From the Mouths of Babes : Save the Sharks!

The following took place between 2pm and 3pm today.
(Insert funky “24” music here).

Tt : Mom, are sharks real?

Mom : Yes, Tt, you know sharks are real. You’ve pet them, and seen them in lots of different aquariums.

T : Oh, but I mean are GREAT WHITE sharks real.

M : Yes, you’ve seen them on TV. Oh, well, most things you see on TV are not real… Ok, um… Movies are stories which are rarely “real”, but documentaries tell real-live stories. We’ve seen two documentaries on sharks – do you remember?

T : Oh, the one where they were killing all the sharks? (Sharkwater)

M : Yes, that was one.

T : And we learned that sharks can kill people.

M : Yes, we learned that sharks sometimes (about 6-12 times a year) kill people by accident, but people kill over 1 million sharks a year on purpose.

T : And some people had those signs, and they walked around.

M : That’s called a protest. The people were upset that sharks were being killed, so they wanted to tell people to “Please stop killing sharks”.

T : I want to make a sign. And walk around with it, so people will stop killing sharks.

M : When we get home, we’ll get on the computer and see what we can do to help stop sharks from being killed.

T : When is the new Transformers out?

Apparently that was the end of that conversation.

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Sharkwater is a documentary on the status of sharks in our oceans. Sharks are a top predator in our oceans, whose presence and well-being have a significant impact on the entire ecosystem of our oceans. The cinematography is amazing, and it hits sad, amazing, angry and inspiring notes. Go rent it today at your local video store. (Sharkwater)

Help stop the killing of millions of sharks a year, and start by not eating shark fin soup. Actually, stop eating at any restaurant that even serves shark fin soup. Our family is half chinese, so it can be tricky. Join Yao Ming and Jackie Chan by refusing to create demand for the finning of sharks. (ABC News : Decimating the Shark Population for Some Soup) (Westcoaster : Shun Shark Fin Soup)

Call ahead to restaurants and ask if Shark Fin is served. If they say yes, then let them know you will not be eating there and find somewhere else. Leave an anti-shark fin soup message on popular restaurant websites such as Yelp.

Write a letter to your local government to stop the importation of shark fins (and/or finning).
Find your local (Canadian) MP here : Find Your Member of Parliament

Send a letter to the UN requesting the banning of finning. Email : inquiries at un.org, I believe. We’ll give it a try anyhow.

Wear a shark-lovin’ shirt! Tt drew this applique (which I will try to get him to re-print…), which can be mailed TO YOU free of charge if you will iron it on a shirt and wear it about! Just put your interest under the comments section and we’ll hook you up via email.

There we go, Tt.

& Tt Kent.