Another busy month for Shark Guardian started with a visit to Dive Shops in Phuket, Khao Lak and Koh Lanta meaning we now have 5 official centres in Thailand and 1 in East Timor! Liz also took part in a Shark Expo in Bangkok and presented in Brunei and Bangkok, while Brendon spoke with fisheries representatives in East Timor.
The Lower School Environmental group of ISB (Brunei) with Liz
What a monumental month March has been – on so many levels! We kicked off our 2013 Bangkok school tour at the end of February and over the next 10 days presented at 9 different International schools, targeting over 2,000 children, 50 teachers and 50 parents in 13 full presentations and 10 breakout/discussion/question and answer sessions!
The new Shark Guardian tshirt!
We also released our new Shark Guardian tshirt at the start of the tour and it seems everybody likes it very much.
The tour started at The Thai Chinese International School where Jalal Tarazi arranged for us to speak to the Year 7′s from his school and some from the nearby Wells International school. We were really glad things got off to a great start with lots of interesting questions at the end and many new Facebook friends.
With Jalal from the Thai Chinese School
On to Patana the following day to present to the Year 7′s and 8′s and then a different crowd in the afternoon at Harrow – 3 classes of year 2 children!
Brendon speaking at Patana
 Both of these visits were arranged by avid divers and now firm friends of Shark Guardian (Helen Thew at Patana and Mike Williams at Harrow) since this was the second time we visited each school. We are already in discussion with Helen about future visits to Patana to speak to the younger children and our visit to Harrow was the start of a big ‘Fin Free’ campaign.
Some of the students from Patana
We really enjoyed the small sessions we had with the Harrow children after the main presentation. They asked a whole range of questions and it was so interesting to hear their views on what had stuck in their mind following the presentation.
The children at Harrow go shark mad…and they still are!!!
In a few weeks we will be back at Harrow supporting their ‘Shark Expo’ where they try and get as many teachers, children and parents to take the  ’no to shark fin’ pledge. We are really proud to have stimulated this positive action and hope Harrow can be an inspiration for many more schools.
Our third day of the Bangkok tour was a very busy day as we presented to the whole school at St Stephens International School, arranged by the principal David Taylor, a big supporter and friend of Shark Guardian. We started with a big presentation to all the lower years and then had smaller sessions with each year so the children could ask questions.
The lower school at St Stephens get ready for their shark education!
We even did a smaller session with the ‘early years’ meaning we had our youngest audience yet, only learning afterwards that some of the children were only 2 years old!!
Breakout sessions with St Stephens
I think we managed extremely well to keep this young group engrossed in our work (although Brendon is clearly more comfortable surrounded by great white sharks than he is with unpredictable 2 and 3 year olds!!), and our respect goes out to the teachers and support workers who have to look after these children every day!!
The afternoon was just as busy with another upper school presentation and then more breakout sessions for questions. And by the end of the day we had been given lots of posters as the first of our competition entries had been completed already by the lower school. Our competition is for all of the Thai schools we visited over the tour and asks for students to come up with an idea on how to stop or prevent people from eating shark fin soup.
Competiton poster entries from St Stephens
We’ve already had lots of poster entries and cannot wait to see the final results over the next few months. The winners from each school will spend some time with Shark Guardian to work on conservation activities before a final winner is selected and their idea is converted in to a real or large scale format.
So a great end to our first week in Bangkok with some amazing feedback, made even better when we attended our first CITES event held by PEW. It was great to finally meet some of the other Shark conservation groups who we have been in touch with over the internet, and awesome to get a positive vibe going about CITES which was due to start over the weekend. 5 shark species and 2 manta rays were due for proposal on to Appendix 2 and nobody was quite sure which way it would go. More on that later!!!
With friends of Shark Guardian
Week 2 of the tour started with the year 10′s at The New International School (NIST) of Bangkok, another return visit to a great school with a fabulous auditorium. Onwards to Shrewsbury for the next 2 mornings and some time with another friend, Jacqueline Munnings.
Shrewsbury presentation to 600 students
Firstly we presented to almost 600 children covering Years 6 – 9 in the most amazing hall we have ever presented in! And such a fantastic response from the children as well as the teachers.
It was time for the year 10′s the next day with another great result. And feedback from the Year 12′s who saw the presentation 2 years previously and who were educating others in their class about us and our mission, as they did not manage to see us this time.
