Shark Publicist in San Francisco
San Francisco, California – July 25 – 29, 2011
There is a fight around the world.
Many environmental groups are rallying their efforts to bring awareness about true shark behaviour and their vital role in the marine ecosystem. Indeed, the general public still unfairly thinks sharks are useless dangerous creatures which can be killed with complete impunity. That could not be more untrue.
Sharks are top predators which keep the oceans in balance. They do not compete against us for the fish we eat. They do not lurk in the waters looking for people to eat. That is a myth. Sharks keep the seas in balance. They cannot be hunted down and killed without consequences. Without them, we won’t have any fish to put on our plates.
When left alone, most species of sharks live many decades. This means they also take many years to reach sexual maturity. This is why, with the current rate of shark killing around the world, some species are on the brink of extinction.
In California, the plea for sharks is called Assembly Bill (AB) 376 – the ban which would make it illegal to possess, sale, trade, and distribute shark fins – a legislation that the states of Hawaii, Oregon and Washington have already passed. California is the largest consumer of shark fin soup outside of Asia. This is why it is crucial that AB 376 be voted in.
So how does one go about fighting against the totally undeserved bad reputation sharks suffer from? Education.
Soon after the following article was published Breath-Hold Diver Goes Nose-to-Nose with Sharks to Help Stop Shark Finning by Leila Monroe, one of NRDC’s* staff attorney), William was asked to come to the San Francisco area to share his perspective about shark behaviour from his experience breath-hold diving with them. Indeed, very few people had ever been able to observe sharks in the most natural way, without a cage, without noisy air tanks, without fear.
Over the course of one week, William presented his breath-taking images and videos and talked about his up close and personal encounters with sharks to a wide audience, among which scientists, law makers, financiers, aquarium staff, shark lovers and the general public.
One might think scientists and staff working at an aquarium would not need much education on shark conservation. True. What they learned however was that it is possible to approach, observe and tag sharks on a breath-hold. Freediving with sharks yields unparalleled observations of the animals. Some scientists were quite taken by some of the encounters William had experienced with sharks who sought a interaction with him. No predator, no prey, just curious about each other.
William also supported the filming of a public service announcement (PSA) organized by David McGuire (Sea Stewards) and the APAOHA (Asian Pacific American Ocean Harmony Alliances). This PSA was much needed as the opponents to AB 376 claim the bill is discriminatory against Asian traditions. Quite the contrary, AB 376 is about preserving a threatened species.
Humans are far more dangerous to sharks than the other way around. The numbers speak for themselves. The estimated number sharks killed every year is between 25’000’000 and 73’000’000 individuals and some sources go up to 100’000’000 individuals a year. Yet, every year, about a half-dozen humans die from fatal shark bites. Around the world. Think about it, half a dozen. Yet driving motor vehicles, keeping predatory animals as pets and heart disease kill far more humans on a daily basis.
What are people really afraid of? What they don’t know and what they have little control over.
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William would like to thank the following people for inviting him to speak on behalf of sharks and support AB 376:
Leila Monroe and Francesca Koe (NRDC); Dr. Sheryl Crow and her SFSU fish lab students and scientists; David McGuire (Director of Sea Stewards) ; Rebecca Lee and the APAOHA (Asian Pacific American Ocean Harmony Alliances); Honk Kong actress and environmentalist Sharon Kwok; the NRDC San Francisco Council, Aimee David and the staff at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the researchers at the DeNault Family Research Laboratory (Hopkins Marine Station). Last but not least, a big thank you to Kati Schmidt and the staff of the Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco for putting together a fabulous event.
* The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a New York City-based, non-profit, non-partisan international environmental advocacy group, with offices in Washington DC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Beijing. Founded in 1970, NRDC today has 1.3 million members and online activists nationwide and a staff of more than 300 scientists, attorneys and other specialists.