Defenders of Wildlife Blog

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We can all take a cue from the younger generation who are making their voices heard for protecting our nation’s wildlife. In mid-July, Defenders of Wildlife received a handwritten letter from 8-year-old Ainsley Dacanay, asking people not to kill sharks for their fins.

Ainsley’s letter comes at a critical time for shark survival. An important hearing is coming up on Monday, August 15th regarding AB 376 (Paul Fong, D-Cupertino and Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael) that would place a ban on the possession, sale, trade and distribution of fins. If you live in California and would like to voice your support for this important bill, you can send a message to your state Senator through our online action alert. Please take action now so we can deliver your message before the hearing.

Ainsley’s parents say they encourage her to let others know when she feels passionate about something.

One of the reasons we at Defenders work so hard to protect our nation’s wildlife is so that future generations will be able to enjoy the benefits of a healthy planet. So I was especially touched when I received this letter from Ainsley, a true wildlife hero, who took the time to write to us to speak up for sharks.

Thank you, Ainsley, for your support. With your generous spirit, I’m sure you have a great future as a conservationist ahead of you!

Great news!  Bill AB 376, introduced by California Assembly members Paul Fong (D-Cupertino) and Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) to ensure that California ceases to be both a major supplier and consumer of shark fins through a ban on the possession, sale, trade and distribution of fins, has passed its first major hurdle.  Yesterday the bill was introduced on the California Assembly floor and was voted through by a vote of 65-8.  BAM!

And a lot of the credit for this victory goes to the 17,788 Defenders supporters in California who let their representatives know that they wanted to protect sharks from finning, a brutal practice that claims the lives of over 73 million sharks each year and involves cutting off the shark’s fins, often while it is still alive, and throwing the shark back overboard to eventually die.  Many shark populations have collapsed worldwide due to overfishing, with some populations declining as much as 90-99% .  This is a big first step in protecting sharks and ensuring their survival and for your help in this first victory we here at Defenders want to thank you!

No word yet on when bill AB 376 will be introduced to the Senate but it looks like it will be sometime in mid to late June.  We hope we can count on you again when the time comes to contact your senators and to tell them to protect these magnificent ocean dwellers.  And once again, thank you very much for your support not only on this, but on all our issues!

Note to self: Always attend conferences held at castles. (Photo courtesy of Alejandra Goyenechea)

Protecting marine species

Defenders International program expert Alejandra Goyenechea is always on the move. This past weekend she traveled to Victoria, Canada (the capital of British Columbia) to attend the 2^nd International Marine Conservation Congress hosted by the Society for Conservation Biology, Marine Section.

The purpose of the conference was to address ongoing challenges to marine species conservation, especially those encountered last year during the climate change summit in Cancun, which failed to produce a binding long-term strategy for reducing global greenhouse gas emissions.

One major barrier to marine conservation and creating sustainable fisheries is finding reliable data. Many nations don’t report catch data, including small island countries that depend almost entirely on fishing for food. Improving data collection and establishing a clear baseline for fisheries will be essential to providing ongoing food security and conserving marine species.

Butch Dick from Canada's Songhees Nation delivers the opening address.

Other issues of concern include shark-finning, which takes place around the world and often goes under-reported or unreported altogether. Developing nations also lack vital resources to begin monitoring and managing marine species. Despite the trend toward establishment of large scale marine protected areas, it is imperative that we accelerate our progress in protecting areas of the high seas that are severely underrepresented.

While at the conference Alejandra participated in a focus group session titled, “Integrating science and policy: how scientists can help CITES advance marine conservation”. The group examined case studies that demonstrate how CITES can advance the conservation of traded marine species and how scientists can collaborate with CITES to ensure it achieves its stated goals. Alejandra also attended a debate on the effectiveness of international treaties for international conservation, which included a public discussion of ways to improve the accountability of signatory parties.

Climate change in the Americas

Last Friday, Alejandra was joined by Defenders climate change scientist Astrid Caldas for a lecture here in Washington, D.C. on Climate Change in the Americas at the Organization of American States. The keynote speaker was Christiana Figueres, head of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The main objective of this encounter was to give recommendations on what the Americas can and should do to combat climate change. We all realize, and governments are rapidly accepting, that every nation will suffer from climate change in one way or another. Climate change could be mitigated, but governments need to act quickly to sharply reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“Climate change does not cause anything, it intensifies everything.” — Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of UNFCCC

During her presentation, Figueres reminded the audience that the U. S. Department of Defense has already recognized that climate change is a threat to its security. Ms. Figueres emphasized the following small steps for governments in the Americas to adopt for facing climate change, and to meet the 2⁰C maximum increase in the temperature of the planet by 2050.

