At the start of the summer I began this new blog and
with some help, named my first campaign Operation Bleeding Seas. The summer
focused largely on sharks but also expanded into manta rays and whales as well.
The campaign was a huge success and I would like to thank you all for reading
and helping spread the word about these often times forgotten about issues.
With Operation Bleeding Seas coming to a close, there are still a few things
that I would like to mention in regards to sharks and manta rays.
When I found out about the plight of manta rays, I
was shocked to hear about what was going on. I couldn’t believe that people
would be so greedy as to literally hunt down one of the sea’s gentle giants.
Awareness of this issue has increased substantially throughout the summer and
the “Manta Ray of Hope” movement is starting to take off. There is no
legitimate medicinal value to a manta ray. Anything that is said about the
health benefits of consuming manta ray gill rakers is nothing more than a very
effective scam. Most people will believe anything they hear. They hear gill
rakers lead to health benefits, so suddenly gill rakers become a massive
industry. It is all hearsay as there is no medical evidence suggesting that
gill rakers do anything for human health. What is going on in the Ocean right
now is nothing more than an unjustifiable purge of both manta and mobula rays.
Neither species of ray are dangerous in the least bit and neither have ever
killed a human being. The gill raker trade is still young and unlike the shark
fin trade, it is not entrenched in society yet. There is still time, albeit
limited time, to cut this trade off before it becomes a part of Eastern Culture
and manta and mobula rays are forced to extinction. I will continue to fight
for these rays throughout the winter, though the number of blogs may be few,
rest assure, when the time is right I will voice my opinions to you all. To
wrap up my manta and mobula ray portion of the campaign, here are some
beautiful pictures of these gentle creatures. Remember, manta rays reproduce
incredibly slowly and some only give birth to one pup in their entire lives and
in that can be found the truth as to why we simply cannot go out there and
destroy their populations.
The main topic of this season’s campaign was sharks.
When it comes to animals, sharks are my number 1 thing and if you were unable
to tell that from this blog, then I don’t really know what to tell you. Sharks
are one of, if not the most important animals in the Ocean. Without sharks the
Oceans are going to be in a TON of trouble. Though Hollywood and the media
continue to instill fear into the hearts of millions, people are starting to
see the truth about these animals. Sharks will continue to be at the forefront
of my future campaigns as the race to save these animals rages on. The summer
of 2012 saw several people in Australia be killed by sharks. The victims were
surfers who really were at the wrong place at the wrong time (surfing near seals
at dawn/dusk). Australia is continuing to debate calling for a cull of white
sharks in the area while other parts of the world seek to have the white shark
officially placed on the endangered species list. The thing a lot of people continue
to fail to realize though is that it is not just white sharks that are in
trouble. Shark finning and long line fishing are both indiscriminant. If there
are fins on shark, then that is cash in the fisherman’s pocket and one less “monster”
in the world. Here are some amazing photos of how sharks DESERVE to be!
Remember, much like manta rays, sharks reproduce slowly and give birth to few
young. This makes these animals incredibly vulnerable to overfishing. Every
year over 100,000,000 are killed solely for their fins.
So what is next for me? Looking forward, the next campaign will start right after Labor Day. The focus of this campaign will once again be sharks, but they will be joined by both dolphins and whales as the main focuses of the campaign. In this upcoming campaign I will continue to voice my views and try to educate you all on some of the forgotten or hidden horrors of the world. I will dive deep into the heart of Taiji, Japan and uncover the truth behind the mysterious "Cove". I will follow Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's campaign to the Southern Ocean to defend the whales as well as other whaling related issues around the world. I will also continue to spread the truth about the mysterious creature known as a shark and continue to spread the word about the horrific practice of finning. I will also be doing occasional blogs on seals and manta rays as well. Operation Bleeding Seas has now come to an end. Once again, I cannot thank you all enough for reading and do hope you will join me on September 4th for the first blog of Operation Sadistic Truths.
