the brutality of shark finning will make a difference. Here is the video: Read the rest of this entry »

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The Discovery Channel promoted this year’s Shark Week by sending out media kits that plainly and disturbingly foster a fear of sharks. Here is a quote from a TV Guide article on the media kit and it’s “grisly” contents (see the picture after the quote):

“The Hollywood Reporter’s TV critic, James Hibberd, received what he described as ‘an unmarked box containing a frosted, seemingly rusted jar.’ What was inside the jar? A pair of bloody swimming trunks with one leg chewed off, a boat key attached to a flotation fob and a few other items.”

The creepiest bit? The fake, crumpled newspaper obituary that announced the writer’s untimely demise ‘Monday, July 6, of a grisly shark attack.’ “

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As a father I am very excited about exploring the world through my young son’s eyes. At just one-years-old my boy Zander is a curious little guy with non-stop energy and I think he will be very passionate about protecting the ocean once he learns more about it from his Daddy. Really, I am expecting there is nothing better than educating a child about the importance of nature. The best part is I have an idea on how we can all have fun educating our kids with a dose of baking

A while back Oceana launched an Adopt a Creature fundraiser where anyone can adopt one of the assorted creatures they have listed for a modest donation. There are a small variety of creatures available but in this case, of course, I will choose to adopt a shark.

The Shark Adoption comes in two formats, the basic donation at $35 and the Shark Gift Pack for $75. In each case you will get a cool shark-shaped cookie-cutter that you and your little ones can use to make some cookies. Better yet, both gifts include a certificate of your adoption of a shark; which I would have loved as a kid! Read the rest of this entry »

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The actress January Jones from the hit tv-series “Mad Men” has stepped up to appear in a number of Public Service Announcements (PSAs) titled “Scared for Sharks.” According to my source article the PSAs will start June 8th and continue through the summer in online, tv and radio features.

“I am so ecstatic to be a face for Oceana’s shark campaign and help make a difference for these magnificent creatures,” said Jones. “After interacting with sharks at such close proximity, I believe now, more than ever, that they carry a stigma with them that is so unnecessary.”

Second to the fact that this PSA should make significant strides bringing attention to the plight of sharks, I love that the PSAs are partly based on the fact that sharks are simply uninterested in humans – a real change in thought for most of us. Here is one of the PSAs with January Jones: Read the rest of this entry »

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The Malta Environment and Planning Authority recently stated that because several sharks caught recently by fishermen were not the protected Great White Sharks they were thought to be they are legal catches. Unfortunately the sharks caught should really be protected due to their IUCN classification. See the comment below from Sonja Fordham (Policy Director for the Shark Alliance) copied from the Malta Times article where I found this story: Read the rest of this entry »

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This is my first post on AntiSharkFinning.com and I am very excited to start making a real difference by getting the word out and educating the public about the atrocities of shark finning and the repercussions it has on our oceans.

My name is Ross Dunn and ever since I watched the movie Sharkwater I have been driven to help stop shark finning and restore the shark populations of the world which are sadly down an estimated 90%. Read the rest of this entry »

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