Save the sharks...please?

Since I was young, shark fin soup has always been one of my favourites. When I was still a JB resident, any family dinner outings to Holiday Inn's Meisan Restaurant or to a few seafood restaurants along Lido and Stulang Laut would be looked forward to with great anticipation. All my siblings loved it too so we would fight each other to get the extra servings or that of my mom's since she wasn't really a fan.

The craze over this chinese delicacy continued when we moved to KL and I counted myself lucky for a period of time since my then-marital partner couldn't consume the dish due to some ancient family believes. Whenever we go out for family dinner, he would have crab soup instead and his bowlful share would be mine, to the envy of my sisters.

Anyway, all that changed when I took up scuba diving less than a year ago. I became more aware that finning of this top predator of the ocean, thus reducing its population, can disrupt the ocean's equilibrium. More and more of its species becoming endangered each day... hence, a decision to stop eating shark fin soup was made without much hesitation..

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I was all excited during my dives in Sipadan waters just 2 weeks ago when I got to see white-tip sharks, alive in their natural habitat, for the first time in my life. At South Point Sipadan Island, I saw quite a number lazying around on the sandbed, not bothered by our presence, the scuba divers. And to top it (not without envy obviously!), 2 of my diver friends managed to encounter a whale shark just the day after, on their way back to Mabul from Sipadan. After seeing the photos (just to make sure they were not pulling our legs!), my excitement multiplied and was secretly hoping that I would get to see it too before the trip ended.


Photo by Mr Chotty

But, my cheerfulness was cut short later on the same day when I saw these...















I was made to understand that whatever I saw on that day were all legal. The activities were the main source of income for some of these locals and the meat and fins were for exports. But that didnt stop me from having a huge lump in the throat knowing that some of these sharks were probably 'brothers and sisters' of those I just saw at Sipadan a day earlier!

Last week, my heart sank further when I saw this article in NST..


Picture taken from NST Online (by Asman Ibrahim)

Aduhhh... macamana boleh tersangkut kat propeller pulak tu???

Anyway.. friends and readers out there... let's join hands to stop or at least minimise shark finning by quitting shark fin consumption. When there is no demand, there won't be any supply right?

Please give my future sons/ daughters/ son in-laws/daughter in-laws/ grandchildren the chance to experience the excitement of seeing these sharks alive and kickin' in their natural habitats as how I did just a few weeks ago.... please?