At Shrewsbury, answering questions from the younger years
 This group had all continued never to eat shark fin since the presentation 2 years ago and have been spreading our message since – proof that the younger generation really can make a difference and are so important to educate.
Another session at KIS saw us spend time with the early years, kindergarten and year 2 as we visited our good friend Sarah. So much talking and excitement we are unsure how we ever got through our ‘younger’ version presentation!! But it was so pleasing to see this enthusiasm and feel the passion the children had for sharks. We could have taken questions from the children all afternoon but we had to let them go when the bell rang!!
The enthusiastic younger classes of KIS
Time to head to Pattaya on the Wednesday afternoon of the second week for 3 presentations arranged for us by Paul Crouch, head of the Round Square department at Regents, Pattaya. In the evening we were the feature of ‘Regents presents’, a time for the community to come together and see presentations by various organisations on current global issues. A small turn out with positive outcomes as parents and children saw what Shark Guardian is about and a glimpse of our presentation.
Regents, Pattaya
The following day we presented to the 7 – 10 year olds of the lower school in the morning, then the 11 – 14 year olds in the afternoon. We also had an impromptu session with a year 3 class as teacher Emily Kay was really excited to have us in for 10 minutes to chat to her excited children.
With the Year 3′s at Regents
 We answered questions and generally talked about our experiences in the oceans. Since the presentations at Regents, Emily has been a strong campaigner for us and our work and has been continuing conservation efforts with her class. We cannot wait to see the competition entries she has for us and hope to return to Pattaya in the coming months.
So, the main Bangkok school tour was over but we still had a busy week ahead, starting with more presentations and education sessions at the Global Issues ServICE conference.
At the Global Issues ServICE conference
Arranged once more by Jalal at the Thai Chinese School we had a stall at the NGO fair and then had 2 simulation sessions with children from a mixture of schools (NIST, Patana, Regents, ICIS, ISB, ICS). The conference is about inspiring and empowering our next generation of young adults so these 12 – 14 year olds we worked with us are hopefully our next group of shark activists. We now have a project with them to create letters to take to some Bangkok restaurants to get shark off their menu. More on this in the coming months!
The second day of the conference involved us presenting to another group of children in an unconferenced session. We showed them our presentation and discussed ideas on how they can all get involved in shark conservation, and that anybody can make a difference in life if they put their mind to it. A great weekend overall and we were so honoured to be a part of it, sharing information with another 50+ children and more adults and children at the NGO fair – Shark Guardians’ messages spreading further afield again.
Brendon ispiring the next generation at ServICE
On to Monday the 11th and time for Shark Guardian to be a part of some monumental events happening at the Queen Sirikit Convention Centre in Bangkok. 3 species of hammerhead shark, porbeagle and oceanic white tips were being voted on by representatives from around the world, to get better protection in their trade.
Hammerheads are voted on to the 1st round of Appendix 2
Of course we would rather that no shark fins are traded and that all finning is banned, that is our hope for one day. But there is evidence that these selected species are declining at a faster rate that others so to get on to Appendix 2, this is a massive step in their conservation and protection for their future survival.
We were in the building as oceanic white tips were accepted on to Appendix 2 and then in the actual room as the hammerheads got a resounding yes too. Great to be a part of this. Unfortunately we had to head off for our night bus as the porbeagles were voted on to the list also, but we  were again happy to hear their success.
CITES success
 The next afternoon in Khao Lak we were once again thrilled to hear the manta ray success. This is the first time ANY species in CITES has made it to Appendix 2 on the first attempt. For all these successes it shows how sharks and rays and being talked about worldwide and how the public will not sit and watch any of these beautiful, amazing species slide in to extinction.
It took until Thursday for all these votes to become official and now countries have 18 months to work out how to monitor and enforce these new laws. Having protection now for only 8 species of shark is so very very small when we consider there are around 500 shark species. We must now continue to fight for more protection for more sharks. The campaign is endless and for the next CITES meeting in 2 years time, lets hope we are getting even more shark and ray protection.
At CITES with Alex Earl, Director of Project Aware, who thanked us for gaining thousands of signatures for the Project Aware petition which played a part in getting more shark species protected
So with Khao lak as our next location it was time to visit dive shops and then present to an audience at Walkers Inn. A 50 strong crowd watched our presentation and we had some great discussions after.
