Founded in 2015, the Sabah Shark Protection Association is a non-profit organization made up of eight primary partners. These partners including Shark Stewards and other NGOs, research organisations and private businesses who share a common concern about the state of Sabah’s sharks and rays and have a common goal of conserving sharks and rays.
- Sharks are extremely susceptible to overfishing because most species have slow growth and late onset of reproduction, meaning they are being removed at a rate far faster than they can reproduce or recover.
- Shark finning, the slaughtering of sharks for their fins to supply the demand for the luxury shark fin soup, is creating additional pressures on already declining shark populations.
- Malaysia is a major contributor to the trade of shark fin as well as overfishing domestic sharks and rays.
However, there are local people working hard to reverse the impacts on shark fishing and the shark fin trade.
The Problem
- A report on the State of the Global Market for Shark Products( 2015) produced by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, states that Malaysia is the world’s ninth largest producer of shark products and the third biggest importer.
- A survey carried out by WWF in 2015 showed 85 per cent of shark fins soup consumption was at weddings, followed by family reunions, corporate functions and festivals.
- Data released by Malaysian Fisheries indicate that the average annual landing of sharks and rays in Malaysia is 6,728 metric tonnes and 13,396 metric tonnes, respectively. Sabah recorded 23 per cent of shark and 18 per cent of ray landings out of the national average. Experts believe that shark and ray catch is widely unreported or underestimated given the lack required by species reporting, and an a lack of fisheries personnel.
The Solution
DIVE WITH SHARKS
- Supporting sustainable tourism will help save sharks and provide jobs for local people. Sabah operators Scuba Junkie and SeaVentures support sustainable tourism, educate their clients and support local people.
SAY NO TO SHARK FIN SOUP!
- Avoiding shark fin soup is saying no to the relentless slaughter of sharks. Take up the shark fin soup bowl challenge and pledge to forever stop eating shark fin soup.
SPREAD THE WORD
- Encourage friends and family to say no to shark fin soup. Together we can make Sabah a shark friendly state and increase regional and global awareness of the unsustainable slaughter of sharks and rays.
JOIN OUR TEAM
- Join our campaign and share our message on social media. Use the hashtag #SaveSabahSharks and spread the love for sharks and rays everywhere!
SHARE OUR MEDIA MESSAGE
Watch and share these videos by Scubazoo on SZTv, share our message on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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DONATE
- Your tax deductible donations help continue this important work
Shark Stewards is a non-profit project of the Earth Island Institute, a Four Star Charity.
