hundreds of sharks are being slaughtered daily for their fins in Ecuadorian waters. This is not a fishery. It is more like the mindless slaughter of the buffalo.
In a cynical political ploy, President Correa recently lifted the ban on the sale of shark fins. All that is required is for the fishermen to claim the sharks were caught accidentally.
A petition to President Correa asking him to reverse the decree is waiting for your signature here. So far it is being spread only on a couple divers' fora. How about a few thousand kossack signatures?
Or do we only care when it is already too late?
It is absurd to think that Ecuador's fishermen are any more scrupulous than our own, one of whom just confessed to dumping bycatch in an effort to avoid monitoring. He got caught, and the whiting fishery was shut down for the year.
This is one petition that I believe might really accomplish something with enough publicity. Correa and Ecuador are in the spotlight because of their stewardship of the Galapagos and their somewhat forward looking stance towards preserving the ecological integrity of the islands and surrounding waters. That makes this latest move all the more shameful.