Singapore environment group to shame shark eaters
Date: 18-Apr-02
Country: SINGAPORE
Five-time Emmy winner Stan Watermaner added his voice yesterday to an outcry against the slaughter of sharks for their fins, saying he was worried the oceans would suffer if shark populations were depleted by commercial fishing.
"In the ocean, any part that is removed from the food chain is critical and can impact the whole environment," he said.
Waterman made the statement at the launch of a music video aimed at getting sharks' fin off Asian menus.
Called "Shame on You" and due to be released in two months, the video, produced by Australia-based environmental group OceanNEnvironment, showed sharks being hacked to death by fishermen and zoomed in on diners indulging in the expensive sharks fin soup, which can cost up to $100 a bowl.
OceanNEnvironment's Michael Aw said around one hundred million sharks were killed every year for their fins.
The producers said they hoped the video would shame people into giving up their taste for shark. "The consumers hold the ultimate key to shark conservation. If the demand continues to be there, irresponsible fisheries will continue to fish and fin sharks," OceanNEnvironment said.
Environmentalists have long protested against the practice of "finning", where fishermen hack off sharks' fins and throw the rest overboard, leaving them to die.
Singapore-based WildAid "shark campaign coordinator" Victor Wu said Singapore's four million people were increasingly steering clear of shark and noted that local actress Zoe Tay had chosen not to serve it at her recent wedding.
But not everyone is ready to give the delicacy up.
"I like to eat sharks' fin soup. It tastes good," a Singaporean man in his 30s said. "But it's very expensive."