Success Stories

• Shark Conservation Success Stories:
  
  The following are links to just a few success stories from shark conservation campaigns around the world. These inspiring stories prove that grass roots efforts DO work.
  
  Please contact us to let us know about other success stories that you would like to share.
  
  Great work -- congratulations to everyone who contributed to these campaigns!
  Let's make this list HUGE!!
  
  Listings on this page, by category
  Shark Rescues
  Restaurants / Stores
  Sportfishing and Tournaments
  Supplements - Shark Cartilage / Shark Liver Oil
  Cosmetics - Squalane
  Events
  Media / Press
  Shark-related Legislation

• Shark Rescues

  Lemon Shark Rescue - Guests and crew of the Shear Water rescue a lemon shark with a rope tied around her neck.
  See:  http://www.scuba-adventures.com/blog/2009/04/lemon-shark-rescue
  

  
  

• Restaurants / Stores

  EC21.com removes all shark fin listings
  Thanks to the efforts of StopSharkFinning.net! Business to Business site EC21.com seems to have filled in the gap after Alibaba.com removed their shark fin listings. Duncan Carson discovered this information, contacted EC21.com and EC21.com have agreed to remove shark fin listings from their site as well.
  

  
  

  Shark Savers: Initial Goal of 1000 "Say No To Shark Fin Soup" billboards achieved!
  Within just three weeks of initiating the appeal to fund the "Say 'no' to shark fin soup" billboards in China, Shark Savers / Wild Aid have met their initial goal!
  
  Shark Savers committed to raising funds for half of the 1000 billboards, with WildAid raising the remaining half. Hundreds of you met the call. All 1000 billboards featuring NBA star and China champion, Yao Ming, will now be installed in Beijing and Shanghai beginning this month (December '09).
  
  The enthusiasm for the billboards continues, and so the campaign to raise more funds continues. And as of Dec. 10th, they're already 40% towards the goal for the third city! This is wildly successful and extremely important campaign to support!
  See:  http://www.sharksavers.org/get-involved/ways-you-can-help-save-sharks/613-buy-a-billboard-in-china.html
  

  
  

  Amphibious Warrior Scuba Wear - Tom Sergent:
  Olympic Tavern is a local pub & eatery. They ran a special on Thresher and when my wife Carolyn & I found out about it we called them on the phone and sent out emails to other shark lovers asking them to help convince the Olympic to stop serving Shark. We also wrote blogs & posts on MySpace, The Dive Village & Facebook. The Olympic was overwhelmed with emails & calls. The owner sent me an email stating he had no idea that sharks were threatened and promised to only serve sustainable seafood from now on.
  

  
  

  Anderson Japanese Gardens
  Anderson Japanese Gardens was another place that offered up a Mako dinner. My wife Carolyn went in and asked for the chef and explained the plight of sharks to him. I hit the phones & internet to let other Shark Warriors get involved. The bad part for this place was that Philippe Cousteau was set to give a speech there in a couple weeks so I contacted Philippe and let him know about the Mako dish. Philippe along with scores of emails & phone calls convinced this place to only serve sustainable seafood from then on.
  

  
  

  Kiki B's
  Kiki B's was and still is one of my favorite places to eat locally. One night my wife & I went there for dinner only to see that the nights special was Thresher shark. I told the hostess that serving shark was equivalent to serving baby seals on Ivory toothpicks...just wrong! I then told her that Sharks are threatened and should not be sold anywhere. We then walked out. Once we got home we started on the phone & emails. Kiki promised to go all sustainable & even helped out on a recent news story I did locally on shark conservation.
  

  
  

  Thank You to Everyone...
  Kudos to all of these places for doing the RIGHT thing. I would like to add that in ALL of these cases it was the Seafood provider that offered these sharks on 'Special' to the chefs. Most restaurants have a food & beverage manager that decides the menu & specials. These are the people that I think considerable time should be spent targeting with conservation & sustainability awareness.
  