Walkers Inn, Khao Lak
We announced the ‘Get Sharks off the Hook’ campaign being run by SeeandSea and are really happy to be a supporter, as well as, now, leader of this. We will be working with people on Koh Lanta to get this project under way there soon and then Krabi and Phuket will be the goal later down the line. We are proud to be helping and working with the crew at SeeandSea – watch this space for more information.
Straight to our final school of the Thailand tour the next morning – the British International School in Phuket. Paul Wheatley had arranged for us to speak to years 7 – 10, over 100 children who provided a very warm welcome and brilliant response. Once more we could have answered questions all afternoon, such was the enthusiasm and desire for more information. Later that day Paul phoned us and gave us the great feedback from the parents, teachers and children. We look forward to visiting again in the next few weeks and hope to arrange a presentation for the parents and community in the coming month.
The British International School, Phuket
Finally, Koh Lanta was our destination and last weekend we had a small audience at The Southern Lanta Resort in Klong Dao. Divers, professionals and holiday makers enjoyed our presentation and we are now working closely with Hidden Depths Diving for more Shark Guardian Projects.
Koh Lanta presentation
It was great to return to an island both of us at Shark Guardian have a special place for, and we look forward to returning very soon.
With the Thailand tour of presentations over we visited Phuket to make contacts and find out about other conservation efforts in the area. That rounded off almost 3 weeks of Shark Guardian on the road in Thailand, 10 International Schools, 2 diving locations and nearly 3,000 children and adults seeing our presentation!
Brendon and Liz with a ‘handful’ of the thousands of children visited over the past few weeks
Then as March draws to an end, time to head to Kota Kinabulu, a new location for both of us and a presentation at the Kinabalu International school at the start of the week. Alun Rendle who arranged for us to present to all the secondary students loved our newly adapted presentation! The children were really receptive and we hope to inspire some conservation efforts, including a widespread acceptance of the no shark fin pledge.
This has become our trademark – getting the audience to do ‘shark’ signs! Here’s Brendon with KIS, Kota Kinabalu
So the year has certainly kicked off with a big bang with sharks featuring in the media for all the wrong reasons so we definitely need to update you in a few things. Plus, as both of us at Shark Guardian finish our jobs in Indonesia and start working on Shark Guardian full time, we can share some insight into our plans and the presentations we have already scheduled.
At the start of January the images of thousands of shark fins drying on the rooftops in Hong Kong, hidden from public view, sparked outrage throughout Hong Kong as well as the rest of the world. It is believed the large amount of shark fins were destined for China, and that traders moved to dry the shark fins on secluded rooftops instead of sidewalks – as they have done in the past – to avoid public anger.
Hong Kong rooftops – early Jan
The WWF claims Hong Kong imports 10,000 tonnes of shark fin annually  which accounts for 50% of all shark fin imports globally. Most of the fins are exported to China and with demand for shark fin soup growing there, these kind of sneaky actions are probably going to become more common.
The Hong Kong government has been criticised for not acting to protect the dwindling shark population, after neighbouring Taiwan banned shark finning this year while China plans to stop serving the soup at official banquets. We finally have some dates fixed for our Hong Kong tour and will be there at the end of May/beginning of June this year – such a crucial time for the education of the younger generation. We plan to encourage our own conservation efforts with the school children and will have the chance to highlight current campaigns from organisations such as Shark Savers and the Hong Kong Shark Foundation – this might be the push the government needs to start taking some serious action.
In early January the photo of a local Phillipino woman weeping over the carcass of a dead whale shark brought tears as well as outrage to people throughout Facebook, particularly in the diving world. 
The photograph won ‘most compelling of 2010′ in honor of the UN’s year of biodiversity and is such a powerful image to reflect the true sadness felt by people who witness sharks being treated in this way. The whale shark was found by scuba divers with it’s fins already cut off, unable to swim, slowly dying. It was taken to shore so it could die with less struggle – the damage already done.
By promoting the photo with translations in many languages, a petition for the worldwide ban on shark finning was started and has already well exceeded its target with people continuing to sign it every day
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/532/581/725/?cid=FB_TAF
Petitions really can work so please sign if you have not already done so. Getting a worldwide ban is a steep order but this brings attention to the topic of shark finning and promotes awareness of the brutality, all around the globe.
The China Daily website continues to provide us with interesting insights in to the shark fin industry there. They reported recently that Zhejang authorities found many shark fins sold in the market are artificial products and some contain excessive levels of cadmium, a toxic metal.
