SHARK-FORUM

[infoshark]

Moving a Mountain - Eco-Groups Pressure Yahoo! To Divest from Global Shark Finning

A $1 billion dollar investment by Yahoo! in China and the continuing slaughter of millions of shark worldwide for just their fins has motivated a growing coalition of eco groups, filmmakers and one shark diving company to attempt to move a mountain in California.


All Regions (Including International) (Scuba PRWire) Tue, 03-Jul-2007 - In August 2005, Internet search giant Yahoo! announced to the world that they invested $1 billion dollars (equivalent to a 40% stake) in Alibaba.com, China's largest e-commerce company. Typically this size investment goes by with a few nods from Wall Street and a quick post on a business blog or two. However, the business arrangement shocked into action a number of eco groups and wildlife watchdog groups, including SharkDiver.com.

For several years these groups have targeted Alibaba.com for being the equivalent of the New York Stock Exchange of dried shark fins and other shark product sales over the Internet. Latin American vendors on the Alibaba.com site claim they can source two tons of shark fins per month, with a one year contract.

The subject of shark fining is controversial. Typically sharks are dismembered, sometimes live, for just their fins while the rest of the animal is thrown back into the ocean to sink to the bottom. Worldwide demand for dried shark fins has pushed the price up to an astonishing $200-$300 a pound.

Today shark fins are one, if not the most expensive marine resource available for sale.

Alibaba.com has been a world leader in supplying B2B shark fin sales to the detriment of millions of sharks worldwide.

"Yahoo's investment in this company is a direct investment in the dismemberment of live animals for big profit," states Patric Douglas, CEO of SharkDiver.com. "If these were seals, or dolphins being hacked apart for just their fins Yahoo! would not be invested here. It is a shocking example of a company whose green priorities are out of touch with both sustainable environment practices and the ongoing worldwide decimation of sharks in general".

Eco groups such as Wild-Aid, Sea Shepherd, the Humane Society, Green Peace and even MBA basketball star Yao Ming also have publicly decried Alibaba.com and the practice of shark fining.

Yahoo!'s corporate offices recently stated "We know the sale of shark products is both legal in Asia and a centuries-old tradition. This issue is largely a cultural-practices one."

To date the Mountain View Internet company has shown little interest in changing their relationship with Alibaba.com. Efforts continue to by these groups, eco bloggers and others to move a mountain.

Resource links:
ABC News Shark Finning Expose
http://www.guadalupefund.org/science-abc-fin.html

Online Anti-Fining Petition:
www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/400108473

Sea Shepherd Conservation Finning Links:
www.seashepherd.org/longline/longline_shark_finning.html

Humane Society USA:
www.hsus.org/wildlife/issues_facing_wildlife/shark_finning/

Isla Guadalupe Conservation Fund:
www.guadalupefund.org

Shark Diver:
www.sharkdiver.com

Horizon Charters:
www.horizoncharters.com

For more information, please visit:
www.sharkdiver.com

[Anzeige]