My good friend and internationally acclaimed photographer / environmentalist Gunther Deichmann has once again used the power of his lens to bring world attention to yet another of mans destructive practices in an unfortunately ever-growing list that shows a callous disregard for the world we will pass on to our children and their children.
Gunther was recently in Bali, Indonesia on a commercial photo shoot when he came across some boats being unloaded in the harbor. Much to his dismay the catch being unloaded was thousands and thousands of shark fins from species that included hammerheads, white tips, black tips and more. True to form, Gunther's first reaction was to start shooting pictures. So powerful were some of the images he shot that Germany's STERN MAGAZINE chose one as "Photo of the Week" (Issue #46, November 06, 2008). Britains DAILY MAIL also featured Gunther's images and story on shark-finning. Follow the link below to see the article:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1086501/A-sad-sharks-tale-Shocking-images-scale-fin-trade.html
I think it is safe to say that most divers are well aware that shark-finning represents massively destructive and absolutely unsustainable decimation of sharks and I'm likewise sure that most divers do not support the practice. But being aware of and or not supporting shark finning is simply not enough anymore. It is time for each and every one of us to do more right now!
The rate of destruction of sharks is already so monumental that there is a growing belief that many species of sharks are headed for extinction in our lifetime. It is hard to believe that sharks, a species that has existed for millions of years, face extinction at the hands of man on our watch. While there's no guarantee of success for any actions we may each take to try to end this wasteful practice, there is every assurance that if we FAIL TO TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION NOW to stop the rape of our oceans, sharks and many fish stocks too will be eliminated. Greed, corruption and massive profiteering is destroying the very world that we as its present stewards are supposed to hold in trust for our children. We must each take it upon ourselves to act against these forces for if we do not, we too are part of the problem.
I call on every diver to take an immediate and strong stance against shark-finning and to fully engage themselves every single day in rallying more and more non-divers to the cause. We need to relentlessly fight back against those who are destroying our oceans without regard for the future. We cannot allow them to win. To most of the world shark-finning is out of sight and therefore out of mind. By the time the world wakes up to the danger it will be too late! We have to work together now to keep this issue in the forefront and to bring about an immediate halt to this insance practice before the total collapse of shark populations signals their total extinction.
Won't you follow Gunther's lead and DO SOMETHING POSITIVE TODAY and every day hereafter to help protect sharks forever? Tomorrow is already too late!
If you need more information about shark finning simply Google “shark finning” follow the links and start reading!
For more on Gunther's incredible photography, some great tips on Apple Aperture & Photo Shelter, or interesting articles on the environment, follow the link below to:
http://www.deichmann-photo.com/blog.html
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