The industry and commerce department in Zhejiang province conducted a check of shark fin soup and the inspection found many restaurants serve artificial shark fins made of edible gelatin and seaweed gum. Restuarants purchase the “shark fins” at a low price, but they are sold for up to 1,000 yuan ($160) a bowl in restaurants and hotels. We are all for fake soups if it means less sharks will therefore be killed, afterall shark fin soup is TASTELESS and has to be cooked with chicken or pork stock to make it taste of anything!!! Why use the real thing if a fake substitute does the same job?
We are focusing more and more on the toxic, dangerous side of shark fin in order to stop people from consuming it and we provide evidence in documents and studies which can be found on our website.
Yao Ming an ex-NBA basketball star continues to promote shark awareness with Wild Aid
Investigations such as that done by the Zhejiang province’s consumer rights protection agency which found that about one-third of dried shark fin in the province’s markets contained excessive cadmium and methyl mercury is yet more ammunition to support our cause. We hope that celebrities such as Yao Ming can continue to try and get the message of not eating shark fin soup across to the nation, along with more of these studies.
Hilton Hotels are the latest hotel chain to be challenged to stop serving shark fin soup in their Asian hotels. It seems it can be ‘requested’ so may not be on all menus but it is still available – kind of trying to pretend they are not serving it but clearly they don’t care at all about the sharks. Sign the petition of you have not done so already  http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/tell-hilton-hotels-to-stop-selling-shark-fin-soup/
More recently other hotels in Egypt and some supermarkets in Egypt as well as Singapore have been highly criticised for displaying sharks in their entrances. Sheng Siong is a well known chain of supermarkets in Singapore which sell shark fin soup but now 2 stores have displayed baby sharks for people to buy.
Leopard sharks on display for sale at Sheng Siong supermarkets
When the managements have been asked about the sharks, answers such as ‘the shark is injured and we are waiting to move it to a better place’ or ‘we are relocating the shark to a bigger tank soon’ have been given, then the sharks have disappeared, probably ending up as meat in another location in the shop. We are encouraging all our supporters to highlight what is going on and tell the supermarkets of their disgust at their actions. Please see our link on our Facebook page or send an email to facebook@shengsiong.com
Finally as we gear up for our next Shark Guardian tour in Bangkok starting on the 27th of February, we continue to highlight the Project Aware petition for the CITES meeting due to start early March in Bangkok. We will be in Bangkok at the same time so if possible want to go and make our views known, maybe taking a few enthusiastic school children along with us!! Over the last year alone we have submitted hundreds of names on petition forms, encouraging many more people to sign online and so we enter the final push!
Check out this link for more information http://www.projectaware.org/project/setting-our-sights-cites
The porbeagle shark – being considered for protection by CITES
We will be focusing on the sharks being considered for protection in our shark of the month features.
We are very excited about the Bangkok tour and all that will follow. We also have presentations scheduled in Kha Lak and Phuket and are in the process of arranging a trip to Kota Kinabulu for more. The response we are getting in anticipation of our visits is amazing and we cannot wait to promote projects and ideas and to make our visits a regular event at some schools. Check out of Facebook page for information on scheduled events!
2009 was a massive turning point for sharks and shark ecotourism when Palau created the world’s first shark sanctuary. There followed a massive change in peoples’ awareness and attitudes to sharks over the next few years, plus many positive events – more shark sanctuaries, shark bans, finning legislations – and 2012 has been another monumental year.
JUNE
In June, Venezuela set forth a series of measures to protect sharks within its waters. Most significantly, commercial shark fishing is now prohibited throughout the 3,730 square kilometers (1,440 square miles) of the Caribbean Sea that make up the popular Los Roques and Las Aves archipelagos, whose pristine beaches and coral reefs make it a diving and fishing attraction.
Lemon shark: One of the shark species now with extra protection in Venezuelan waters
Scientists have identified Los Roques, located about 128 kilometers (80 miles) off the Venezuelan coast, as an important breeding ground and nursery for populations of several species of sharks, including the lemon shark and the Caribbean reef shark.
JULY/AUGUST
As Australia enters its main summer months and more people frequent the waters and beaches there, we have no doubt that the Great white shark debate will continue. We have followed this closely and kept you updated since a massive cull of great whites was suggested back in July after an unusual amount of shark fatalities. At the end of September the sad news came when the Australian government announced a plan to track, catch and if necessary kill sharks if they got too close to beach goers, despite the sharks’ worldwide protected status.
