While a shark’s dorsal fin might be cause for ominous music at the movies, it is a precious resource to be preserved in the real world, and the Roots and Shoots club at the Canadian International School of Beijing (CISB) is doing something about it. The club dubbed November 26 to 30 “Shark Week” to raise awareness of the cruel process of shark finning, in which the shark’s dorsal fin is sliced off and the shark released back into the ocean to die a slow death.
The demand for the Chinese delicacy of shark’s fin soup and some traditional medicines has increased shark finning in the past decade, and CISB students circulated a petition in which people would pledge to no longer consume shark’s fin soup. Students screened documentaries about sharks and finning, and also sold out of bracelets supporting the campaign. The sale of bracelets raised RMB 2,550, all of which will be donated to WildAid, an organization that fights the shark finning industry.
Photo courtesy of CISB
