#shark fin ban

[singingrainbows]

Here's a petition https://www.thepetitionsite.com/da/376/246/352/73-million-sharks-are-killed-every-year-just-for-shark-fin-soup/

[fawnsflowerbed]

I feel like over time Leon developed a belief that he simply wasn't supposed to be loved. That after endless bloodshed, the lives he took, the mistakes he made and people he lost, it just wasn't meant to be. The last time he dated someone they broke up, and he drank himself stupid before heading to Raccoon City with the world's worst hangover.

So how is he supposed to trust this?

How is he supposed to trust you?

You're a knife through the back waiting to happen, a car crash, a cleanly lined sniper's shot through the windows of the home you both shared. Being with you is a risk to every party involved. What if he turns his back, he looks away, and he loses you?

You and your gentle words, your delicate hands that cradle him. You and that smile that envelops his mind, that presses a wax seal into the second-thoughts and what-ifs, that mails away his insecurity. You who cares for him, takes care of him, holds him. Who cooks bad meals with him and bans him from the stove, who fixes what he breaks. It shouldn't be right, sometimes it doesn't feel right. Sometimes he snaps or sinks like a shark without a dorsal fin, sometimes he hopes he drowns in his sorrow so you realise that he is not the one you should love.

But you come out like a buoy, and you pick him up. And you give him space when he needs it and closeness when he needs it, you familiarise him with the concept of love.

And one day he realises how much he truly craves it. How much he wants your hands and touch and love to feel right. He can't promise he'll put down the bottle immediately, or that gunshots won't ring through his mind to awaken him in the night. He can't promise you a white picket fence life with a stable job and a neighbourhood shrouded in sanctuary and safety.

But he can promise he loves you. And that scares him more than anything.

And really? It feels like it's worth it now.

[nightlilly0110]

The Dishonored wiki says that the entire whale is used, not just the oil, and I think they missed out on a great opportunity to highlight how even more horrific the whaling industry is in the series if they just said that the whales were only hunted for the oil (doubly so if you remember that whales in Dishonored are supernatural and are favoured by The Outsider).

Like it’s already very much hitting you over the head with how bad it is from the several mentions of whale oil rationing/banning announcements in the first game to actually being able to see whales being hauled off as Corvo is going home. And then in Knife of Dunwall you see the whale hooked up to the machine that’s meant to make it live longer (suffering, in pain) so they can harvest more oil. But imagine that and now imagine that they just let all of that go to waste. It would be like taking the shark fins and throwing them back in the water to drown. It’s horrific, yes, but it’s industrialism.

Also, Dunwall is very much based on the British Empire with the design of the outfits and just the architecture. It would be very on the nose to have something like that happen, considering that using up the entire animal/using sustainable hunting practices is something that is more commonly associated with North American Indigenous peoples and definitely not with post-Industrial Revolution England. And they already kind of do this sort of thing with the fact that the whales are dwindling in numbers in that it mirrors what happened with the American buffalo (not a one to one comparison but similar enough).

[painehell]

@that-trans-autistic-guy tagging you bc idea.

but, anyway, in the comics (& i think charles references it in the show?) charles mentions a winning spaghetti eating contest when he was alive. i wonder if edwin even knows what spaghetti is. back before it became a popular food in the .. 60s/ smth similar, spaghetti came to europe and america as this strange and odd food but it was canned (1930-1950s mainly), and before that, you didn't know it existed unless you lived in italy or had italian friends. spaghetti was so weird that the 1957 BBC made a news segment on spaghetti trees (link <--). the idea that edwin doesn't know what spaghetti is or thinks it is a weird mystical thing is extremely likely.

he probably doesn't know what a lot of foods are and foods he ate back in the day are probably banned. ex: ox tail soup, pig tail soup, snapping turtle soup, brown shark fin soup, (source: chinese cookbook i have from 1947, when those dishes weren't seen as odd/weren't illegal.) and then you take in the fact that there are certain modern day foods or drinks that taste extremely different from his day (ex: coca cola, water (many people who've drank fallout shelter water says it tastes better and different than today's water), etc).

edwin just .. doesn't know. and since he was in hell for so long, he didn't even get to witness these changes unlike emma (crystal's friend in ep 1) & charles, who (probably) got to witness the changes of the earth after their time and obviously relatively adapted. charles got to witness the shift into the 90s and the nazis overtaking the skinhead subculture and he got to witness the world thinking it was going to end twice and he got to witness more acceptance of queers, he got to witness all of this change and adapt, whereas edwin didnt, and edwin is obviously quite stuck back in his time, evenmoreso than charles is. charles still dresses, speaks, everything of his time, but he's adapted and you can tell. edwin, however, doesn't know modern things and hasnt adapted his views to change. edwin's still stuck in the year he died.

[moon-snailsss]

Elasmobranchs

What are elasmobranchs?

Elasmobranchii, a subclass of fish (Sharks, skates and rays), are characterized by their cartilaginous skeleton. Cartilage is a flexible connective tissue found in human ears and nasal tips. It provides Elasmobranchs with amazing flexibility. Elasmobranchs evolved over 400 mya, long before trees existed. They’ve adapted many unique adaptations that help them survive in the aquatic environment. Notably, their skin is covered in tiny tooth like structures called dermal denticles. Dermal denticles decrease drag and turbulence, allowing sharks and rays to swim with incredible speed and agility.