Follow this link for a very interesting slant on this issue which highlights how peoples’ attitudes have changed over the years and that once thought tried and tested anti-shark devices may do more harm than good http://theconversation.edu.au/the-great-shark-debate-to-cull-or-not-to-cull-9550 It is clear that the solution to the attacks is not an easy one and the future, for all involved, is very uncertain. We just hope that the government listens to those who have done the research and also the fact that polls keep revealing the overwhelming public support of people opposing the bans and culling programs.
SEPTEMBER
In September there was great news from the airline Cathay Pacific who are the major transporters of shark fins throughout Hong Kong and China. On 5th September Cathay announced that it, as well as Dragonair which is owned by them, would cease transporting shark fins. It has been estimated that Cathay Pacific used to carry up to half of all shark fins imported by air and that 10,000 tonnes of fin have been transported by them each year for the past decade. This is a massive decision by Cathay and we hope it is enforced, despite strong protests by Cathay workers and big shark fin traders and merchants.
70 – 100 million sharks are killed each year for their fins
Closer to home in Indonesia we received confirmation in September that the Nusa Penida (Bali) Marina Protected Area will be opening around April 2012. This will include protection for all shark species, something that is drastically needed around Bali, especially given the photos and reports of shark catches we received at the start of the year. This will not be an easy job and we will be making an effort to play a part in this along with our friends at Aquatic Alliance, when we commit to shark Guardian full time next year and so can spend some time on Bali with likeminded conversationalists. We hope to have more good news for you about this next year!
NOVEMBER
In November big news finally came for Europe after years of campaigning and petitions by many environmental groups. On 22nd November the barbaric practice of slicing off sharks’ fins and discarding the live bodies at sea was outlawed following a historic vote in the European parliament. MEPs voted overwhelmingly 566 to 47 to close a legal loophole and ban finning despite opposition from Spain and Portugal.
The EU, which is one of the largest exporters of shark fins to Asia, banned finning in 2003, but in a loophole, companies with freezer vessels applied for “special fishing permits” which allowed them to continue if they landed the fins separately from the bodies.
Mako shark – A pelagic shark that was commonly found in European waters and in need of protection
The issuing of these permits had become standard practice, making a mockery of the law.
EU companies catch sharks in the Atlantic, Indian, Mediterranean and Pacific Oceans and are the largest exporter of shark fins to Hong King and mainland China. When we state this fact to Europeans they are genuinely surprised and shocked! It highlights the global problem which we at Shark Guardian must continue to highlight, taking our presentation worldwide.
In line with this news there are an increasing number of countries worldwide, including those in Central America, the United States and Taiwan, who are implementing their own ‘fins attached’ policies.
DECEMBER
Most recent progress with protected areas for sharks has been in the South pacific. In early December, French Polynesia created a shark sanctuary in their waters, then a week later the Cook Islands created what is now the largest shark sanctuary in the world, covering 1.9 million-sq-Km of protected waters.
The Cook islands shark sanctuary was the result of 18 months of campaigning and public awareness
Also this year American Samoa and the Micronesian state of Kosrae banned shark fishing in their states.
We were excited to hear about the developments of our friends at Shark savers Singapore in the last week or so who have now taken their ‘I’m FINished with FINS’ campaign onto the streets and onto buses across Singapore. The big anti-shark fin soup campaign was rolled out at ADEX back in March and now the campaign has gone a step further, with even more local celebrities urging their fellow Singaporeans to stop consuming the soup.
Shark Savers I’m FINished with FINS campaign
The campaign will be moving to Hong Kong and Taiwan next year, an amazing achievement and tying in nicely with our visits to those countries in the latter part of 2013.
OTHER NEWS!!
Canada has seen mixed news for sharks this year with the Toronto ban now being deemed illegal!! Other cities there continue to debate bringing in bans for shark products and are now acting cautiously in light of this news. Chinese communities showed how strong they can be to oppose such bans so governors need to be extra careful when trying to implement their own bans. There are many cities in Canada where shark fin restaurants are more prevalent and so bans would have a greater effect on saving sharks, but any kind of campaigning which gets sharks in the spotlight and creates public awareness of the shark fin issue, ultimately has to be a good thing in itself. We continue to monitor this and hope full states can start getting in on the bans, just like the success in America.
