Help! Help! I am going into extinction

This is the second part to the 10 parts of Sailor "The Creatures of the Deep" collection. We wrote about the Nemo back in May 28, 2009. We recently read a few articles in a few major newspapers, including local Strait Times article dated June 25 2009, about Hammerhead Shark going into extinction. We would like to take this opportunity to reach out to pen lovers help to save the shark, and introduce the next pen from the "Creatures of the Deep" collection - Hammerhead Shark.

Which shark shares its names with a tool used to pound nailes into the woods?

We always felt the hammerheads shark lack self-esteem as compare to it near cousins great white, tiger and bull sharks. They are stealth hunters that look great on television and movies. In reality, they also scare the daylights out of beachcombers and any average joe pee in pant.
The hammerhead shark is well known for it fins quality. It has the best quality among all the sharks. Like the other sharks, it is fallen victim to fishing by-catch and the high value placed on its fins, which are considered a delicacy within the Chinese community worldwide. The fins offer huge profits, with market values of up to S$20,000 per kilo in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. The profit is even higher in the black market where marfia are also involve.

The shark used to be mainly accidental victims of hooks and nets set for tuna and swordfish, but are increasingly being caught for their meat and fins now. Based on a article from Sydney Morning Herald, the Shark, whose numbers have declined 99 per cent in the past 30 years in some parts of the world, is among 9 sharks declared on the World Conservation Union list in 2008. Although shark finning is banned in most international waters, because of weak legislation, the practice continue.

Among many of us, there is this mentally that the really wide-ranging species cannot become endangered because if they are threatened in one area, surely they’ll do fine in another area. Firstly, the problems of fisheries are very intense regardless of regions. It is so intense that it has reached a threatening level that it is going to extinction. Secondly, hammerhead sharks are not evenly dispersed throughout the seas but concentrated at seamounts and offshore islands. Thirdly, they have late sexual development and small numbers of young. Lastly, shark take a long time to mature – 16 years in the case of a scalloped hammerhead shark. The decline in predators such as sharks can have devastating consequences for the local marine ecology.

We hope all of us will do our small part to save the shark. Any small step you take will help. The first baby step we can take is stop taking shark fin soup and serving it to your guest.

There is a good article by Rob Stewart in Asian Geographic No. 65 Issue 4/2009. He has made a film titled Sharkwater, which will be released in China. Hopefully, the film will be able to reach millions of people in and outside China to help save the shark.

Finally, here is an article taken from the Singapore Strait Time, July 4 2009, Saturday. Please help to save the shark.

The Sailor Creature of the Deep can be purchase as a set of 10 pens or individually.

It is available at Aesthetic Bay Pte Ltd, and Fook Hing Tading.

Other blogs for the Sailor Creatures of the Deep collection
(1) Crown Fish "Kumanomi"
(2) Whales "Kujira"
(3) Octopussy "Tako"
(4) Pengiun
(5) Sunfish "Manubou"