  
  

  IEMANY Oceanica and StopSharkFinning.net letter writing campaign is a success! Jade Restaurant in the Palazzo Hotel in Las Vegas has taken shark fin soup off the menu.
  See:  http://www.stopsharkfinning.net/campaigns/lasvegas.htm
  

  
  

  Chef Philippe Chow of Philippe's and Chef Scott Boswell of Stella! have both removed shark fin soup from their menus.
  See:  http://www.thedorsalfin.com/shark-news-stories/chef-phillipe-chow-pulls-shark-fin-soup-off-the-menu/
  

  
  

  Chef Alice Waters signs Humane Society International's No Shark Fin pledge
  See:  http://www.hsus.org/press_and_publications/press_releases/chef_alice_waters_vows_no_use_of_shark_fins_in_food_073109.html
  

  
  

  Disney World Hong Kong removes Shark Fin Soup from its wedding menu
  See:  http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/news-050624-1.html
  

  
  

  Hakasan Restaurant drops Shark Fin Soup from its menu
  See:  http://www.bite-back.com/hakkasan.htm
  

  
  

  Three Chinese Restaurants in London's China town take shark fin soup off the menu
  See:  http://www.bite-back.com/chinatown.htm
  

  
  

  Seafish, the UK Sea Industry Authority, removes shark recipes from its website - another Bite Back success!
  See:  http://www.bite-back.com/newsrecent5.htm
  

  
  

  Taiwan's National Palace Museum removes shark fin soup from the menu:
  See:  http://www.hsus.org/hsi/oceans/sharks/shark_finning/sharks_taiwan_museum.html
  

  
  

  Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino drops Shark Fin Soup thanks to diver, Carl Robbins
  See:  http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/InNews/scubadiver2009.html
  

  
  

  Alibaba, the largest Chinese online marketplace, agrees to stop selling shark fins
  See:  http://www.sharksavers.org/en/blogs/shark-savers-blog/393-alibaba-to-end-shark-fin-sales.html
  

  
  

  Loblaws store chain stops selling shark fin soup - Sharkwater
  See:  http://www.abandonfear.com/index.php/2009/02/17/shark-fin-soup-off-the-shelves-at-canadian-superstore/
  

  
  

  ASDA - Bite Back convinces UK Supermarket to stop selling Shark
  See:  http://www.bite-back.com/campaigns/campaigns.htm
  

  
  

• Sportfishing and Tournaments

  Are You Man Enough? Shark Challenge 3 - Changed to 100% Catch & Release
  See:  http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/InNews/nokill2009.html
  

  
  

• Supplements - Shark Cartilage / Shark Liver Oil

  Solgar Vitamins Holland stop selling Shark Cartilage!
  EDEV - Een DIER Een VRIEND (An Animalfriend - a Dutch animal rights organization) - recently heard about a company selling shark cartilage, named Solgar Vitamin Holland - part of the Solgar Vitamin & Herb Company. EDEV urged them to stop selling these products and provided information with the help of shark conservation groups. At the end of October Solgar Vitamins Holland held a meeting about several issues.. one of them being about shark cartilage. In early November 2009, EDEV received an email from Solgar Vitamins Holland stating that with immediate effect, they will stop selling shark cartilage mainly because of the arguments EDEV sent to them! Great job EDEV -- a true Shark Friend!
  

  
  

  Boots Thailand drops shark cartilage product
  Lisa, a PADI Dive Instructor visiting Thailand, triggered an international review of the sale of capsules made from shark cartilage, found in the local Boots chemist shop in Phuket.
  See:  http://phuketwan.com/tourism/storm-shark-product-sale-phuket-chemist-11619/
  

  
  

  Natural Factors Canada decides to stop the sale of Shark Cartilage products:
  See:  http://www.naturalfactors.com/ca/en/news/show/35/natural-factors-decides-to-stop-the-sale-of-shark-cartilage-products
  

  
  

  Holista Health (Canada) Inc. agrees to stop producing Shark Cartilage pills
  See:  http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/news-090427-4.html
  

  
  

  Nutrition House removes Shark Cartilage pills from its product line
  See:  http://seashepherds.ning.com/forum/topics/official-letter-from-nutrition
  

  
  

  Holland & Barrett Halt Sale of Shark Cartilage Capsules
  See:  http://www.bite-back.com/newsindex.htm
  

  
  

