http://tinyurl.com/y6e4z9

Oh, please, please, please!!!

http://tinyurl.com/3bzk6m

Uhm, they are WILD animals, folks...

http://tinyurl.com/3a53k7

"The study found there is a 26 percent chance the Cook Inlet belugas will be extinct in 100 years and a 68 percent chance they'll be gone in 300 years."

http://tinyurl.com/336aus

"Andrés Patiño, a marine who is winding up his month-long stretch on Malpelo, insists that the hammerhead shark must be preserved in its habitat rather than served in a soup bowl. 'I saw hundreds of sharks out there and they don't eat you when you swim, even without your boots on,' says Private Patiño. 'They're strange animals but very beautiful, and there is no good reason to eat them.'"

http://tinyurl.com/2jepd7

"Victory! Today, Amazon has pulled all shark fin related products from their offering. No official statement has yet been made by the company; however it appears that they have chosen the ecologically responsible path....

If you would like to voice your support for Amazon's decision to remove shark fin products and press them to take a public stand on this issue, please feel free to you use the following text:

To Amazon Customer Service/Investor Relations

I would first like to voice my support for Amazon's decision to remove shark based products from your website. You have listened to the overwhelming feedback in opposition to shark products from your customers, and have taken appropriate action to address them. It is my hope and expectation that shark based products will not return to your website in the future. Furthermore, I expect that Amazon will take a public stand against trade in shark products.

It is important that you understand the basis for my concern regarding shark fin and related shark products. Shark finning trade has exploded in the last 15 years and is continuing to grow at a rate of over 5% per year. Most recent studies indicate that sharks are being harvested at a rate of 23 to 73 million sharks per year. As a consequence, worldwide shark populations have plummeted with many species declining more than 90%. Since sharks are very slow to mature and reproduce, the present rate of over-fishing is pushing many shark species to the brink of extinction.

The value of the sharks fin far exceeds the value of the rest of the shark. In restaurants, shark fin soup can fetch as much as USD150 per bowl. A shark's fin represents about 2-5% of the total body weight and takes up relatively little storage space. As such, it is far more profitable for fishermen to sever the fins and dump of the finless sharks into the water to drown. This has lead to a worldwide ecological disaster. Finning is a cruel, wasteful and destructive practice. Sadly it is the primary means by which shark fins are harvested.

Many nations have outlawed the practice of shark finning. In particular, shark finning is banned in the Eastern Pacific, North Atlantic and waters of Australia. Having decimated shark populations in other regions of the oceans, the commercial shark fishing fleets are illegally operating in protected waters and harvesting shark fins by the millions. In the open ocean, there is little that can be done to stop them.

By ceasing to sell shark based products, Amazon has taken an important step in the right direction. Amazon now has an opportunity, and responsibility, to join other world class organizations in taking a public stand against trade and consumption of shark products and other endangered species. As an example, Disney took public action in response to significant outcry against their initial plan to serve shark fin soup. In a press release they stated, "After careful consideration and a thorough review process, we were not able to identify an environmental sustainable fishing source, leaving us no alternative except to remove shark's fin soup from our wedding banquet menu,"

I urge Amazon to issue a similar statement to the public stating why they will no longer carry shark fin and related products. This would further position Amazon as an environmentally responsible and conscientious organization. Furthermore, this would cause me to resume my purchases with Amazon and resume referring others to your website.

I look forward to Amazon taking this next step.

Sincerely,..."

Had we known that Amazon.com carried shark fin products we would have boycotted them. Thankfully, they have done the right thing.

http://tinyurl.com/2rrvpx

"A family who boycotted their favourite Chinese restaurant because it served shark fin soup is celebrating after it was taken off the menu."

http://tinyurl.com/36m79y

We were so busy in August that we missed this very important news - Bravo, Yao Ming!

Also see: Bloggers Cheer Yao Ming Shark Attack and Taking a Stand for Mother Nature (warning: graphic shark finning video)

http://tinyurl.com/33j36e

"Experts point out that for all the hoopla over shark attacks, they're relatively few and fatalities are even fewer. Last year there were 86 known and suspected shark encounters, with seven confirmed deaths and the shark involvement in another two ocean fatalities uncertain, according to the Global Shark Attack File.

Meanwhile, about 100 million sharks and their close relatives are killed each year, either deliberately or as fishermen's bycatch, according to the Shark Alliance, a five-month-old international coalition of advocacy and ocean recreation groups.

That would make for a fatality ratio of about 1 human to every 10 million sharks, some conservation advocates point out."