TO THE PEOPLE OF OKLAHOMA CITY……..

Some have asked why these images of the Great White Shark were posted in Oklahoma, a place far away from the slaughtering waters off Ecuador’s Galapagos or the booming shark fin markets of Hong Kong.

The reason is that illegal shark fin hunting affects the people of Oklahoma. It affects us all.

As the apex predator of the oceans, sharks have evolved over millions of years to manage the immensely complex and fragile ecosystems of the ocean kingdom.

The largest study ever done on marine ecosystems has proven that when sharks disappear a deadly domino effect is triggered in the food chain, ultimately resulting in the collapse of the coral reefs, the spawning ground for the fish we (and other species) depend upon.

With the growing demand for shark fins, shark populations have been decimated. By some estimates, over 90% of the shark population has been lost in the last 30 years.

This year an estimated 100 million sharks will be killed, a mortality rate which will almost certainly end in the extinction of the species.

There is a dire need for us as a human race to try and stop the devastation of the Great White Shark. International pressure is the only way to do it and that starts in Oklahoma, the heartland of America.

LINKS:
Support the Humane Society International Campaign http://www.hsus.org/hsi/oceans/sharks/shark_finning/help_stop_shark_finning.html

Read about shark fin hunting:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/animals/conservation/sharks/
Read a first hand account from the filmmaker of Sharkwater:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthcomment/3326293/Sharkwater—we-can-stop-shark-fin-trade.html

The Scripps Institute of Oceanography study:
http://www.livescience.com/imageoftheday/siod_050425.html

Note: none of the above organizations are related to the Poster campaign.