Humana wants you to eat a nice healthy... shark steak

Today, I am embarrassed to call myself a Chicagoan.

Just when you thought people were catching on to the issues with eating shark, we were shocked to learn that a supposed leader in health care known for enabling people to make well-informed decisions regarding their health and healthy lifestyles is recommending the consumption of shark – in a very public format. Yes, you heard that right. Humana - a HEALTH CARE organization - has decided to promote shark meat as one of the "healthier choice" entrees featured at the Taste of Chicago festival. The dish, Shark Vera Cruz, is being served by Polo Café, and owner Dave Samber, to the millions of individuals attending the two-week festival who may choose to take Humana up on their incredibly irresponsible and erroneous recommendation.


Humana has effectively provided a seal of approval for a “dish” that carries warnings from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Environmental Defense Fund, Seafood Watch, and the New York Department of Health, to name but a few highly respected organizations. I guess Humana is saying you can cut the calories and pile on the Mercury?

Indeed, there is much research and publicly available data regarding the serious issues associated with consumption of shark meat due to the health risks posed by the high levels of mercury and other contaminants found in the shark’s flesh. Mercury that is known to cause significant health issues for pregnant women and children. Humana, what were you thinking?

In addition to the risks posed by consuming sharks personally, it is hard to believe they can ignore the significant health risks posed to our planet. Sharks around the world are threatened with extinction due to overfishing. Studies out this week indicate conservatively that a 1/3 of shark species are threatened with extinction. With populations of many shark species down by as much as 90%, this news couldn’t have come at a worse time. Humana, what were you thinking?

How can Humana, a supposed environmental leader, not realize as the apex predators of the oceans, the role of sharks is to keep other marine life in healthy balance and to regulate the world’s largest and most important ecosystem? Instead, they are supporting the continued consumption and removal of sharks from the very environment upon which we depend – wreaking havoc on our planet. Those of us who read are well aware that regional elimination of sharks can cause disastrous effects including the collapse of fisheries and the death of coral reefs. Humana, what were you thinking?


We have notified Humana and have made them aware of the situation. Educated and enlightened, Humana should immediately rescind its recommendation and MORE IMPORTANTLY issue a retracting statement to all media outlets the recommendations were promoted to (which sadly are quite extensive). The damage that has been done needs to be undone immediately. Additionally, the recommendation should be withdrawn from the literature at the Taste of Chicago booth, and instead, women and children should be properly warned about the dangers of consuming sharks – consistent with the recommendations of the EPA and the FDA.

Please appeal to Humana, the City of Chicago, and Polo Café, as we have, to stop supporting tthe consumption of shark meat: for our, and our planet's, health. And please copy all of the media outlets that have carried the story. You can make phone calls or send emails to the following individuals:

Polo Café:
Dave Samber - Owner
+1 (773) 927-POLO
Email: dave@polocafe.com
www.polocafe.com

Humana:
Jim Turner - Manager, Corporate Media Relations
+1 (502) 476-2119
jturner2@humana.com
www.humana.com

City of Chicago, Mayor's Office of Special Events (MOSE)
Megan McDonald, Executive Director
Mayor's Office of Special Events
121 N. LaSalle Street, Room 806
Chicago, IL 60602
312-744-2493

Holista Shark Cartilage Pills are no more!

Congratulations to Shark Angel Kim and all of Sea Shepherd's hard efforts to persuade Holista to cease all production of Shark Cartilage Products. This is a huge win for sharks!

Read more...

Scoring a Try for Sharks

(Julie with The Crusaders post-dive. Photo by Mark Addison.)

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to accompany a very special team of individuals when they encountered sharks for the first time. And, the results similar to so many before them, for this shark conservationist, were inspiring. And reminded me again why this fight is so worth fighting.

While still in Durban last week, I joined New Zealand’s Rugby team, the Crusaders, many of whom are also All Blacks, on their first dive with the sharks of Shark Park. I have got to hand it to the guys – they endured some of the worst conditions I have ever dove in. The seas were so rough that it took almost 20 minutes to launch! And after a harrowing ride out to the dive site, all of the big, tough guys were looking, well not so tough and rather green – and not just because they were a bit nervous.

But, they jumped in and in a heartbeat, shifted their perspectives. Entering into a sea of blacktips, they eagerly pointed them out to one another as they swam amongst them. It wasn’t long before our first tiger, a girl I call Smiley in memory of my brother’s adopted greyhound who also had a permanent grin on her face, showed up. In true Smiley form, she swam towards us on the surface, quite inquisitive and quite close. Between her unnerving grin delivered what some might call way too close for comfort, and the brutal seas which resulted in everyone hurling including myself, it was a day not to be forgotten!

