Shark Free Vancouver,BC-Stop Shark Fin Consumption

Sharks are being killed at the rate of 100 million a year, "finned" at the rate of 38 million a year, and those are just the reported numbers. "Finning" is the practice of cutting off only the shark fins and discarding the body. Not only is this very wasteful as that's throwing away 90% of the shark but it's also very inhumane as most of the time the sharks are alive when they are finned. They get pulled onto boats, have their four fins cut off with a knife, then thrown back into the ocean. Because they're still alive, they either bleed to death or drown (because sharks can't swim without fins and they need to go forward to get oxygen). Divers have discovered hundreds of dead finned sharks at the bottom of the ocean in huge shark graveyards.

Sharks have been around for over 400 millions years, way before the dinosaurs. It is not known what will happen if sharks become extinct. As the top predator in the ocean food chain, sharks maintain the balance of the oceans by eating other fish. One theory posits that without sharks, their prey would grow in numbers. At the bottom of the ocean food chain there is phytoplankton, which is food for many ocean species and generates half of the world's oxygen. If the population of prey species are allowed to grow unchecked due to a lack of sharks, then the supply of phytoplankton (and our oxygen) are at great risk of being diminished. Sharks alive to regulate the oceans means the survival of our current ecosystem and our own oxygen supply.

In only 20 years, humans have diminished some populations by 90%. Sharks reproduce much more slowly than other fish, taking ten years or more to reach sexual maturity and then bearing few young. They cannot survive the high rate of killing.

Shark Fin Soup consists of cooking the shark fin for a very long time, until the cartilage separates into tiny slivers of cartilage that look like clear noodles. There is no actual taste to the shark fin. What people are tasting is really just the broth (chicken, ham and shiitake) absorbed into the shark fin.

It is very dangerous for humans to consume sharks as they contain the highest levels of mercury of any fish because they are at the top of the food chain and absorb the toxins from all the other fish they eat. The mercury and other dangerous toxins move into the human consumer's body and remains there.

Please sign and support a Shark Product Free Vancouver, BC! Stop the demand for shark fin soup by letting the restaurants and government know that we do not want sharks in our bowls! We want them in our oceans!
Even if you are not residing in Vancouver, BC, please sign, leave a comment, and let our people and restaurants know that we have your support!

The Sharks and I thank you so very very very very much!

Sharks are being killed at the rate of 100 million a year, "finned" at the rate of 38 million a year, and those are just the reported numbers. "Finning" is the practice of cutting off only the shark fins and discarding the body. Not only is this very wasteful as that's throwing away 90% of the shark but it's also very inhumane as most of the time the sharks are alive when they are finned. They get pulled onto boats, have their four fins cut off with a knife, then thrown back into the ocean. Because they're still alive, they either bleed to death or drown (because sharks can't swim without fins and they need to go forward to get oxygen). Divers have discovered hundreds of dead finned sharks at the bottom of the ocean in huge shark graveyards.

Sharks have been around for over 400 millions years, way before the dinosaurs. It is not known what will happen if sharks become extinct. As the top predator in the ocean food chain, sharks maintain the balance of the oceans by eating other fish. One theory posits that without sharks, their prey would grow in numbers. At the bottom of the ocean food chain there is phytoplankton, which is food for many ocean species and generates half of the world's oxygen. If the population of prey species are allowed to grow unchecked due to a lack of sharks, then the supply of phytoplankton (and our oxygen) are at great risk of being diminished. Sharks alive to regulate the oceans means the survival of our current ecosystem and our own oxygen supply.

In only 20 years, humans have diminished some populations by 90%. Sharks reproduce much more slowly than other fish, taking ten years or more to reach sexual maturity and then bearing few young. They cannot survive the high rate of killing.

Shark Fin Soup consists of cooking the shark fin for a very long time, until the cartilage separates into tiny slivers of cartilage that look like clear noodles. There is no actual taste to the shark fin. What people are tasting is really just the broth (chicken, ham and shiitake) absorbed into the shark fin.

It is very dangerous for humans to consume sharks as they contain the highest levels of mercury of any fish because they are at the top of the food chain and absorb the toxins from all the other fish they eat. The mercury and other dangerous toxins move into the human consumer's body and remains there.

Please sign and support a Shark Product Free Vancouver, BC! Stop the demand for shark fin soup by letting the restaurants and government know that we do not want sharks in our bowls! We want them in our oceans!
Even if you are not residing in Vancouver, BC, please sign, leave a comment, and let our people and restaurants know that we have your support!

The Sharks and I thank you so very very very very much!

We the undersigned are respectfully asking that you no longer serve shark fin soup in your establishment, or that you help support our endeavour to get shark fin soup off of Vancouver's restaurants' menus. The huge demand for shark fin soup is causing the shark populations around the world to collapse and many species are facing immediate extinction. The only way to stop this disaster from happening is to act now and stop offering shark fin soup.

Sharks fins have been proven to contain high levels of poisonous mercury and are not a safe form of nutrition for your customers.

We believe that it is not too much to ask you to do your part and stop offering shark fin soup and remove it from your menu. Or to help support us in our endeavour to get it removed from restaurants' menus. Your patrons will still be able to order your many other delicious soups instead. There are also non-shark alternatives, such as vegetarian shark fin or crab, that many restaurants are using very successfully. These options offer the same texture and the taste is virtually the same -- without the health risks and damage to the environment. Please see this website to view a short video for more details -- http://www.sharksavers.org/content/view/392/59/

If you agree to remove all shark products from your menu, we will provide you with a "Shark Safe Network" emblem, which you can display. You will appreciate this decision as it will only increase your business in the future. The banning of shark fin soup movement will be growing rapidly in the very near future. Your business will be recognized as an "ecologically good business" and people will want to patronize your business and not other businesses that are environmentally unfriendly.

It is time for all of us to be responsible to our environment and do all that we can to save our planet. Please be responsible and do your part to save our planet for your future generations. Please stop offering shark fin soup.

Most sincerely,