New Zealand Joins Great White Shark Fan Club
March 13, 2006
Release from: The Age (Australia) New Zealand is moving to protect great white sharks in its waters, Conservation Minister Chris Carter said today. Carter released a public discussion paper outlining options for New Zealand giving what he called "the celebrity predators of the ocean" the formal protection specified in the International Convention on Migratory Species. He said great whites were protected in Australia, South Africa and the United States. "They are an object of fear and fascination, but sadly there is growing evidence that this magnificent and rare species is in trouble internationally," Carter said. "Like many other top predators, populations of great whites tend to be small and lack the elasticity to withstand external pressures, such as fishing and environmental change. "The government believes it is time we thought seriously about playing our part in what is a global conservation issue," Carter said. The discussion paper suggests imposing fines of up to $NZ250,000 ($A220,000) for killing one of the man-eating great whites, which featured in the film Jaws.
March 13, 2006
Release from: The Age (Australia) New Zealand is moving to protect great white sharks in its waters, Conservation Minister Chris Carter said today. Carter released a public discussion paper outlining options for New Zealand giving what he called "the celebrity predators of the ocean" the formal protection specified in the International Convention on Migratory Species. He said great whites were protected in Australia, South Africa and the United States. "They are an object of fear and fascination, but sadly there is growing evidence that this magnificent and rare species is in trouble internationally," Carter said. "Like many other top predators, populations of great whites tend to be small and lack the elasticity to withstand external pressures, such as fishing and environmental change. "The government believes it is time we thought seriously about playing our part in what is a global conservation issue," Carter said. The discussion paper suggests imposing fines of up to $NZ250,000 ($A220,000) for killing one of the man-eating great whites, which featured in the film Jaws.
4 comments:
Hi,
thanks for the nice comment on my blog.
I saw a documentary on white sharks not so long ago, it was really interesting since I work on the relationship between wolves and men for my end Paper, which are another endangered species of great predators... It's outrageous to see how Man simply "destroys" what he can't understand or dominate.
HI Margot,
I am in love with and obsessed with Sharks, specifically, the Great White. Living off the Coast of California, it's amazing to have such incredible creatures in my back yard. Unfortunately, their image is still damaged and they are not as protected as they need to be. My father religiously follows all of the wolf packs in Yellowstone National Park and goes there to see them twice a year. He studies them very closely and knows all of their names and their family dynamics. It's a difficult affair, because every time a human interferes or kills one, he is devastated. It's important to keep caring and loving; it's contageous I think...
I think Education is key. Man fears what he does not know or understand.
Best,
Eve
Hello,
Indeed, Man fears what does not understand or knows. Gosh, your father is working with the Yellowstone Wolves! That places him at the top of my list of interesting people! I'm working on wolves because of Bevie J. Gravlin's book "Chakka". I don't know if you have heard of it. In fact, I am an English Master's Student and I am working on translation. Translating Gravlin's book that is. I work on the link between domesticating and foreignizing translation in parallel with Man's relationship to Nature, because I think that we approach Nature in the same ways : domesticating or foreignizing. i.e. either completely erase all traces of 'wildness', either respecting that 'wildness' and preserving it within our relation to certain animals.
I have a passion for wolves but have never met any except my mother's half wolf dog.
My other great passion is rabbits, as you have probably noticed, reading my blog ;-)
I have a lot of trouble with my French Giant Lop, Bidule, who had one of her hindlegs put off because of a very bad broken bone and now suffers from a sever infection there... There seem to be a couple of skin abcesses underneed her skin and muscles and we can't seem to get rid of the infection :(
I hope she won't need a third operation.
Anyway, I'd love to be able to see Sharks in my back yard... California must be really interesting. I live in Perpignan.
Please tell your father I admire him very much for what he does for the wolves, and if he could just once say "hi" from me, to them, he'd make me the happiest person ;-)
'Til soon
Bonjour Margot,
I will certainly pass on your words of shared love and passion for the wolves to my father. I'll ask him to read your response and perhaps he can write to you about them (?). I hope your French Giant Lop, Bidule recovers soon, are there not animal hospitals and antibiotics that can help? He might be a vet to do a "drain" of some of the abcesses. I'll send good thoughts his and your way!
California is indeed amazing; however I have yet to see an actual Great White although I know they are there by the hundreds. I'm against the tours that they do for tourists, so I'm not sure how I'll ever be able to see them in an environmentally friendly way; but I hope to view them from a water cage at some point in my life. If you haven't already; you should check out the following books: John Muir's Wild America, essays by both Sigurd Olson and of course Henry David Thoureau in regards to "wildness" and man's interaction and manipulation of wilderness.
Best to you and your rabbits!
Eve
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