(Bronson swims with his new-found friend Smiley. Photo by Mark Addison.)

When we got back to Blue Wilderness, the guys were incredibly charged up and quite passionate about their experience, embarrassed that perhaps they too had once fallen for the “Jaws” myth. But when it came time to do my ten minute conservation briefing that I do at the end of most dives, as part of the diving conservation program we are rolling out, I figured there was no way I would keep these superstars’ attentions. Especially because lunch had been served.

But, just as Smiley’s behavior had startled them, theirs’ completely floored me. They stopped and gave me their full attention, hung on every word, asked dozens of educated questions and on that afternoon, became passionate shark conservationists.

After the presentation, Paul and I interviewed them on camera for a piece that was being aired here in South Africa and I couldn’t have been prouder of their genuine and educated perspective. Rugby player after rugby player recanted the sadness they felt with the realization that sharks are misunderstood and how tragic it is that it is that irrational fear, in some ways, leading to their demise. And each declared how they were personally going to change that. In fact, we are now working together with Blue Wilderness and the Crusaders to put together a powerful viral video on the experience that carries a strong conservation message that will be posted, amongst other places on their website.

It isn’t because they are famous, or heros to a whole legion of fans, that I was delighted to be in their presence. I am not the type to get star-struck and personally, given my complete American-based ignorance to the sport, that fame is wasted on me. But, the fact that they have decided to use that fame and reach people that most of us never could is why the Crusaders are now my heros too.

(The original Smiley. The similarities are haunting, no?)

Saving Sharks... through High School Students

(One of the blacktips we caught and tagged.)

A few months ago, I was reminded how important it is to work with our children, raising a new generation of conservationists to take over where we leave off in the hopes they can be more successful than we were. I have always enjoyed teaching kids about sharks, loving how open minded and thoughtful they are. But this time, I had an even greater joy - I was given the opportunity to watch some pretty inspiring people infect young adults with a passion for sharks… and science.

(The students participating in the SFSSP the day I joined them.)

I met up with the South Florida Student Shark Program (SFSSP) in the Keys, one beautiful Sunday morning, with the intention of learning more about their work. Neil Hammerschlag, a dedicated scientist and conservationist, runs the two-year old program funded by the Hoover Foundation and University of Miami. Their goal? To study the habitat and health of the shark population in the keys to ensure the sharks’ continued critical existence in these waters. Their main scientific tools? High school students.

(The team in action. Pictures by Neil Hammerschlag.)

Yes, that’s right. High school students are doing much of the work. While I can shamefully recall being concerned with things like finding cool combat boots (yes, I was a little bit of a rebel) and my favorite band at the time (Depeche Mode of course), this group of young adults – at the same age I was - are worried enough about the health of the oceans to give up their weekends to attempt catching and tagging sharks.

(The SFSSP gang bragging about 13 sharks!!!)

I was thoroughly impressed and excited with the work Neil Hammerschlag, LeAnne Winn, Adam Matulik and the team are doing – going far beyond studying the range, size, and health of the local shark population – but also examining the high mercury content and other chemicals such us neurotoxins in the shark’s flesh. You see, their work gives all of us shark conservationists a powerful weapon in our arsenal to stop those who consume shark fin soup. As apex predators, the sharks are amassing dangerous doses of methyl-mercury in their flesh – even in their fins - which is consumed when they are eaten. One bowl of shark fin soup is often enough to cause birth defects in pregnant women, and mercury poisoning leads to sterility and nervous system issues. Mercury poisoning is so common that 1 in 3 Chinese born women tested in New York city had four times the FDA approved limit in their blood. Through the SFSSP’s work, high mercury levels in Floridian sharks can now be proven. What’s more, Neil’s team is contributing to a world-wide effort to examine shark tissue for other contaminants, including a chemical that leads to brain disorders such as Alzhemiers. Ironically the soup meant to symbolize health and prosperity is a dangerous concoction of environmental poisons.

On the day I joined the team, we headed to an area that was home to a deep channel between two Keys and set the initial ten drumlines. While I am usually the one covered in dead fish, it was such a treat to have eleven students eager to get messy! The students prepared the fish, baited the hooks, laid the lines and took samples. I was already smiling to see such enthusiasm when it was time to check the first line.