Shark Evolution

Shark evolution goes back 450 million years ago during the late Ordovician period. Scientists believe that sharks from this period did not have teeth. The earliest shark teeth scientists have discovered comes from an ancient fish that lived during the Devonian period. This fish is the Doliodus problematicus. They are described as the “least shark like shark.” Here’s an example of what shark teeth looked like during the Devonian period.

They look very different from todays shark teeth!

Stingray Evolution

Stingrays evolved from sharks. Sharks emerged 450 million years ago and stingrays evolved 200 million years ago. An adaptation that both sharks and stingrays have is the Ampullae of Lorenzini. Sharks, skates, and rays have these tiny mucus filled pores in their skin called the ampullae of lorenzini which can detect electricity in the water. They help elasmobranchs find prey by detecting electrical fields produced by prey activity.

Conservation

Unfortunately many species of elasmobranchs are endangered. This is mostly due to overfishing and shark finning. Shark finning is a practice where fisherman will cut off the fins of sharks and dump their bodies back in the water. It’s extremely inhumane and it causes sharks major suffering, without their fins they can’t swim and will end up suffocating. Overfishing and bycatch is another major problem where fisherman will accidentally catch unwanted sharks or Rays. Unintentionally caught animals will often die after being tossed back into the sea. Thankfully there are conservation efforts working protect endangered species. Organizations such as NOAA Fisheries and Shark Stewards are working to ban shark finning in different countries. Other organizations such as Minorities in shark science and shark research institute conduct research on shark species, helping people better understand sharks and protect them.

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Week - December 19, 2022

1. Biden to sign Respect for Marriage Act, reflecting his and the country's evolution

President Biden signed into law Tuesday a bipartisan bill that codifies same-sex and interracial marriages with a large celebration on the South Lawn of the White House.

The president spoke before a crowd of thousands gathered to celebrate the federal protections in the Respect for Marriage Act.

"The road to this moment has been long, but those who believe in equality and justice – you never gave up," Biden said.

2. MacKenzie Scott reveals details of her $14bn in donations to 1,600 non-profits

She has signed pledge promising to give away over half of her wealth. The billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott's donations have yielded more than $14bn for about 1,600 non-profits since 2019, according to her new website Yield Giving, which was unveiled on Wednesday night.

3. A stranger on a plane gave two girls fleeing civil war $100. Decades later, they reunited.

This is so heartwarming! I’m so glad they’re able to meet again!

Ayda Zugay was a nearly 12-year-old refugee fleeing the former Yugoslavia with her older sister when a stranger handed them the envelope on a flight to the United States in 1999. The woman made them promise not to open it until they got off the plane. The girls were later shocked to discover dangly earrings and a $100 bill inside.

A note scribbled on the outside of the envelope is signed with only a first name — Tracy. And for almost a decade, Zugay says she's been trying to find her.

After years, her message finally made it to Tracy Peck of Blaine, Minnesota. Her daughter reached out to Zugay: "You are looking for my mom Tracy Peck! Her handwriting is unmistakable. She remembers you girls from the flight!"

4. US scientists boost clean power hopes with fusion energy breakthrough

US government scientists have made a breakthrough in the pursuit of limitless, zero-carbon power by achieving a net energy gain in a fusion reaction for the first time, according to three people with knowledge of preliminary results from a recent experiment. Physicists have since the 1950s sought to harness the fusion reaction that powers the sun, but no group had been able to produce more energy from the reaction than it consumes

5. Cancer mRNA vaccine completes pivotal trial

Researchers say they have successfully completed a trial of a personalised cancer vaccine that uses the same messenger-RNA technology as Covid jabs. The experimental vaccine, made by Moderna and MSD, is designed to prime the immune system to seek and destroy cancerous cells.

Doctors hope work such as this could lead to revolutionary new ways to fight skin, bowel and other types of cancer. Moderna and MSD called it "a new paradigm" moment.

6. Historic ban on shark fin trade poised to become U.S. law

The U.S. is poised to ban the lucrative trade in shark fins, a move conservationists hope will help protect millions of sharks that are butchered every year to satisfy demand in China and other parts of Asia.

The practice of shark finning, whereby sharks are caught for their fins and their carcasses then dumped back into the ocean, has been banned in U.S. waters for decades. But the U.S. remains a major hub for the brisk trade where the fins of as many as 73 million sharks are cut off around the world each year.

7. Ukraine says power restored to almost 6 million people in last 24 hours

Ukraine has managed to restore power to almost 6 million people in the last 24 hours after massive Russian strikes against the electricity generating system, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday.

"Repair work continues without a break after yesterday's terrorist attack," he said in a video address.

...

That's it for this week. If you liked this post you can support this newsletter with a small kofi donation:

Buy me a coffee ❤️

Have a great week ahead :)

[slenderofthejoker]

Lore doodle.

Cw Bright colors, eyestrain (I think), gore, body horror?

When Wildcard was younger luck had a large sharklike fin on dice's back.