A busy year!! And it seems sharks are in the spotlight more than ever at the moment which is why we feel committing to Shark Guardian full time next year is the right thing to do. We are excited to be able to use our energies in such a positive way, and whilst people are listening and interested in this issue and with the media being so fully involved, we hope we can be influential in some massive developments to help save more of our sharks.
We wish you a happy and prosperous journey in to 2013! As ever thanks for your support – see you next year ;0)
During 2012 Shark Guardian has been based on Bunaken Island in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Brendon and Liz have been using this location as a base for Shark Guardian operations, activities and presentations while working in a dive resort at the same time. Throughout the year Brendon and Liz have been delighted to give the Shark Guardian presentation to hundreds of people passing through the resort every week. Every Friday was designated as ‘Shark Friday’! All the dive resort staff wear the Shark Guardian t-shirts in preparation for the amazing slide show later that evening. One of the goals during the presentation was to collect as many signatures as possible for the Project Aware ‘Give Sharks a fighting chance’ petition campaign to have more sharks internationally protected. Through these presentations we have collected over 600 signatures towards this campaign for the next CITES meeting with governments in 2013 supported by Project Aware.
In April 2012 Shark Guardian was present at the ADEX dive show in Singapore. The 3 day event hosted a variety of dive training organizations, conservation organizations, equipment manufacturers, retailers and dive resorts from all over the world. Brendon was invited to represent Shark Guardian in the main hall and deliver his Shark Guardian presentation. The presentation covered information about sharks and their plight in the oceans, Shark Guardian goals and activities, and our mission to educate, raise conservation awareness and promote activities in schools and general communities in the coming years. Our main goal at the dive show was to generate interest and contacts for future Shark Guardian programs and during the show we also managed to gather over 400 signatures further signatures for the Project Aware campaign.
A big win for Shark Guardian this year was the removal of shark fins from a shop inside the Jakarta International Airport departure hall. The shop called Crown Marine Products was for years selling shark fins and other related shark products. Given Indonesia’s reputation as a tourist destination and the quantity of divers that travel to Indonesia through Jakarta airport, we felt that it was a priority to have Crown Marine Products agree to remove shark fin products from their shop as soon as possible.
During our Shark Guardian presentations we shared this information to our audiences who volunteered to deliver a letter on behalf of themselves and Shark Guardian to the Crown Marine Products shop in the airport. The letter was informing the shop manager about the state of world shark populations, the shark finning practice, contaminants in shark fin products and also the damaging effect selling shark products had on the reputation and tourism of Indonesia. Our letter formed the basis of an online petition and Jakarta Animal Aid pushed for the removal of the shop also.
In October 2012 we received news and evidence that the Crown Marine Products shop in Jakarta airport now no longer sell any shark products. In November 2012 Shark Guardian made an inspection of the shop to confirm the news. This was a great day for sharks!
Brendon Sing and Elizabeth Ward (Founders of Shark Guardian) got married in South Africa on the 27th of November on a beautiful beach on Sodwana Bay. The first part of the trip took place in England where they were registered using special shark rings as a symbol of their love and passion for sharks, as well as for each other. This was followed by an
‘Underwater Odyssey’ dress up party with Brendon as Poseidon - King of the sea and Elizabeth as a beautiful Queen Mermaid. Then it was off to South Africa a week later for the beach wedding and to also do some amazing shark diving! Congratulations to Brendon & Elizabeth!
Finally, as we head into the new year we would like to wish everybody and all our supporters a wonderful X-Mas and a happy new year for 2013. We look forward to heading into the new year as we will be leading with Shark Guardian in a full time capacity!
Best Regards,
Brendon SIng & Elizabeth Ward-Sing
Blue Shark – one of many sharks found in European waters
What a busy month once more in the Shark world. The debate on the great white sharks around Australia continues (see last months post) and in Europe major decisions are being influenced by the pressure of Project Aware and other shark campaigners like ourselves. We have a link to a petition on our Facebook page but follow this link to find out more http://www.projectaware.org/update/make-final-push-protect-europes-sharks Like many places around the world, the European shark finning ban has many loopholes which allows fishermen to keep killing sharks at an alarming rate, even though it is actually illegal. People throughout the world have been making one last push to make their views known in preparation for the European Fisheries Committee meeting on September 19th.  Please learn more about this and help this valuable mission.