So imagine how big my smile was to find that on the 15 lines we set, we caught 13 sharks! A new SFSSP record! (And finally, maybe my curse was over. Yes, I am always the one who gets on a boat to see nothing and get no results only to hear from someone that only the day prior, that they saw synchronized white sharks breaching, or an aggregation of 100 whale sharks, or they tagged the world’s largest bull shark, or recorded a bait ball that consisted of 12 different elasmobranch species so big it was visible even in space.)



The boat was buzzing with activity as the team of scientists and students worked side by side to quickly pull in each shark minimizing impact on the animal, take its measurements and specifics, obtain a core sample and a fin clip, and tag it with two separate tags. 4 bull sharks, 1 nurse shark, 4 lemon sharks, and 5 black tips! It was absolutely amazing.

In all of the action, I managed to chat with a few kids to determine how these experiences were impacting them. Of the 6 kids I talked to, four wanted a career that would allow them to get involved in environmental science or marine biology, five were now using seafood choice cards and the one who was a fisherman had stopped catching sharks – as did his whole family. And what’s more, each one of them told me, with complete passion and total believability (not to mention accuracy), why it was so important to protect sharks, given their role in our planet’s overall health. My spirits soared when I imagined all of the kids whose lives SFSSP had changed – and then, in turn, all of the people whose minds were changed about sharks because of these compassionate, committed kids. SFSSP truly is giving sharks, and our youth, a chance.


Without a doubt, the work SFSSP is doing is absolutely critical. Not just to improve our collective understanding for sharks, or even to stop them from being chased into extinction, but to make this world a better place – for generations to come.

To learn more about SFSSP, please check out their blog on the Shark Savers site – and their website.

BLUE SHARKS OUT IN THE DEEP

Tuna fishermen have been reporting loads of blue sharks (Prionace glauca) off Cape Point, South Africa. Morne’ on behalf of the SOSSC and Shark Spotters went to investigate and dive with these cobalt-blue sharks. What he saw both mesmerized and disgusted him.

Warm 20 ºC water, 10 meter visibility and loads of blue sharks – this is something every shark diving enthusiast will take advantage of given half the chance. Five am on Sunday morning Morne’ headed off (I stayed behind to catch up on office work) and after a 2 hour long boat trip they reached the point were the water is good for yellowfin and longfin tuna – and sharks! Pretty soon the giant yellowfin tuna were circling and the first sharks appeared. Morne’ quickly hopped in the water with camera in hand. This was his second blue shark diving experience, the first being while diving under a whale carcass a few years back with a single small animal, and he was amazed at the beauty of these sharks. Cobalt blue and silver bodies diving around him gave the feeling that he was in a fantasy world for sharks!

Unfortunately, after these first majestic encounters a 1.5 meter blue shark came swimming up to him and as it got closer Morne’ saw that it had a severe wound around its gills. Upon closer inspection he saw what looked to be fishing line wrapped around the shark’s gills which was cutting deep into the flesh. This particular shark stayed with Morne’ for half an hour and Morne’ was able to film and photograph the shark. What more than likely happened in this case was that a blue shark was caught on a fishing line and while being reeled in probably twisted around trying to free itself. The line was either cut or the shark broke free, but the fishing line was left wrapped tightly around the animal’s body. This monofilament line is very strong and not flexible and as the shark grows it slices through the skin. In all likelihood this shark will die a slow and painful death as it continues to grow.

Many sharks are caught as bycatch while targeting tuna and responsible fishing guidelines encourage anglers to cut the line as close to the hook as possible to prevent this kind of entanglement. The hooks themselves will eventually rust away.

Blue sharks are the most heavily fished sharks in the world mainly as result of by-catch and are listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. For more about blue sharks visit: http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/39381

Shark Angels in the news again... This time national evening news.

This was part of the full story shot in November.

Tracking a Giant: Meet Nyami Nyami, the 4 meter Bull Shark

(The beautiful Nyami Nyami - photo by Alison Towner)

Three weeks ago, Meaghen McCord from the South African Shark Conservancy (SASC) and her team found the 4 meter giant in the Breede River over 15 km from the ocean. She was an over-achieving shark, setting many records – and proving many theories wrong – including the fact she was living far outside of her known range - in an area she wasn't supposed to inhabit. The discovery was a true triumph for Meag who had been self funding the efforts to find these "ghost" sharks who have long been rumored amongst the locals to exist, regardless of the scientific skeptics that surrounded her.

And, it is an amazing discovery for the Zambezis, who you will recall from a previous blog entry are extremely threatened due to a lack of healthy estuaries in Southern Africa which they use as breeding grounds. It appears the Zambezis do indeed have a healthy place to strengthen their dwindling numbers. It is just hundreds of kilometers South, but I guess no one told Nyami Nyami, our massive and rather clever lady who is most likely soon to become a mom.