Shark fins are considered a delicacy to some. Illegal delicacy as it's generally banned, but...there is still a black market for such things.

And a Shark fin from a slenderfolk? Well...that can fetch you a pretty penny on the black market.........more then enough when money is tight with four younger mouths to care for.....

[i-am-so-normal-about-radiostatic]

Some Radiostatic incorrect quotes

Vox: I was arrested for being too cool. Alastor: The charges were dropped due to a lack of supporting evidence.

Alastor: In light of what you did for me, you can hug me for four to five seconds. Vox: FORTY FIVE SECONDS?!? Alastor: No! Four to five seconds! Vox: Too late!!!

Vox: Is letting someone win at chess sapiosexual bottoming Alastor: Does anyone in this godforsaken group ever think before they speak

Vox: Do you have any skeletons in your closet? Alastor: You mean literally or figuratively? Vox: Honestly, the fact that I have to specify...

Vox: I’m gonna need a human skull and I can't have you ask any questions why. Alastor: Only if you also don't ask why Alastor: Pulls out 7 pristine human skulls Take your pick. Vox: Alastor: Vox: This one is fine

Vox: What is your biggest weakness? Alastor: I can be uncooperative. Vox: Okay, can you give me an example? Alastor: No.

Vox: So what do you do? Alastor: I work in genetic research, and I'm currently trying to eliminate all Cancers. Vox: Wow, impressive. Alastor: Then I'll move on to Leos.

Alastor: Vox... Vox: Oh no, 'Vox' in b-flat. Vox: You're disappointed.

Alastor: Oh just so you know, it's very muggy outside Vox: Vox: Alastor, I swear, if I step outside and all of our mugs are on the front lawn... Alastor: Sips coffee from bowl

Vox: Bad things keep happening to me, like I have bad luck or something. Alastor: Vox, you don't have bad luck. The reason bad things happen to you is because you're a dumbass.

Vox: Please, I'm begging you go to a doctor. Alastor: I'm sorry is this OUR stab wound? Stay out of it.

Vox: A theif. Alastor: Thief? Vox: Theif. Alastor: I before E, except after C. Vox: Thceif. Alastor: No.

Vox: You're the love of my life and my best friend, I would do anything for you. Alastor: I want you to eat three meals a day and have a decent sleep schedule. Vox: Absolutely not.

(This is their relationship fr ^^^)

Alastor, watching the news: Someone tried to fight a squid at the aquarium today! Vox: walks in covered with ink, shark fin and tail out Well, maybe the squid was being a dick.

Vox, tending to Alastor's wounds: How would you rate your pain? Alastor: Zero stars. Would NOT recommend.

Vox: How many kids do you have? Alastor: Biologically, emotionally, or legally?

(He's the dad friend. He's adopted Charlie, Vaggie and Niffty so far)

Vox: Must be hard not being able to laugh Alastor: I do have a sense of humor you know Vox: I’ve never heard you laugh before Alastor: I’ve never heard you say anything funny

Alastor: So what’s for dinner? Vox, staring at the food he just burnt: Regret.

Vox: Alastor was banned from the chicken shack, so we had to go out of town to get some. Alastor: Well, they shouldn’t say “all you can eat” if they don’t mean it. Vox: Alastor, you ate the employee.

Vox: Three words. Say them and I'm yours. Alastor: Three words. Vox:

Vox: What’s the straightest thing you’ve ever done? Alastor: sighs Alastor: I killed a man.

Alastor: I’m never donating blood ever again. Alastor: The second you walk through the door, it’s just one invasive question after another! Alastor: ‘Where did you get it?’ 'Why is it in a bucket?’ I mean, do you want it or not?

Vox: Goodnight to the love of my life, Alastor, and fuck the rest of y'all.

Alastor: Our relationship is strictly professional. Vox, sitting on Alastor’s lap: Absolutely. Only on business.

Vox: I'm not a morning person. I'm barely even a person.

Vox: Did you ever have like a pet run away and find it or anything? Alastor: I had a lizard that I burnt.

Vox, dramatically: They called me a fool. Alastor, sick of Vox's shit: They weren’t wrong.

Alastor: Two brooooos! Vox: Chillin' in a hot tub! Alastor: Five feet apart 'cause we're not gay! Vox: Alastor: Vox: tearing up Alastor: Babe, c'mon… Vox: AND HERE YOU REALLY HAD ME THINKING WE HAD SOMETHING. Alastor: Babe…

Alastor: You look mentally ill. Vox: I am. Let’s go.

Alastor: Just a minute. I need to go take out the trash. Vox: Oh. We're going out? Alastor: Wh…

Vox: Cause you're pretty and you're smart, and you're ignoring me so you're obviously my type. Alastor, who was distracted: I'm sorry- what were you saying? Vox: Perfect.

Alastor: Do you want to explain the text you sent me last night? Vox: It was autocorrect. Alastor: Autocorrect wrote "You're so hot. Please step on me."? Vox: Yes.

Vox: I want to kiss you. Alastor, not paying attention: What? Vox: I said if you die, I wont miss you.

Vox: Are you an F5 key? Because that ass is refreshing. Alastor: Are you a software update? because not right now.