• Promote sustainable development in adaptation and mitigation
• Implement the resolutions to reduce carbon emissions developed during the last Convention of Parties (COP) meeting in Cancun, Mexico, in December 2010. All countries that attended the COP meeting in Cancun pledged to reduce carbon emissions and must follow through on their commitments.
• Support climate change adaptation in developing countries and push for technological innovation.

Coastal mangrove forests buffer ocean waves with strong root networks that extend above and below the tide.

In addition, Ms. Figueres highlighted the importance of saving mangroves in Mexico to mitigate climate change.  Defenders Mexico office has been fighting hard to protect the vanishing mangrove forest from development and earlier this year helped secure stronger protections for four different species of coastal mangroves.

Figueres also touted plans to implement the “REDD+” program to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, which now includes conservation, sustainable forest management, and the enhancement of forest carbon stocks.

Finally, the presentation closed by reminding us that no country can confront climate change by itself, and that cooperation and collaboration among countries is vital. The Americas need to use the opportunity provided by the negotiations in Cancun, Mexico, to further efforts in mitigating and adapting to climate change.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Shark fin soup may be off the menu at California’s top Chinese restaurants if a bill to ban the delicacy is passed by the legislature. Similar to a new law in Hawaii, the California bill would make the possession, sale or distribution of shark fins illegal.

Assemblyman Paul Fong, author of Assembly Bill 376, says the practice of shark finning is brutal, since the fins are typically cut off of a shark while it’s still alive.

Jim Curland, Defenders Marine Program Associate

“They’re doing this to 73 million sharks every year. They’re depleting the shark population by removing the fins and throwing the bodies back into the water, where they sink to the bottom or they suffocate and they die.”

Jim Curland, Marine Program Associate with Defenders of Wildlife, says not only is shark finning a gruesome practice, but it also poses a real threat to the survival of shark species.

“This is not an attack on the Asian culture; it’s trying to preserve our shark populations because they’re getting hammered so intensely.”

Curland says sharks perform the role of a “keystone species” that has a positive impact on its eco-system.

They’re a top predator. If you diminish or cause shark populations to go extinct, you’re going to lose a lot of the other marine species that are part of their system.– Jim Curland

“They’re a top predator. If you diminish or cause shark populations to go extinct, you’re going to lose a lot of the other marine species that are part of their system.”

Conservationists say 90 percent of the world’s shark population has disappeared because of overfishing. Opponents call the bill unfair because shark fin soup has been a part of Asian culture for thousands of years.

– Lori Abbott, Public News Service – CA

View this story on the Public News Service site and listen to the interview.

Read our article in Defenders magazine.

When making choices for dinner, these days more and more people are adding another criteria to the usual ones of tasty, nutritious and low-calorie: sustainable. We all know fish meets the first three… But when it comes to sustainability, here are two species you definitely want to bypass at the fish counter.

Here are some foods you should forgo:

Bluefin Tuna — Maybe Later? Uh, Not

Bluefin tuna has been commercially fished since ancient times. Today, it is a common menu item, served as steak or raw as sushi or sashimi. Unfortunately, bluefin tuna have become so popular that they are being overfished. That is, fishermen aren’t leaving enough bluefin tuna in the water to replenish stocks.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, which manages Atlantic and Mediterranean populations, sets fishing quotas every year, aiming to keep the bluefin out of trouble.

But many scientists and conservation groups say that the quotas are too high and some have even lampooned the group,  dubbing it the International Commission to Catch All Tuna.

While a giant bluefin tuna (sold for $396,000 at the Tsukiji fish market in Japan) was breaking the record for the highest price ever paid for a single bluefin,  the U.S. government’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration kicked off a public comment period on the bluefin. The public comment period is a step toward listing bluefin under the  Endangered Species Act. So help may soon be on the way. But for now, you should consider putting the chopsticks down.

Shark Finning — I’ll Pass, Thanks

Another concern for conservation groups is shark finning, where fisherman chop only the fins off of  (often still living) sharks, then toss rest back into the ocean. The fins are sold in parts of Asia, where shark fin soup is a very popular delicacy. Lisa Ling reported for CNN that the “soup is a delicacy reserved for the wealthy on special occasions … [but with] an unprecedented number of people making more money than ever, the demand for all things that signal an improvement in status is gargantuan.”

Luckily, as Reuters reports, some young Asians are choosing to forgo these endangered delicacies in favor of more sustainable options.

How You  Can Help

Choose only sustainable seafood! You can learn more about threats to tuna, sharks and other marine species, and explore what fish species are caught sustainably, at the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sustainable Seafood Program.