• Cosmetics - Squalane

  L'Oreal substitutes plant based squalane for shark liver oil in its product line
  See:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jan/30/conservation.wildlife
  

  
  

  Unilever substitutes plant based squalane for shark liver oil in its beauty products
  See:  http://community.oceana.org/blog/2008/01/unilever-wash-squalane-its-beauty-line
  

  
  

  Vermont Country Store drops Shark Liver Oil face cream from its product line
  See:  http://www.oceana.org/index.php?id=2290
  

  
  

• Events

  Shark Savers Day at the Miami Aquarium a huge success - this event was a big hit with the kids and calls have been rolling in from adults who want to learn more about shark conservation!
  See:  http://www.sharksavers.org/en/galleries/galleries-of-shark-savers/603-shark-savers-day-at-miami-science-museum.html
  

  
  

  Isla Mujeres, Mexico Whale Shark Festival draws tourism to the island and positive attention to sharks
  See:  http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2009/07/swim-with-a-40foot-whale-shark.html
  

  
  

  Great White Shark Festival - Gansbaii South Africa
  See:  http://www.whitesharkfestival.org/news/thanksArticel.pdf
  

  
  

• Media / Press

  "Death of a Diety" Shark Conservation film by Joe Romeiro and Bill Fisher wins Emerging Underwater Filmmaker Award at the prestigious Blue Ocean Film Festival - June 2009:
  See:  http://www.foxprovidence.com/dpp/rhode_show/rhode_show_local_shark_documentary_wins_award_20090716
  

  
  

  Amphibious Warrior Scuba Wear's Tom Sergent in the News - Don't Fear Sharks!
  See:  http://www.wrex.com/Global/story.asp?S=10855546
  

  
  

  Save Our Seas "Rethink the Shark" campaign:
  See:  http://www.lesleyrochat.com/rethink-the-shark/
  

  
  

• Shark-related Legislation

  CMS Landmark International Agreement to Help Protect Sharks
  A new landmark agreement to counteract the alarming decline of sharks was concluded on Friday under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Government representatives meeting in Manila, Philippines, agreed on the text of a Memorandum of Understanding on the conservation of migratory sharks.
  See:  http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/19785
  

  
  

  FWC acts to protect lemon sharks in Florida waters
  The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) approved a rule Thursday (Feb. 18, 2010) to prohibit all recreational and commercial harvest of lemon sharks from Florida waters. The FWC took this action to protect lemon sharks, because they have a high potential to be overharvested.
  See:  http://myfwc.com/NEWSROOM/10/statewide/News_10_X_LemonSharks1.htm
  

  
  

  Maldives Shark Haven
  In March of 2009, th Maldives became the first country to declare a ban on shark fishing. Shark Savers partnered with the Baa Atoll Project, a coalition of local non-profit organizations, the Maldives Department of the Environment, and the resorts, on this historic effort.
  See:  http://www.sharksavers.org/en/about-us/programs/318-support-the-new-maldives-shark-haven.html
  

  
  

  On September 25, 2009 Palau declared itself the world's first National Shark Sanctuary and called for an international ban on shark-finning.
  Thanks to the Belau Tourism Association, Palau Visitors Authority, and Palau Chamber of Commerce who faciliated the efforts of Shark Savers and other NGOs and individuals who sought to defeat Palau Senate Bill 8-44, which threatened to re-open commercial shark fishing. Please sign the Thank You card to Palau's President Toribiong here.
  See:  http://www.sharksavers.org/en/get-involved/sign-these-petitions/608-thank-you-palau.html
  

  
  

  Great Barrier Reef: The concerted effort of environmental groups, including Shark Savers' petition and letters, helped to get improvements made to proposed shark fishery rules.
  See:  http://www.sharksavers.org/en/get-involved/archived-petitions/260-petition-oppose-new-shark-fishing-in-the-great-barrier-reef.html
  

  
  

  City of Delray Beach passes an ordinance to ban shark fishing from its Municipal Beach
  See:  http://www.mydelraybeach.com/weblink/DocView.aspx?id=114768&dbid=1
  

  
  

  Shark Conservation Act of 2009 passes in the US House of Representatives (now waiting for vote in the Senate)
  See:  http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-81
  

  
  
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