Vox: Come to dinner tonight. I can’t cook, but I’ll bring plenty of free wine. Alastor: Marry me.

Vox: You are the love of my life and I would do anything within reason to make you happy. Alastor: I would be happy if you ate, stayed hydrated and got a reasonable amount of sleep. Vox: I said within reason, Alastor. How about I murder that guy? Alastor: So murder is in reason but proper self care isn't? Vox: Well, duh. What kind of question is that?

Alastor: Are you trying to seduce me? Vox: Why, are you seducible?

Vox: Alastor is playing hard to get. Vox: Little do they know, I'm a master at playing hard to get rid of.

Alastor: Vox and I are no longer dating. Vox: Alastor, that’s a horrible way of telling people we’re married.

Alastor: Hey, about that love letter you sent me- Vox: blushes What are your thoughts? Alastor: The fourth sentence- Vox: Yeah, that’s where I got really emotional and I- Alastor: It’s “you’re” not “your”.

Vox: Two bros! Vox: Chillin' in a hot tub! Vox: Zero feet apart 'cause we're GAY AS FUCK!

Vox: We have a problem. Alastor: No, YOU have a problem. I have an idiot who keeps making them.

Vox: You have to apologize to them Alastor. Alastor: Fine! But I must warn you that this might make me a better, nicer person and that is NOT the person you fell in love with!

Vox: Do you want to know your gay name? Alastor: My… my gay name? Vox: Yeah, it's your first name- Alastor: Haha. Very funny Vox- Vox: gets down on one knee And my last name. Alastor: Oh- oh my god.

Vox: Stop doing that. Alastor: Stop doing what? Vox: Saying things that make me wanna kiss the hell out of you.

Vox: My hands are cold. Alastor: Here, let me hold them. Vox: My lips are cold too. Alastor: covers Vox's mouth with their hand

Vox: I think I'm falling for you. Alastor: Then get up.

Vox: I’m in love with you. Alastor: We called off the prank war last night at midnight, dork. Vox: I know. Alastor: Ah. Okay. Um. Cool. Neat. Very cool. Cool. Cool. Coolcoolcool-

Vox: You got a date yet Alastor? Alastor: No… Vox: Well you do now! Get your ass up and hold my hand!

Vox and Alastor are in Paris. Vox: I'm…moved. I…I don't know what it is I'm feeling right now. I feel…destiny? Alastor: But… Vox: I don't know what it is. I feel like… I just never thought I'd see it with my own two eyes. And here it is. It's just there. It's right in front of me, and… Alastor: This is what you wanted to see? The bridge from Inception? Vox: Yeah. Alastor: But the Eiffel Tower is behind us, babe. Vox: Yeah, but this is the bridge FROM INCEPTION. Alastor: Okay, alright.

Vox: The first time I saw you, you stole my heart. Alastor: But I'm a kleptomaniac, so that doesn't mean anything.

Vox, talking about Alastor: WHAT THE FUCK I WAS ARGUING WITH THEM AND I SAID “OOH YOU WANNA KISS ME SO BAD” AND GUESS WHAT? THEY DID. THEY KISSED ME. WHAT THE FUCK WHAT DO I DO.

Alastor: Is something burning? Vox, leaning seductively on the counter: Just my desire for you. Alastor: Vox, the toaster is literally on fire.

Alastor: Okay, but if you're not gay then why are you always holding my hand and kissing me and telling me I’m your boyfriend? Vox: Dude- Its satire! Alastor: THAT'S NOT WHAT SATIRE MEANS!

Vox: Alastor is playing hard to get. Vox: Little does he know, I'm a master at playing hard to get rid of.

Vox: We’re getting married, bitches! Alastor: And we're about to make it everybody else's problem.

[feelingautistic]

what are a couple of your favorite endangered sharks? and perhaps, how can we help them? 🥺

Out of the endangered species, I would say hammerhead sharks are my favourites although it is a shame that such weird sharks have to be included in the endangered category.

In terms of helping them, it's important to understand that conservation is a complex topic and there are so many threats to sharks that each have their own challenges and solutions it would take too long to address all of them. But let's talk about overfishing as it's a well-known threat to endangered sharks.

It's important to remember that threats such as shark finning or overfishing and bycatch etc. are often more than just greedy fisheries raking in profit but low income workers making a living to support themselves and families, and that conservation is about finding solutions to threats that are sustainable for EVERYONE, including those you might consider at fault for the problems we're trying to prevent.

It may not be popular among the shark lovers out there, but improving rather than banning the fishing of sharks (e.g. making shark fishing more sustainable and preventing bycatch of sharks) is currently considered the better option for preventing overfishing of sharks among the scientific community (and is also not as difficult to implement as you may be led to believe, in fact it's already happening in some parts of the world).

Anyway, conservation can sound very doom and gloom sometimes so have a picture of a hammerhead shark :)

[miiilowo]

The ocean sunfish or common mola (Mola mola) is one of the largest bony fish in the world. It was misidentified as the heaviest bony fish, which was actually a different species, Mola alexandrini. Adults typically weigh between 247 and 1,000 kg (545 and 2,205 lb). The species is native to tropical and temperate waters around the world. It resembles a fish head without a tail, and its main body is flattened laterally. Sunfish can be as tall as they are long when their dorsal and ventral fins are extended.

