Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Sharks have a few ALLIES in Costa Rica

"The cruel practice of 'shark finning' is threatening Costa Rica’s eco-friendly image", said Ethical Traveler, one of the organizations trying to alter the practice of shark finning in Costa Rica.

Don't know what shark finning IS? This is a pretty good description:
Shark finning is the act of chopping the fins off of live sharks and dumping the then-helpless sharks back into the sea to drown. The fins are exported to Asia where they are used in an expensive delicacy: shark fin soup—or as journalist John Platt calls it, “Extinction in a Bowl.”

Fuckin' Asian tradition.

Oh, and the IMPACT of shark finning:
A 2007 study published by Science magazine showed a 90-percent decline in global shark populations in recent decades.
Here's the GOOD NEWS as reported in AM Costa Rica just yesterday:
"EthicalTraveler.org has partnered with nonprofit groups MissionBlue.org and Costa Rica’s Pretoma.org to stop shark finning in the Central American nation. In April, Pretoma founder Randall Arauz received the prestigious Goldman Environmental Award for his work to pass a Costa Rican law requiring that sharks be “landed” with their fins attached — a major victory for the sharks. But the work is not finished, said Ethical Traveler."

And as this article pointed out, my HERO, Randall Arauz, received the 'Goldman Environmental Award' a few months back and it's always nice to see worthy folks getting recognized for their efforts, especially when they speak up for those who have no VOICE.

Shark finning is a HUGE problem, and especially here in Costa Rica and especially, especially in Puntarenas, where the Taiwanese and CHINESE influence in Costa Rica is growing. Ironically, Costa Rica has some of the BEST laws on the BOOKS in regards to shark finning and longline fishing but like many laws here, ENFORCEMENT is a totally different matter. Money talks....especially when they, (the Chinese) build you a SOCCER STADIUM.

I was fortunate enough to sit down and interview Randall Arauz a couple years ago, matter of fact, one of the FIRST videos we ever did, which I POST whenever I get the CHANCE. Tell your friends, EMBED this video, re-TWEET this post, Facebook it, DIGG it, Link-it, do whatever it takes to get the word out about shark finning, longline fishing etc. It’s really the LEAST we could do.

Without further ado:



There's a wealth of information out there, so get educated and REMEMBER this isn't just about SHARKS, it's much BIGGER than that, this is about the food chain, the Circle of Life and how it affects us ALL.

Seriously, how bad does it have to get BEFORE we do something?

TONS of Costa Rica Travel Info and VIDEOS on our website: Travel Costa Rica NOW and if you want to visit our YouTube Channel: iCostaRica24 ENjoY!