The shark fin shop in jakarta airport which we continue to campaign against is also back in the spotlight. A new petition might be the push we need http://www.change.org/petitions/crown-toko-hasil-selling-shark-fin-at-soekarno-hatta-jakarta-international-airport Please sign this and get all your friends and family to do the same. As we say in our presentations, these kind of petitions have made a difference elsewhere and CAN make a difference here.
In the last few days we have heard that our friends at Scuba Junkie (Borneo) have won the Project Aware Ocean Action project which will give them valuable funding toward creating a Shark Sanctuary in Semporna. This is a massive gain for Rohan Perkins who has campaigned so hard for this and who Brendon has shared valuable knowledge with when working in Thailand several years ago. We wish Rohan and all at Scuba Junkie the best luck to get this project well and truly secured.
Finally we want to say a massive thanks to our new Shark Guardian members Angie Buai and Ken O’Byrne. They enjoyed our Shark Guardian presentation and will now wear our tshirt with pride and hopefully can provide us with some valuable contacts in Hong Kong for when we tour there next year.
These are exciting times for sharks and we feel proud to be a part of this, spreading the message and educating people. Thanks again for your support and look our for our next Shark of the Month in a few weeks.
Firstly, Liz and I would like to say a great big “Thank You” for all your support, subscriptions and Facebook “Likes” during this July. Our members list has really grown and we are so happy that there are people out there supporting sharks and conservation! Please remember that the more the better so get your friends, co-workers and family all involved with us!
I hope you will find this month’s update informative and useful. Topics include:
Read below for full details….
1. Great White Sharks may be in serious trouble in Australia
Unfortunately this month has not been good for sharks as there has been large discussions regarding their protective status. This has come under investigation following recent shark attacks in Australia once again. The Great White shark one of only 3 sharks that is internationally protected. More than 100 Million sharks are killed each year for their fins, while on average only 5-6 people are killed each year by sharks around the world. However this year there has been an unusual amount of shark attacks in Australia.
In response to the situation in Western Australia and the fact that the Minister Of Fisheries, Norman Moore is still considering getting the white shark’s protected status lifted in order to conduct a cull. Culling is the act of Shark hunting to remove sharks from an area and is in our opinion rather barbaric. Hundreds of Great White sharks had been killed through culling in the past around the coast of Australia.
We have adapted a letter to send on behalf of all those passionate about shark conservation. Please take time to review our shared letter and if you feel as strongly as us, send this letter with your signature to add your voice and weight to this campaign. Your signature and voice count and we are hugely grateful of all support to stop this from happening.
Download the Letter to Ministry of Fisheries – W.Australia - sign and send to:
The Ministry of Fisheries,
4th Floor, London House,
216 St Georges Terrace,
PERTH WA 6000
Shark fin Products
A costly delicacy – While most sharks caught in the New Zealand fisheries are taken for their meat, some are taken for their fins alone, which command high prices for shark fin soup. But the cost to the shark is its life.
All of the four main fins on a shark – pectoral, dorsal, anal and tail – are used for soup making. The fins are cut from the shark, trimmed to remove any flesh, and dried. Much of the dried product is exported to overseas markets and contributes to the ongoing worldwide demand.
New Zealand and Shark finning
Finning live sharks is illegal in New Zealand under the Animal Welfare Act, however it is legal to fin a dead shark. This finning usually takes place out at sea where the less valuable carcass can be discarded. It has been reported that illegal finning of live sharks is occuring in New Zealand waters (see the video above).
Show your support by signing this petition to: Stop shark finning in New Zealand waters and ban the trade of all shark fin products.
How can society tolerate such greed and waste?
3. Miss Cape Canaveral – Deep Sea Fishing – Photo stir uproar from shark conservationists
This photo was “proudly” posted on the Miss Cape Canaveral Facebook page. So far there has been a great deal of comment made by the general public regarding the practice of shark fishing and hunting. This is the link to the Facebook photo where you can read comments made and feel free to share your own….
4. No more shark fins at government receptions!
Beijing (AsiaNews) – China’s Government Offices Administration of the State Council (GOASC) is to issue guidelines to ban serving shark fins at official receptions, instructing all levels of government agencies to stop serving the delicacy. Environmental groups are elated by the news because shark fishing has put some species at risk of extinction.
According to wild animal conservation organisation WildAid, at least 70 million sharks are slain annually for their fins. This has put at least 17 per cent of known species on the verge of extinction. Mainland China and Hong Kong are among the biggest importers of shark fin for years.