Sunfish are generalist predators that consume largely small fish, fish larvae, squid, and crustaceans. Jellyfish and salps, once thought to be the primary prey of sunfish, make up only 15% of a sunfish's diet. Females of the species can produce more eggs than any other known vertebrate, up to 300,000,000 at a time. Sunfish fry resemble miniature pufferfish, with large pectoral fins, a tail fin, and body spines uncharacteristic of adult sunfish.

Adult sunfish are vulnerable to few natural predators, but sea lions, killer whales, and sharks will consume them. Sunfish are considered a delicacy in some parts of the world, including Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. In the European Union, regulations ban the sale of fish and fishery products derived from the family Molidae. Sunfish are frequently caught in gillnets.

HE HAS A FUCKING HOLE IN HIS HEAAAAD HES GONNA DIEEE

[quinloki]

What the hell. Could Arlong show up in the Host Club in any possible way? BH, AH, a cameo appearance, a picture on the wall in the business of people who are permanently banned, anything?

I love him so much I spent an afternoon over the summer figuring out specifically which saw shark species he was. The live action portrayed him as a different saw shark species than what he canonically is but at least they included the dorsal fin so I'm still happy.

(Look, I LOVE sharks, I have a whole encyclopedia on them and everything. And that dorsal fin does things for me okay, I love his fin...and his teeth but that's because I actually collect shark teeth)

He could!

I don't have enough of a head canon of him to give you a full and proper breakdown of what I'd expect.

He might only be a minor antagonist in someone's story, or in a couple stories, since I intend to do some overlapping different takes in the same AU (similar reader, similar big plot points, differences being based on who reader-chan is gravitating toward (kind of like an otome game would play out).

Straw Hats like Zoro, Sanji, Luffy, etc. could very easily have some run-ins with Arlong, who, I would imagine could be a...

Oh. Oh I have to do it.

Arlong is a LOAN SHARK.

There you go - congratulations, you've inspired me to include Arlong in almost every single story-line. I really like the idea of the reader being indebted to him (probably through a dead-beat parent), and working at the Club in order to have half a prayer in making enough to pay him back.

How it resolves would be different based on which story it is.

Possibly - conceivably, but I make no promises - with a short-story Reader x Arlong style ending.

[lastingocean]

1/3 of shark species (sharks,chimeras,rats ) are classified as critically endangered (CR) or vulnerable (VU). This means that they are facing the risk extinction.

3/4 of oceanic species are faced with extinction.

This could be because more than 200 million sharks are killed annually.

Current measures of protection seem not to be working (legislation gear bans, catch quotas).

A good number of shark species are highly migratory. This makes it much more harder to protect them as laws protecting endangered species are not upheld in all countries.

So the issue seems to be local rather than international as sharks do not have boundaries as we do.

Some treaties of interest to shark conservation include:

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)- this treaty is important for banning the trade of endangered animals or their parts eg. elephant tusks, rhino horns,shark fins.

The Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS)-this aims to protect all migrating animal species such as whales, sharks,salmons,wildebeasts etc.

Only three species of sharks are protected globally:

The great white

The basking shark

The whale shark

One thing that has seemed to work has been the creation of parks/sanctuaries for marine life. In these areas , shark fishing is prohibited. This is a good approach in the long term but may not work in the long run as sharks are very mobile ( who says a fisherman may not be waiting just beyond the boundary).

[xtruss]

About one-third of all shark species are threatened—and tens of millions are killed each year ​by commercial fishing industries. Photograph By David Maupile/Laif/Redux

Sharks Are Still Being Killed At High Rates—Despite Bans On Finning

Shark fishing regulations, including bans on cutting off fins, increased tenfold since 2000. Yet a new study shows that deaths may have actually ticked up as new markets for shark meat emerge.

— By Tim Vernimmen | January 11, 2024

In 2019 at least 79 million sharks died in fisheries, and at least 25 million of those belonged to threatened species—numbers that have stayed steady or even risen in the past decade.

Compared to 10 years ago, fewer of those sharks died because people cut off their fins and threw them back into the sea—a practice known as finning that is now prohibited in about 70 percent of countries and overseas territories. But regulations that have reduced the frequency of finning have not saved shark lives, an international research team reports in the journal Science this week.

“If anything, global shark mortality has slightly increased,” says Boris Worm, a marine ecologist at Dalhousie University in Canada. Now most sharks are landed whole, and a growing demand for shark products has driven fisheries to continue catching the animals.

Worm and seven colleagues spent the past three years collecting data on shark mortality and fishery regulations. “This was really a challenge,” he says, “as shark fisheries are notoriously underreported. We compiled everything we could find, from catch numbers to data from observers on boats in international waters to estimates of coastal fishing that include recreational, artisanal, and even illegal fishing.”