Meag and her team tagged the beautiful shark and tracked her for 43 consecutive hours as she swam from fishing boat to fishing boat, out into the ocean and then, far upstream. They vowed to return with more support – allowing them to track Nyami Nyami for 24 hours a day for two weeks straight. It isn't often you have the opportunity to get into the head of a shark by studying her every movement for two weeks, so of course I jumped at the opportunity to participate.

(Tagging Nyami Nyami so we can track her - photo by Alison Towner)

It has been an incredible experience to track Nyami Nyami – and gain a deeper understanding of this misunderstood animal. And what a complex creature she is. She loves swimming in water less than a meter deep on low tides, rubbing her belly on the mud. Then, there are times she enjoys lying stationary in deeper pits probably watching her world swim by. Sometimes she missions at an incredible speed against the current to one of her favorite destinations, and others, she rides the current lazily moving the same speed as our drifting boat. We have tracked her from the river mouth upstream over 30 kilometers and back again. She certainly gets around.

(Tracking the ghost shark... With our trusty Skipper - and brave shark wrangler, Steve Smuts)

Nyami Nyami is quite curious, and often swims up to those on the water – either wading or in boats. While sometimes she will ignore fisherman, other times, she heads straight for them, sitting patiently on their lines waiting for them to catch something. When they do, she is always up for an easy meal – just adding to the adventure that is fishing in the Breede River. She is also very sensitive to vibrations and is often drawn to those making them. I have many times witnessed her swim right up to people waist deep in the water digging for prawns, to merely check them out and then move on. She even swam up on some swimmers yesterday. Never has there been a shark attack in the Breede River. Indeed, Nyami Nyami has had every opportunity to expand her diet; clearly we are not on her menu. Yes, 4 meter bull sharks and people can peacefully co-exist. Even in murky water.

(Paul writes down the data...)

(As Julie tracks her...)

And Nyami Nyami is not alone. We have plenty of evidence to prove that there are more of her kind. Fin sightings, breachings, huge 100 lb Cobbs bitten in half – all attributed to someone other than our girl, since we know exactly where she was at the time each occurred – and it wasn't near any of the other instances of evidence.

(100 lb Cob head - chowed by someone other than our girl... Fisherman fought with the fish for an hour before the line instantly went slack... This is what he reeled in. Photo by JP Botha.)

Although it seems like I am tracking a ghost since she rarely can be seen in the murky water that is less than a half meter visibility, she has breached for us, and for a few minutes each day, she shows an impressive dorsal and caudal fin. So for brief moments, I am visually connected to my new obsession. More spectacular for me, though, are the frequent moments that the tracking device, the VR100, gives us readings of 105. 70+ means she is 10 – 15 meters away… 105? Well, she is nuzzling our boat!

(A brief glimpse of Nyami Nyami rubbing her belly on the mud.)

But what I have found more powerful is the community's reaction to Nyami Nyami. As a conservationist with an undying passion for sharks, I have soaring highs and crushing lows depending on whom I am speaking to. Some want to kill her for threatening their fish supply - not realizing the important role she plays in keeping their stocks healthy. Some love the idea of sport fishing for the world's largest trophy set of bull shark jaws. Others are now terrified, even though there were always sharks in the river. But fortunately, those individuals are fewer than those that are absolutely thrilled with the discovery. Many community members are excited about the finding, with people frequently stopping us to ask about her latest escapades. They love the idea that these waters are healthy enough to support Bull Sharks, when almost nowhere else in South Africa can. Often, we pull up to fisherman who are amused at the fact a shark larger than their boat is hanging out, just waiting to see what they catch. Even the swimmers who we notified about the shark below them were shocked but quite curious.

It is fortunate, since the community's support is desperately needed, as she, like so many other sharks, requires grassroots protection. Some question the release of her existence, fearing it is her death wish. Hardly. Instead of allowing a few trophy hunters to come in and silently kill Nyami Nyami (since they witnessed her original capture), instead, due to the publicity, MCM has put an immediate moratorium on all shark fishing in the river until further information can be gathered - with a fine of R500,000 for violators. But legislation, as we all know, is only a small part of the battle. Enforcement is far more important. Thankfully, the community is now self-policing, keeping any potential hunters out. It is my hope that those passionate about the river will continue to serve as Nyami Nyami, and all of her friends', guardian angels. She, and Bull Sharks everywhere, need all the protection they can get.

*SASC has funded much of this effort and desperately needs your support to continue tracking Nyami Nyami and all of their good work.