Palau pioneers 'shark sanctuary'

PHOTOS

LUSH and Sea Shepherd

Learn more about Sea Shepherd's partnership with LUSH through these news postings:

• 03 Sep 2008 - LUSH and Sea Shepherd Launch Global Anti-Shark-Finning Campaign: Alice Newstead Hung by Actual Shark Hooks in Protest of the Slaughter
• 21 Aug 2008 - LUSH and Sea Shepherd Launch Partnership Campaign to Protect Sharks
• 12 Aug 2008 - Lush and Sea Shepherd team-up for global campaign against shark fishing industry

Wednesday, September 03, 2008 LUSH and Sea Shepherd Launch Global Anti-Shark-Finning Campaign: Alice Newstead Hung by Actual Shark Hooks in Protest of the Slaughter Shoppers on Regents Street in central London likely got more than they bargained for this afternoon. In a dramatic illustration of how sharks are caught and killed for their fins, Alice Newstead, performance artist and former employee of LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics, voluntarily had her skin pierced with actual de-barbed shark hooks and hung suspended from the ceiling in the window of one of LUSH's busiest shops for all to see.

As a crowd gathered to watch in horror, Newstead said, "I am doing this because the demand for shark fin soup and other shark products is wiping out the shark population." Unlike the 100 million sharks who are brutally slaughtered each year for their fins, Newstead commented, "I will be left with scars, but the wounds will heal."

"Sea Shepherd is deeply impressed by LUSH's commitment to shark conservation and its willingness to use its 500+ storefronts as a global platform for educating the public on such a critically important issue," said Kim McCoy, International Executive Director of Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. "We applaud Alice for her courageousness in using her body as a tool to help educate consumers about the urgent need to protect sharks. She is an inspiration to us all."

"Sea Shepherd will be presenting Alice Newstead with an award for courage for her incredible achievement in focusing public attention on the worldwide slaughter of sharks," said Captain Paul Watson, Founder and President of Sea Shepherd. "What she and LUSH have contributed to this conservation effort is enormous. The cruelty of the shark finning industry was brought intimately into focus with the piercing of Alice's flesh and the dripping of her blood down her back. LUSH, Sea Shepherd, and Alice are very much aware that if we drive sharks to extinction, we will destroy our oceans, and if we do that, civilization will collapse and humanity will disappear. What Alice did was not just for the saving of sharks, but for the salvation of humankind. Our admiration for her sacrifice is profound, and the scars that she will bear represent a rare courage demonstrating that we all must do what we can with the talents we possess to save our oceans."

Today's dramatic enactment of the gruesome manner in which sharks are caught kicks off the beginning of a global campaign between LUSH and Sea Shepherd. Each of LUSH's storefronts across the UK now hosts window displays featuring Sea Shepherd's jolly roger flag, LCD screens playing a continuous loop of Shark Angels footage, and other educational materials.

LUSH's staff are dressing as pirates and handing out Sea Shepherd shark brochures (PDF) in an attempt to educate consumers about the desperate plight of sharks. Among other things, LUSH is urging consumers to boycott restaurants that serve shark fin soup and health food stores that sell shark cartilage supplements. LUSH has also delivered letters to local restaurants and health food stores asking them to "wash their hands" of this barbaric industry and stop selling shark products.

To assist these businesses in "cleaning up their act," LUSH has created a new and cruelty-free product especially for this campaign, called Shark Fin Soap. The UK stores plan to sell a limited batch of 11,416 bars, with 100% of the proceeds going to Sea Shepherd. Why 11,416 bars? In recognition of the fact that a staggering 11,416 sharks are killed every hour, and that populations are being wiped out faster than they can reproduce.

To learn more, watch the video, or purchase Shark Fin Soap, visit: www.lush.co.uk.

To read LUSH's press release, click here (PDF).

Thursday, August 21, 2008 LUSH and Sea Shepherd Launch Partnership Campaign to Protect Sharks

On August 12th, Captain Paul Watson of Sea Shepherd and Andrew Butler, the Global Campaigns Director for LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics launched a campaign to protect the sharks of the ocean.

From the Botanic Gardens in Sydney, Australia, Captain Watson and Andrew Butler explained to the Australian media in attendance that the campaign was being launched in Australia for the purpose of urging the government of the state of Queensland to not proceed with a proposal to open a dedicated shark fin fishery in the waters around and in the Great Barrier Reef, a world heritage site.

The decision by Queensland is expected in mid-September 2008.

"If we can't convince a nation like Australia of the importance of protecting sharks from this destructive fishery, we will have little hope of convincing poorer nations to refrain from slaughtering the world's sharks for the Chinese shark fin market," said Captain Paul Watson.

"Sharks have shaped evolution in our oceans for 450 million years," continued Captain Watson, "and their diminishment has already been the cause of severe damage to global oceanic eco-systems. Shark species extinctions will cause irreparable damage. If we can't save the sharks, we will fail to save our oceans, and if our oceans die, civilization and humanity will die. LUSH and Sea Shepherd recognize that we need to save the sharks if we are to save ourselves, and we are working together to make this happen."

The Queensland government has been attempting to keep the shark proposal as quiet as possible, so quiet in fact that they informed the media that there was no plans and no proposal to open a dedicated shark fishery despite the fact that the proposal has been on the government web site for months.

The Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries told the media bluntly that there are no plans to catch and process sharks on the Great Barrier Reef.

What this means is that the government of Queensland and Premier Annie Bligh will be in a very embarrassing position if they proceed to pass this proposal next month after publicly stating that there is no proposal or plan to open a shark fishery.