Employees of the Kowalski fishing industry in Santa Catarina, Brazil, wash sharks recently caught in ocean fishing. Photograph By Victor MoriyamaFor National Geographic

A counter in a Chinese medicine shop in Taipei sells shark fins. Photograph By Michael Wolf Estate/Laif/Redux

The global analysis reveals that even though there has been a tenfold increase in regulations on shark fishing and finning, mortality in the past decade remained more or less the same, with estimates of 76 million dead sharks due to fishing in 2012 and at least 80 million in 2018. Given that not all catches are reported in sufficient detail and some aren’t recorded at all, the researchers say, the number of deaths is likely to be significantly higher.

A Shark 🦈 Market

Marine ecologist Nicholas Dulvy of Simon Fraser University in Canada, who has not involved in the study, points out finning regulations did help “to ensure many catches could be identified to the species level, which is necessary for catch and trade limits” and also aids research. “Regulation of international trade has now begun, with the protection of over 100 shark species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora,” he says.

While these trade regulations appear to have led to fewer sharks getting killed in international fisheries, coastal fisheries have started catching more sharks.

To try to understand why that might be, the researchers interviewed 22 experts including scientists, conservationists, and people working in fisheries or companies that process shark products. “They’ve told us that existing markets for shark products have expanded,” says marine conservation scientist Laurenne Schiller of Carleton University in Canada, a co-author of the study. “Which may be due in part to the increased availability of sharks resulting from anti-finning regulations.”

Shark meat, even from endangered sharks, is increasingly found in a variety of food products, and not just in still-popular shark fin soup. Shark is also often used in fish and chips, in ceviche, or as a fraudulent alternative for swordfish.

In addition, shark cartilage and liver oil are common ingredients in the medical and cosmetics industries. “Many beauty products contain squalene,” Schiller says, “which usually, but not necessarily, derives from sharks. So it’s good to look for products that use plant-based alternatives instead.”

The researchers say that that to save sharks, anti-finning laws clearly do not suffice, and there need to be more extensive fishing regulations.

“There are 29 countries and overseas territories that have already prohibited shark fishing in their waters,” says Worm. “The Bahamas, for example, have discovered that sharks were worth much more as a dive attraction for the ecotourism industry, which is booming. On average, we see such prohibitions are the only tool that consistently reduced mortality, so we would encourage that.”

Fishermen go out fishing sharks in Cananeia, a coastal town in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Restrictions on species allowed for fishing have led many local fishermen to specialize in other fish and crustaceans such as shrimp and sea bass. Photograph By Victor MoriyamaFor National Geographic

Gillnets Kill

In places where people depend on fisheries for their livelihoods or sustenance, bans may not be appropriate, but keeping fisheries at sustainable levels is crucial to maintaining wild populations.

“This includes, of course, science-based catch limits for sharks,” says Schiller. “But many interviewees also told us about the dangers of unselective fishing gears, like gillnets.” These walls of netting that hang vertically in the water column are designed to catch fish by their gills, and they tend to entangle every animal that is too large to fit through the mesh. “Our own analyses show they are commonly used in the places we identify as mortality hotspots. So phasing them out and encouraging more selective practices in places like Indonesia, Brazil, Mauritania, or Mexico could have a big impact,” Schiller says.

“We know that shark populations are under enormous pressure from fishing throughout much of the world’s oceans,” says marine biologist Colin Simpfendorfer of James Cook University in Australia, who was not involved in the study, “and the data presented in this new paper add further evidence.”

While finning regulations have not led to decreased shark deaths, Simpfendorfer points out they weren’t designed to reduce catches, but to prevent suffering and the waste of sharks being killed for their fins alone.

Without increased efforts to protect sharks, at least one in three species will face the threat of extinction, and many more are suffering population declines.

“I have many colleagues who are oceanographers, and they tell me that in the 70s and 80s, there were always sharks following the vessel because of the kitchen scraps they threw overboard—typically oceanic whitetips, a formerly very abundant species that is now endangered and hardly ever seen. I’ve never seen one in my life,” says Worm. “That’s when you get that sinking feeling that something is really wrong with the way we’re treating them. We should fix that, and we can.”

[wispisstillverybored67]

She mostly spurns anything that's not expensive food, but honestly, Tomie'll accept anything as long as it's "cruel", be it in obtainment, content, or otherwise.

Foie gras is taken from an incredibly (force-fed) fattened duck liver, while expensive caviars are taken from endangered fish species, and said practice is so numerous, it's been banned in quite a few countries, to start with her favorites.

Such cruelties include...

Kopi luwak (Force-feeding cage-raised civets the coffee cherries and hoping it'll crap it out soon enough is a very common thing. Piss poor treatment all around, if I may. Need I go on?)

Ikizukuri sashimi (Ikizukuri is roughly translated as 'prepared alive', the fish is killed and eaten right then and there. Sometimes, it's not even killed, this is what we call odorigui. Usually served with only 3 cuts from the chef with the head still attached, so customers can see the gill movements still. Need I go on?)

Shark fin soup (Mostly same logic taken from that caviar sect. Plus, the sharks are still alive after getting finned, not for long, but still. Also banned in quite a few countries.)

And more to be added later...

[bopinion]

2022 / 47

Aperçu of the Week:

“Everyone’s a murderer. All it takes is a good reason and a bad day.”

