Banning the Slaughter of Sharks in The Bahamas

Bahamian conservationists are alarmed by the news that the Bahamas Government is considering allowing a shark fishery here. A group of organizations have joined forces to support the Ban of the Slaughter of All Sharks in Bahamian Waters via the online petition http://www.care2.com/go/z/19887049, including, The Bahamas Humane Society, The Bahamas National Trust, EARTHCARE, Friends of the Environment, The Nature Conservancy, Bahamas Reef Environment Educational Foundation and reEarth. I’m urging all my friends and readers to sign the petition and speak out against a shark fishery here. And I wish to join my voice with The Pew Environment Group and its supporters who are calling for the Bahamas to become a shark sanctuary. (Larry Smith provides an excellent report on the controversy at the Bahama Pundit blog.)

I hear environmental activist Sam Duncombe when she comments that Bahamians will rise to the occasion when fisheries and the sea are at stake, intimating that just as we banned longline fishing here, we have the collective power to ban a shark fishery and will most likely use it. It is good to be reminded that the environmental movement in my country is on the watch and bringing pressure to bear when this kind of threat is looming. I can't imagine Mr. Ingraham allowing the commercial slaughter of sharks in The Bahamas, not when he knows that we are against it. We must let him know. At the time of this writing there are 5,048 signatures on the petition, with a targeted goal of 15,000. We can do it. Shark finning is a cruel and horrible practice that should be banned the world over. Lets show them how it is done.