We intend to hold them to this although we suspect when the time comes, they will say that the statement made was from a bureaucrat who was misinformed.

The Lush and Sea Shepherd initiative is a global campaign.

"Lush is a campaigning company, and we have already tackled issues such as animal testing and over-packaging. But with 100 million sharks being killed every year and time fast running out for the remaining 10% of the global shark population, the campaign against shark finning and longlining is perhaps our biggest challenge yet," said Andrew Butler.

"Lush have over 550 stores in more than 50 countries, and we will be campaigning on this issue in all of them, but the nature of the global campaign very much depends on the decision made by the Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries in Australia next month. If it goes against the sharks we will know who the target of our campaign will be," said Butler.

LUSH will have window displays including Sea Shepherd and Shark Angel videos running in their stores beginning in September. LUSH has also created a new product called Sharkfin Soap with the profits from the sale going to finance Sea Shepherd anti-shark-finning campaigns.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is the world's most active shark conservation organization. With full time anti-poaching patrols in the Galapagos National Park Marine Reserve and global efforts to confiscate and destroy illegal longlines, Sea Shepherd has saved hundreds of thousands of sharks and inflicted enormous economic damage on illegal shark finning operations including the confiscation of over 45,000 shark fins in Ecuador in 2007. Sea Shepherd also is featured in the commercially successful release of the film Sharkwater.

Sharkwater premiered in Perth, Australia on the evening of August 12th with over 550 people attending the benefit opening for Sea Shepherd sponsored by Sea Shepherd in Western Australia.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008 Lush and Sea Shepherd team-up for global campaign against shark fishing industry

Sydney - It's flank speed against shark fishing for Captain Paul Watson, Founder and President, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society - announcing a new partnership with Lush to raise global awareness of the plight of sharks and publicly shame the Queensland Fisheries Department (DPI&F) proposal to open a dedicated finfish fishery on the Great Barrier Reef.

Lush will be running an international campaign in over 550 stores worldwide in the coming months to draw attention to the fact that over 90% of the world's sharks have already been wiped out and, with 100,000,000 sharks a year being killed for their fins, flesh, cartilage and oils, that the situation for these vitally important marine animals has become critical. Lush will have a window campaign, in-store educational materials and a new product, Shark Fin Soap the sale of which will benefit Sea Shepherd, as part of the campaign.

Australia was chosen for the launch of the campaign because the decision to approve a proposed shark fishery in Queensland is expected in September 2008. The time for public action, against the proposal is now. Sea Shepherd and Lush believe that if the Queensland Fisheries Department can't see the issue for its obvious dangers, then subjecting the proposal to global public scrutiny is the only solution.

Sea Shepherd's Captain Paul Watson said, "Sharks have shaped evolution in our oceans for 450 million years, and their diminishment has already been the cause of severe damage to global oceanic eco-systems. Shark species extinctions will cause irreparable damage."

"If we can't save the sharks, we will fail to save our oceans, and if our oceans die, civilization and humanity will die. Lush and Sea Shepherd recognize that we need to save the sharks if we are to save ourselves, and we are working together to make this happen!" he said.

Andrew Butler, Global Campaigns Director, Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics added "Lush are a campaigning company, and we have already tackled issues such as animal testing and over packaging. But with 100 million sharks being killed every year and time fast running out for the remaining 10% of the global shark population, the campaign against shark finning and longlining is perhaps our biggest challenge yet."

"Lush have over 550 stores in more than 50 countries, and we will be campaigning on this issue in all of them, but the nature of the global campaign very much depends on the decision made by the DPI&F in Australia next month; if it goes against the sharks we know who the target of our campaign will be," he said.

Renowned Shark Biologist Richard Fitzpatrick adds, "The proposed inshore fin fishery for sharks is completely illogical - we know nothing about the basic biology of these animals - their growth rates, reproductive cycles and movement patterns. It is the equivalent of pulling a person off the street and making them fly a plane without a manual - it's a guaranteed disaster."

Notes

Today Lush sent a letter to Environment Minster Peter Garrett and Fisheries Minister Tim Mulherin asking them to take action to stop the proposed shark fishery in Queensland. The letter follows.

Hon Peter Garrett, MP
Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts
P.O. Box 6022
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

CC: Hon Tim Mulherin, MP
Minister for Primary Industries and Fisheries

12 August 2008

Dear Minister:

Today Lush Cosmetics and Sea Shepherd Conservation Society are launching an international campaign to raise awareness of the plight of sharks and to fight for their protection.

We have chosen to launch this campaign in Australia because this is potentially one of the last great shark refuges in the world. However, this status is currently severely threatened by a Queensland fisheries department (DPI&F) proposal to open a dedicated shark fishery in an area that would include the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Site.

As you probably know, sharks are in serious peril, with over 90% of the world's sharks already wiped out and 100 million sharks being killed annually; a figure which is on the increase along with the value of shark fins.

It is time for bold leadership and action. Rather than sanctioning and legitimising the shark fin industry, Australia has an opportunity to lead the way in protecting our oceans by not allowing shark fishing in its waters.

We call on you to show that Australia takes its obligation to conservation seriously by speaking out against the proposed shark fishery on the Great Barrier Reef.

For our part, we would love to encourage all of our customers and members to come to Australia and enjoy its incredible wildlife, as we prepare to launch an international education campaign to target those areas of the world where the barbaric practise of killing sharks for fins and cartilage continues. We hope that Australia and Queensland will be a part of the solution to shark conservation and survival and not continue to be the problem. Where Australia leads, other nations will follow and if so, we can save the world's shark for the future benefit of us all.

Sincerely,

Read about the Sea Shepherd and LUSH Seal Campaign