(Stanley Tucci as Jefferson Grieff in “Inside Man”)

Bad News of the Week:

According to estimates, 150 species of animals are becoming extinct - every day. For me, an unbelievable number. And a tragedy. After all, we are not talking about a comet impact or a gigantic volcanic eruption that changes living conditions so radically that some species cannot survive it. But the behavior of the parasite Homo "sapiens" (yes, the "wise" can be put actually only in quotation marks), which leaves no more space to the other species by its way of life. He destroys every habitat, ruins every ecosystem. Changes the climate at a pace that leaves no time for adaptation. Kills not just for food, but for trophies - and for fun. And as of last week, there are 8 billion of them. It's exasperating.

In Panama, the CITES Conference ended last week. Every three years, the 184 member states of the "Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora" try to protect nature - in principle against man. The best-known example is the ban on the ivory trade. And what is the result? Exemptions for Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. Which stupidly cover most of this highly questionable market. So a toothless tiger. Who doesn't even exist in Africa.

Therefore, I do not share the current euphoria that has currently seized even the WWF. "A milestone was set at the international species protection conference in Panama for the protection of sharks." They are hunted for their fins and their meat. But they also often end up in the net as bycatch. The population of almost all deep-sea sharks has declined by more than 70 percent in the last 50 years. So all is well now? No, because it is the small print and the lack of legal binding force that make the whole maneuver appear in a different light.

Namely in that of the whales. Their protection has also long since been agreed. Officially, their hunting is now only permitted for "scientific reasons." What the largest whale-hunting nation on the planet, Japan, has solved quite simply for itself: a laboratory sample is taken from every whale slaughtered precisely for these pseudo-scientific reasons. The 99.999% remainder ends up on the fish market, as it always has. And Iceland and Norway (number two and three on the list) simply do not recognize the ban and engage in open commercial whaling. Bravo! So what has it helped the gentle giants? That's right: nothing. It is not what is written on paper that counts, but what happens in reality. Which brings us back to Homo "sapiens". And the quote from "Inside Man". Sigh...

Good News of the Week:

It was not really enthusiastic how the coverage and the public mood developed in the run-up to the men's soccer world championship currently taking place in Qatar. From astonishment to incomprehension and doubt to rejection. And now it has started. And Qatar and FIFA are being emphatically shown what's what. Normally, in a soccer country like Germany, a World Cup is a really big deal. Flags fly on cars, children wear national jerseys, pubs decorate thematically, every second package in the supermarket looks like soccer, the media is about hardly anything else.

This time it's different. The ratings are way down, many are deliberately boycotting the event - or simply not feeling it. There is no euphoric mood at all - neither here nor there. How could there be. A World Cup for soccer in a country without any soccer tradition. In early winter instead of summer. In an autocracy instead of a democracy. And: there is not even beer in the stadiums - that can't go well at all.

This shot emphatically backfires. Qatar wanted to put itself on the map with this event. It certainly succeeded in doing so. But not in the way it was planned. Nonsensical stadium constructions without a future at the expense of thousands of dead workers, suppression of women's rights and freedom of expression, a devastating environmental and climate balance etcetera are what will stick.

FIFA, too, is caught with its pants down: corrupt hanky-panky, an idiotic president, non-transparent structures, erratic decisions, presumptuous arrogance. And both have only themselves to blame. A melt-down in terms of image cultivation. Not an episode that will be easily forgotten, but a fundamental stigma. Which will remain. Good thing.

By the way: it's a real shame that actual highlights are lost in all this: Saudi Arabia beating Argentina, Morocco beating Belgium, Japan beating Germany: favorites that were thought to be safe losing to underdogs. This is how a sporting competition should be. Sporting - and not political.

Personal happy moment of the week:

I have already told you about my son's problems at school with the beautiful language French. We were even more surprised when he wanted to apply for a student exchange with a French Lycée. He did that very successfully (with a little help from a friend... ;-): on Tuesday we learned that he was the only student from his grade to be selected. So next year in February we will welcome a French student from Nanterre / Paris. And in the month of delight our offspring will celebrate his 15th birthday in the city of love. Mon dieu!

I couldn't care less...

...that Canada has unfortunately already been eliminated from the FIFA Men's World Cup. Because the "golden generation" has - a typical soccer expression - "played its way into the hearts". For their first participation was not really expected success. But there is now a new team on the block. Which will (also) compete in its own country at the next World Cup. There's definitely more to come. You go, canucks!

As I write this...

...I realize that because of the FIFA World Cup (which we are boycotting on TV) even our cherished Sunday crime movie "Tatort" ("crime scene") is cancelled tonight. FIFA and Qatar are apparently really doing everything they can to make themselves unpopular with me.

Post Scriptum:

As you know, when you enter a search term on Google, text suggestions or search queries are suggested to you - a very popular party game. Currently, the first suggestion for "Twitter" is "What do you need Twitter for?" A very topical, and on second thought downright philosophical, question. In this case, I would actually be curious to hear an answer from Elon Musk, the loose gun of the Internet.

[thatfrenchacademic]

Hello, your local EU Lawyer is here to explain what this is!

This is a type of European Citizen's Initiative, or ECI.

