GEMS World Academy Week without Walls -Can we give our sharks a fighting chance?

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Permalink Reply by Johannes Schroth on May 1, 2010 at 2:57pm

Sharkwater was definitely worth seeing, it was a great documentation about sharks and also shark fining, in the middle of the movie it got a bit boring but then towards the ending it grabbed my attention again. I think the movies message was that it’s wrong to see as many people do, that sharks are monsters that kill anything that comes in their way. I have seen the movie twice now and before I even saw it once I was one of the people that thought sharks were horrible sea monsters, but I have changed my view of sharks. Through the week without walls program, tawasul and also the movie scharkwater made me change my perspective of sharks, I now know that sharks are very nice animals and I also decided that I want to do something to help the sharks and protect them, especially from shark fining. I think that the big problem about shark fining is that many people don’t know that it is actually going on out there in such a huge number, I mean 10,000-15,000 sharks are killed each hour!!! I think that sharks have to be protected a lot more than they are now, there should be like a limit of sharks that get killed each day because we have to make small steps until we can reach the goal of actually protect them fully. Also the fishermen shouldn’t cut of the sharks fins while it’s still alive and then chuck them back into the water where then they have to painfully starve to death because they can’t swim. Regarding long lining I would say that it should be strictly forbidden in all countries because fisherman may only want to fish one type of fish but they also fish much other marine life which they didn’t even want, this is what we call unselected fishing and should be strictly forbidden. I think it is our responsibility to do something against shark fining, what we can do is start a campaign or raise money which then would go towards saving sharks, or we can blog about it, we can even make a website to make people aware of what’s going on and that sharks are not monsters or horrible creatures.

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Permalink Reply by Simran Sampat on May 3, 2010 at 8:41pm

--> Sharkwater was definately worth watching, it really touched me and I even cried in the movie, in scenes where the skarks were obviously getting harmed and tortured without any mercy !

--> The message of the movie, according to me, was that what these people do and think about sharks, is wrong. Sharks are admirable creatures that should be appreciated because they have a very big hand in keeping the world safe for us to live in, because if the carbon levels shoot up the world will not be safe for us to live in anymore ! These people think that sharks kill anything and everything for food ! That is very wrong and those people are mistaken, as a shark will not attack you unless you do anything to it, or unless you gleam in the water like its food : The Seal; and only then will the shark attack you, and the moment it realises that you are not its food, it will leave you alone, not eat you, and if someone dies because of a shark attack, it is because the person bled to death, not that the shark was hungry and therefore ate the person !

--> Sharks should be protected to a very high level now, because at the amount that shark fishing has been going on, if not stopped, sharks will be extinct before the next generation even rises to an age to recognize it, and the next generation will call us barbarians for doing this to the breath taking underwater world.. And to do this, (as Johannes has already mentioned) we must reduce the number of shark killing each day, and only by taking these small successful steps will we be able to stop shark finning completely ! And the fishermen should get shark fins from the sharks that died a natural death, not kill more and increasingly more sharks each day while alive, and then leave them to drown and die because of lack of ability to swim anymore and therefore not being able to get enough oxygen.. :O

--> Long Lining should be strictly forbidden, as in the hunt for sharks for their fins, the fishermen unrealizingly kill other fishes and cause a lot of damage to marine life, and this causes in unselected fishing, which should be completely banned.. !

--> I can write, and spread awareness through my writing, which will open peoples eyes. I also love clicking pictures, and therefore will click pictures to show how each hour around 10,000 - 15,000 sharks are being killed without most of the people knowing about it ! I can get in touch with radio jockeys and ask them to spread awareness, and we can make a website or make groups on social networking sites like facebook, to spread awareness. The options are many, but they are only for people who are passionate about helping save the sharks in the world.. And i definately consider myself one of those passionate people who can go to any level to do something they are passionate about...

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Permalink Reply by Caroline Fogelkvist on May 15, 2010 at 7:48pm

I am extremely happy that we watched the movie Sharkwater with Tawasul. It changed the whole way I looked at sharks and the underwater world. I did really like the way Rob Stewart filmed it, because it felt like you were there with him all the time and really got a deep understanding. The film really showed beautiful photos and film clips of the underwater world and that made me even more sad and convinced that something must be done about the destruction of it.

