http://oceana.org/en/blog/2013/09/hong-kong-bans-shark-fin-soup-at-government-functions (http://oceana.org/en/blog/2013/09/hong-kong-bans-shark-fin-soup-at-government-functions)
QuoteHong Kong Bans Shark Fin Soup at Government Functions
We have some encouraging news for you out of Hong Kong – the government of Hong Kong announced that it will no longer serve shark fin soup at government functions, and that it will encourage government-funded bodies to do the same. Hong Kong is one of the world' s largest markets for shark fins, and with more than half of the world's fin trade passing through Hong Kong, it is considered the capital of the global shark fin trade, making this ban particularly salient.
(...)
Although the government of Hong Kong's announcement is an encouraging step in the right direction, it is by no means a final victory for sharks as sharks continue to be killed for their fins around the world. But we are seeing progress, including the announcement last year when the government of China announced a similar ban on serving shark fin soup at official banquets. The announcement, however, will likely take years to come into effect.
And CdM rejoiced.
Good.
We are at war with the shark. For every swimmer eaten, we should have a thousand fins in retaliation. :menace:
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on September 16, 2013, 02:54:17 PM
We are at war with the shark. For every swimmer eaten, we should have a thousand fins in retaliation. :menace:
"We" already do, by several orders of magnitude greater than 1:1000.
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.onegreenplanet.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F10%2F%2F2013%2F03%2Fshark-attack.jpg&hash=aa0cc75a271f5998a953fcc061545879cadbf42c)
Pft. I've killed a much higer ratio of people to sharks. :rolleyes:
Quote from: Jacob on September 16, 2013, 02:59:48 PM
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on September 16, 2013, 02:54:17 PM
We are at war with the shark. For every swimmer eaten, we should have a thousand fins in retaliation. :menace:
"We" already do, by several orders of magnitude greater than 1:1000.
I've never actually eaten shark. :(
Do sharks perform any ecologically useful function?
Quote from: Admiral Yi on September 16, 2013, 03:16:52 PM
Do sharks perform any ecologically useful function?
:rolleyes:
Removing a top predator from the environment wreaks havoc on it.
:rolleyes: Obrigado.
Quote from: The Larch on September 16, 2013, 03:20:07 PM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on September 16, 2013, 03:16:52 PM
Do sharks perform any ecologically useful function?
:rolleyes:
Removing a top predator from the environment wreaks havoc on it.
Yes that's what's missing in the ocean today: an effective top predator.
:lol:
Quote from: The Larch on September 16, 2013, 03:03:23 PM
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.onegreenplanet.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F10%2F%2F2013%2F03%2Fshark-attack.jpg&hash=aa0cc75a271f5998a953fcc061545879cadbf42c)
That would be just 700.000 sharks per year, whereas Wikipedia claims 100.000.000 are killed per year...
Quote from: Zanza on September 16, 2013, 03:27:42 PM
Quote from: The Larch on September 16, 2013, 03:03:23 PM
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.onegreenplanet.org%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F10%2F%2F2013%2F03%2Fshark-attack.jpg&hash=aa0cc75a271f5998a953fcc061545879cadbf42c)
That would be just 700.000 sharks per year, whereas Wikipedia claims 100.000.000 are killed per year...
Sorry, the pic was cropped. This is the whole pic:
(https://languish.org/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ftheinternettimessupplement.files.wordpress.com%2F2013%2F04%2Fshark-attacks.png&hash=e86fcc436e05e468768334e84877ba9de55613ab)
Quote from: Admiral Yi on September 16, 2013, 03:16:52 PM
Do sharks perform any ecologically useful function?
I don't think they increase shareholder value, if that's what you mean.
And some statistics, focused on the US:
http://oceana.org/en/our-work/protect-marine-wildlife/sharks/learn-act/shark-attack-statistics (http://oceana.org/en/our-work/protect-marine-wildlife/sharks/learn-act/shark-attack-statistics)
Quote from: Razgovory on September 16, 2013, 03:45:35 PM
I don't think they increase shareholder value, if that's what you mean.
Ground control to Major Tom.
179 attacks, 3 fatalities. That's pathetic, sharks. :nelson:
(Guess that really means we don't taste very good so they nibble then go on their way).
Where was i reading/hearing about sharks biting humans to see if it's a meat they like to eat? Was that here?
Quote from: Peter Wiggin on September 16, 2013, 03:59:35 PM
179 attacks, 3 fatalities. That's pathetic, sharks. :nelson:
(Guess that really means we don't taste very good so they nibble then go on their way).
AFAIK the theory is that once the bite, they realize that it's not one of their usual prey and they let go, unless they feel threatened. Or something like that.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on September 16, 2013, 04:01:32 PM
Where was i reading/hearing about sharks biting humans to see if it's a meat they like to eat? Was that here?
Yeah, that was in the thread talking about why Orca dont attack humans. Forget what thread though.
Either TV/Movies or OTT.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on September 16, 2013, 04:01:32 PM
Where was i reading/hearing about sharks biting humans to see if it's a meat they like to eat? Was that here?
Not sure... but I read something similar recently, that sharks bite to find out what kind of creature you are and then let go - as Larch says - when they realize you're not their usual prey.
Quote from: crazy canuck on September 16, 2013, 04:10:42 PMYeah, that was in the thread talking about why Orca dont attack humans. Forget what thread though.
Right! :cheers:
Sharks and orcas are slightly different, though. Orcas have much higher brain development than sharks, but sharks have some crazy ways to detect and analyze blood through sensorial means unavailable to other animals. Meaning, thus, that they might not know what you are until they bite you. :P
Yeah, orcas locate prey differently: they have very sensitive sonar, which is how they manage to identify people as people rather than, say, seals. We sound very different, and my hypothesis was that we sound so unlike food that their reaction is one of curiosity rather than eating us.
I certainly doubt that they recognize our "kindred spirits" instinctively or through deduction, like hippies tend to aver. I suppose it's possible that they may understand that boats, with their speed, size, and noise, are the works of humans, and therefore treat us with respect due to our apparent and mysterious power. But I feel like that's reaching given how little information they have to go on.
In any event, we probably smell different from shark prey, too, but I'd bet it's not as striking as the completely different acoustic profile we have from a blubbered-up seal. I dunno. We could throw some Americans into an orca pod and see what happens.
Quote from: Admiral Yi on September 16, 2013, 04:01:32 PM
Where was i reading/hearing about sharks biting humans to see if it's a meat they like to eat? Was that here?
Yeah, I watched a special on that, too. We're simply not its preferred food source, and shark bites are theorized to be just a taste, like The Larch says. Unfortunately, they are samplings that humans have a habit of bleeding out from once the shark says, "mmm, nah".
They have shitty vision, and their food sources are found on the surface; that's why you rarely see any attacks on scuba divers or on those fools that go on "swimming with the sharks" tours down on the ocean floor: that's not where they eat.
There have been more shark attacks of the coast of Massachusetts which is said to be caused by a larger seal population along the coast in protected areas. The seals attract sharks and humans are therefor under more risk.