However, there is a catch. The new rules will come out within one to three years. For many animal rights groups, that is not good enough.
“Banning shark fin will take the State Council three years to decide?” asked one online commentator. “That’s why it’ll take another 300 years for China to launch democratic reform”.
“Does the State Council mean public servants should spare no effort to eat shark fin within the coming three years, as their opportunities to eat it with public funds will be ended?” wondered another Web user.
The new government rules are not limited to shark fins but are aimed at the 200 billion yuan (US$ 31 billion) spent on meals by bureaucrats each year, enough to build another Three Gorges Dam, the largest hydroelectric plant in the world (600 sq km).
This is part of the Chinese government’s effort at cutting expenditures, bloated by runaway bureaucratic costs. For example, back in March, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao called for an end to public funds to buy cigarettes and expensive alcoholic beverages. (WZC)
5. Support Shark fin ban in Richmond!
If you have not written a letter to the editor in support of a shark fin ban in Richmond PLEASE DO. They are facing extreme pressure from business owners right now and they need to hear support from us! Councillor Kerry Jang of Vancouver told me that the most important thing we can do right now to help get this ban put in place is to support Richmond!
Let’s get some pro-shark pieces in the Richmond papers!!
news@richmondreview.com
Shark Guardian – Where we’ve been and where we’re going
How it started:
Brendon Sing started the Shark Guardian organization in 2008 but really, this was something that was in the making for more than 10 years. After initially sharing his knowledge and passion for sharks with students, people got word of the Shark Guardian presentation and soon Brendon was sharing his multi-media show with rooms full of up to 100 people in Thailand.
Shark Guardian:
At the end of 2009 Brendon named his presentation and all that it stands for. The aim was and always has been, to show the presentation to as many people, from all ages, cultures and backgrounds around the world, to change peoples’ perceptions of sharks and show people what amazing, ancient creatures they are. In to 2010 and the audience reached was increasing massively.
School tours:
With the help of girlfriend Liz, Shark Guardian embarked on two tours of International schools in Thailand in 2011, reaching more than 800 children and teachers and stimulating projects, debates and action in the community. Invitations to environmental conferences and school visits to Brunei followed and then in the summer of 2011, Liz presented to nearly 500 children in the UK
Brendon joined Liz for some presentations and we were even lucky enough to get invited to one of the Rotary clubs in Nottingham.
We have since had invitations to visit Dubai and Taiwan – with just 2 people running the Shark Guardian organization it is not possible to do it all!
Where we are now:.
As the massive shark finning industry in Indonesia hits the headlines of the dive world on a regular basis, we are focused on spreading our wings further in the very country which we live. Brendon was proud to present at the ADEX dive show in Singapore earlier this year and managed to visit an International school there too. Meeting like minded environmentalists and anti-shark fin campaigners we are trying hard to work with others to continue to spread the message, and to pass on our experience to others who wish to target schools. 
We continue to look for Shark Guardian Leaders who can be trained to present for us in other countries, by enrolling in our Shark Guardian Leader Program. We aim to start delivering our messages in Holland very soon and have contacts in Bali and Jakarta which will help us in our mission. We have also put together eco-field trip packages and have several schools interested in visiting Bunaken island, where we live in Manado, North Sulawesi. These tours will incorporate the Shark Guardian presentation and aim to educate school groups about wider ocean problems, as well as the massive destruction of shark populations and look at the conservation world within scuba diving.
We are looking to build up our Shark Guardian Memberships. We currently have many followers and interest in our programs. We want to build a larger mailing list to keep our members up to date and informed about our Shark Guardian activities and other shark conservation related news from around the world. For certain events and projects we may even call up on certain members to volunteer for future events and projects.
The future:
Shark Guardian continues its weekly presentations in north Sulawesi and plans to visit local schools in the regions, as well as Bali, Jakarta and other Indonesian destinations. This will only be possible with Shark Guardian
leaders and members. We are in the process of organizing a return tour to Thailand next February and also a tour to Hong Kong after this. We eventually hope to take the eco-field trips to other destinations.
The time to act and get people involved in saving sharks is now.
Please continue to support us and ask your friends and family to join us too. Find us on Facebook, visit our website and subscribe to our monthly newsletter and updates, so we can all do our bit, no matter how small that may seem.