I read an article in the Star Newspaper the other day (sorry can't find the article anymore) about how a whale shark got entangled in fishing nets and was hauled back and made it into the news with people posing with the shark with smiling faces, etc. They seemed proud of it and the newspaper was very positive about the whole story. Nobody seemed to realise they've just killed a protected species and one of the gentlest marine animals. Nobody thought about asking why the fishermen didn't try to make an effort to release it nor what fishing nets they were using to entangle the fish in the first place. The fish was still alive when they hauled it in (see the IHT report)
Well, today someone from the fisheries department finally made some sense - http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/1/4/nation/2940766&sec=nation.
Goes to show - people need to be educated about these things. I've also read news about big giant pythons who get hunted down just because they've been spotted by some villager. And then a hundred people will come and pose with the snake's body before they dump it. What a waste...
chet
No comments:
Post a Comment