The main message though was about the ongoing, utterly cruel shark fining in Asia. I believe that it was all about just informing the viewer what is actually going on, spreading awareness and showing the reality. My heart is aching when I think about that right now- whilst I am sitting here typing- thousands of sharks having there fins cut of by humans , and they are TOTALLY HELPLESS. They have done nothing to us humans, so why should we do something unfair to them? The biggest change for me was the thought about how dangerous they are. I really thought that sharks were the most dangerous animal on the planet, but the reality is so radically different. The fact that they are killing around five people a year becomes so fair when you compare it to the lions on the savannah. If you are pretty cleaver you would NEVER put your foot close to a lion lying down on the savannah. It is called respect, and you know how they can be if something goes wrong, or they are too hungry. But we go swimming and diving in the water, without even thinking for a second. And that is the sharks natural habitat. What about respecting the sharks?

I do strongly believe that we should do everything that stands in out power to stop shark fining and protect the sharks. It is all about awareness, knowing about what is actually going on. Today so many people can't see the connection between us humans and the sharks. I guess it is because they haven't been underwater, seen it by their own eyes, seen how beautiful the under water environment is. We need to get people to understand the the sharks aren't just sharks, they are a lifeline- if we are lucky- our children and grandchildren depend on. If we are unlucky, it is the lifeline our lives depend on.

The long lining problem is something the governments should handle. But that means we need to put pressure on them, as well as help them. There must be polices driving out on the sea, checking fishermen and their methods. With people being aware of what horror story there is behind their shark fin soup, they wouldn't hopefully find it nice any more. And there wouldn't be a market for the shark fining.
We need to start here in Dubai, and I have been to both Spinneys and Choitrams to ask them it they do sell some form of shark fin soup or shark meat. Luckily, they didn't. The fish manager at Spinneys said that they do not sell shark meat or shark fin soup because there is no market, and they are not allowed. I am not sure about that and realized that a better way to find out the truth would have been to tell them I needed shark fins, and then see what they could have done for me in order to get it... I do not believe that selling shark fin soup in Dubai is illegal, since I have heard that some restaurants are serving it. The next step might be to talk to the restaurants to see if they actually are serving it, and if yes, then ask why, and inform them a little bit about the shark situation. Is shark fining illegal all over the world? Because if it is, where do they then get the fins from..?
Felicia, Simran and me have got many ideas for how to spread awareness and protect the sharks, the only thing now is to have the guts to keep on going and and really carry through the ideas, and hopefully you Ernst can help us with that :D

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Permalink Reply by Nikita Thampi on May 23, 2010 at 5:18pm

Sharkwater was absolutely worth seeing. I had a different aproach to sharks at the begining thinking of them as dangerous wildlife monsters that love to eat anything with blood and flesh they could find. Honestly thats all i have ever heard anyone i know ever say about them. And to add to my thoughts and ponts of view, movies such as Jaws came out that just added more horrible things about sharks. Not only through the Sharkwater movie but through my whole week without wall experience, i ve learnt so much more about the sharks and also about different other kinds of sea life. I have watched the movie once more with my family and a few friends so that all the negative untrue things about sharks they ha in their mind would all go away and they would finally see what wonderful awsome creatures they are.

I feel the movie's message was to let us know about the cruel shark fin fishing that was going on in our world. These fishermen would hunt the sharks and then catch them. They would then cut the fins of the shark off and then throw the sharks back into the sea to bleed to death. Watching these scenes from the movie is one fo the most heart-breaking things i have ever scene in my entire life. These people just take the smallest parts of the shark and then throw the rest of the poor helpless sharks into the sea. Sharks have done no harm to us. In a year sharks have killed only 5 humans and all of them have not been eaten. This movie is an eye-opener to not just me but everyone in this world.

There shouldnt be a certain extent to which sharks should be protected. We as human beings need to care out our earth and help these creatures not get extinct. We need to take the initiative to help stop shark fishing. If everyone helped in any small way possible then soon enough our underwater world would be saved. Small steps lead to big change.

Long lining should be strictly forbidden. Even though it was created to just catch sharks, but it has killed so many other kinds of marine life. This is unacceptable. We as humans should stop killing any kinds of marine life but instead they should learn more of this underwater world that we know very little of.

I will go with a group of people who have the initiative to save sharks and who are passionate about the environment. We shall start going to places like fish market or hotel and see if they so sell any kinds of shark meat. If they do then we shall go speek to the owners and make them stop. I will start groups, post presentation on youtube or facebook and let as many people know about all this and who ever can and who ever are passionate about the environment, they can also start taking small steps to save sharks.

Sharks are amazing creatures. They have lived for so many years. More than any life on this planet. And we should let them live for as long as they can and protect them from any harm.

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