ECIs are a way for citizens to reach out to European institutions directly! As opposed to being represented by your State in the EU institutions, or by your elected representatives at the European Parliament. They were added in 2007 to the official European Treaties, as a way to address the democratic deficit of the EU, and how *far* it often feels from citizen. You find its legal basis on Article 11 of the Treaty of the European Union and Article 24 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

So what does it do ?

It basically petition the EU Commission to do something. The EU Commission, in Brussels, is the institution in the EU which can kickstart the legislative process, in the EU.

If successful, it forces the hand of the Commission, by telling it "Now you ARE talking about this. You have to consider this."

Ok, so how do we make it successful?

An ECI is not like a traditional petition, where it is all about numbers. Here it is not only numbers, but also where the numbers are from. You need:

1 million signatories in total

From at least 7 different Member States

With a specific threshold from each of these 7 Member State

If we have people from more than 7 Member States, we still only need to meet the threshold in 7 of them.

CAN YOU SIGN IT ?

Yes, if you are an EU national (not necessarily resident!) AND either 16, 17 or 18 - check the rules for your country.

IF YOU ARE NOT AN EU CITIZEN OR UNDER THE REQUIRED AGE: do not sign! To be fair you would probably not be able to, since it requires a state ID. But do not even try. There will be a check of signatures that ACT will have to provide if we reach the thresholds, and you will make their life difficult (and potentially artificially inflate the numbers of signatories, which means we fall under the threshold once we remove your signatures)

And then, will we get the ban on conversation therapy?

What we will get is: the Commission having to take a stand on the proposal. What that means has been varied. Here is the link to all 10 successful ECIs, if you want to have a look at what happened for each of them. Long story short: sometimes, the Commission just says "Ok, request considered, the answer is no because X, Y, Z" (for example: the one asking for restriction of abortion went against recently discussed and adopted EU policies). Sometimes the Commission has the European Parliament publicly debate it, and adopts an official Communication, eg taking a stand and committing to future action (like on the ECI calling for the end of shark finning, or the one on bees protection). Sometimes it actually kickstarts a proper legislative process, drafting a proposal for other EU institutions to debate and adopt, and leading to the adoption of binding instruments all over Europe (the poster child for this is the ECI on Access to Safe Water)

So what we get varies. But the Commission WILL HAVE TO take a stand publicly.

So what about that particular ECI?

I think it is actually pretty good, in terms of being realistic and leading to actual action (and a girl is not linked to ACT, the organizer, at all).

The Commission itself agrees on what an action following the success of that ECI could look like (or at least, it found it plausible enough):

a non-binding instrument that the Commission would have to draft, and that a different institution, the Council [where individual member states are represented by their Ministers] would adopt, calling for a general ban on CT

some broad, binding, incentive-oriented measures facilitating the ban of CT by member state. This would be placed on the agenda by the Commission like a normal legislative proposal,and then discussed, debated and potentially adopted by the other institutions involved in the legislative process as usual.

criminalizing conversion therapy and associated behaviors if they take place cross-border (eg: marketing a Poland-based CT in Luxembourg), which the Commission can table, but not adopt on its own (other institutions need to be involved)

including victims of CT in the current EU framework on victim's protection: a binding instrument, that would also go through the normal legislative procedure.

I don't have access to all documents, but I'm pretty sure that is roughly it.

Additionally, this does not come out of nowhere. EU institutions have shown some interest in talking about conversion therapy in Europe - and, if I may add, in trans rights, just trust me on that one. Specifically because that ECI and what it asks for is straight drawn from a report of the European Parliament on the topic, from 2023 ! [also it was technically requested by the LIBE Commission, which is 1) massive in weight an 2) exactly the relevant one].

This matters for a few reasons:

the issue with ECIs is often that they don't relate to what the EU can do. Very often, "why isn't the EU doing anything about X" is because the EU is no allowed to! But having an existing report by the EP means you can argue more easily that is does fall under EU competences.

it could signal that there is also interest in the question at the Parliament, which could make the Commission more confident in actually involving it in any follow up.

it gives the Commission something very detailed to actually work with, as opposed to an abstract 'please do something' request.

it places more weight on the Commission to even DO something. The Parliament is the EU institution with the most democratic credentials, and historically its influence has been on the rise for the last decades. So if one of the most influential EP Commission has adopted a report on the question, it's a bad look to not at least pay it good consideration.

So in conclusion:

Kudos to Act for picking up on the report and making sure it does not get ignored !

This only works if we share it everywhere. Tumblr is good to spread the word across Europe, so share and sign! share and sign! But also: share it beyond Tumblr ! Share it with your college societies, with your book club, the your friend's Whatsapp group, on other social media, talk about it with your librarian, your hairdresser, your cool aunt, people you meet at pride event or in safe spaces!

Grab your ID, grab your friends, commit to each other that you will sign it! Make it a challenge, put it on your monthly to-do list, have a signing-the-ECI evening with snacks and drinks of choice, share it on IG, make it visible and exciting because it is !

[Image ID: The Destiel confession meme edited so that Dean answers 'There's a petition to ban conversion therapy in the EU' to Cas' 'I love you'. /End ID]

If you are a citizen in the EU please sign this petition: