In one of the more creative recent ways to push for conservation of ocean wildlife, Pew Environment Group organized several survivors of shark attacks to lobbying US government officials to strengthen a ban on shark finning in US waters.
It takes some real open-mindedness for a person who was nearly killed by a shark to work on behalf of increasing shark populations. Finning has taken a huge toll on sharks around the world, with millions of sharks being lost every year to fill soup bowls in Asia.
From the Pew press release: “The media makes sharks out to be monsters, some people make them out to be huggable little creatures, but neither is completely true,” said Al Brenneka, of Raleigh, North Carolina, who lost his arm after being bitten while surfing in Del Ray Beach, Florida, in 1976. Brenneka now runs a shark attack survivors network and also tags and releases sharks for research. “Sharks are wild animals that deserve our respect, not our retribution.”
For those who do want to (safely) help shark research in Costa Rica, check out Sea Turtle Restoration Project's trip to the Cocos Islands in Costa Rica this August and stay tuned for more shark-related trips in the future from SEE Turtles.
-Brad Nahill
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