Victory for Sharks in Guam, Anti-Finning Campaign Swims to Bahamas

by Stephanie Feldstein · 2011-03-03 17:17:00 UTC
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As many as 100 million sharks or more are killed every year for their fins. But to island nations who rely on healthy ocean ecosystems and tourism dollars from divers, sharks are worth more alive than dead.

Recently, Guam became the third place in the world to realize that, with an unanimous vote to ban the possession and trade of shark fins. Guam legislators heard testimony from fishermen, school children, shark lovers and a huge show of support from the international community, including organizations like WildAid and Shark Savers, as well as nearly 400 Change.org community members.

Guam joins Hawaii and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, creating a Pacific corridor where sharks are protected from the brutal fin trade. That's good news for Pacific sharks, but those swimming in Caribbean waters need protection, too.

The Bahamas is the shark diving capital of the world. According to Discovery News, that's not by accident, or even just location. Thanks to The Bahamas National Trust, a 1990s ban on longline commercial fishing provided the ocean predators — and the divers who love to swim with them — a bit of a haven around the islands.

But now there's talk of a shark finning operation coming to the neighborhood. Shark finning is not only unsustainable, it's also incredibly cruel. The fins are sliced off the animals while they're still alive and then their bodies are dumped back in the ocean to drown or be eaten alive by other fish.

This week, marine wildlife artist Guy Harvey and representatives from the Global Shark Conservation Campaign are meeting with Bahamian officials to discuss keeping the islands' sharks protected. The Bahamian proposal goes a step further than banning the shark fin trade and calls for a ban on commercial shark fishing and the export and trade of shark products.

Guy Harvey Research Institute director, Mahmood Shivji, told The Tribune: "You can't just protect [sharks] within the boundaries of a national park because these animals move, so there has to be a regional approach and the Bahamas can really take a lead in this."

According to the Bahamas Diving Association, shark tourism has brought $800 million to the Bahamas over the past 20 years. When tourism and ocean health are at stake, international pressure makes a big difference. Tell the Bahamian government to pass shark protections.

Photo credit: Pterantula

Stephanie Feldstein is a Change.org Editor who has been part of the animal welfare and rescue community for over a decade, and most recently worked for an environmental organization.

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