Yee Ping Fruehwein is fighting against the merciless finning and trading of sharks in the oceans across the world. She is not on a boat, crossing the oceans taking action against killing of the most endangered species, like Captain Paul Watson, the founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, who she truly admires. Yee Ping uses the power of the social media- she spreads the word through Facebook and Twitter, raises funds and - watch out! - calls up US and Canadian senators to convince them to vote on legislation bills to ban the finning and trading of sharks. Her way to make a change is through awareness and education. A successful petition she participated in: “The Maldives has just become the first nation to declare a ban on shark fishing.”
Where Change Happens (WCH): How did it all start?
Yee Ping (YP): In my culture, the Malaysian-Chinese, people eat shark fin soup to show status. Shark fin soup has been a Chinese delicacy since the Ming Dynasty. Back then, only the Emperor and his guests ate it. Until about twenty years ago, shark fin soup was served mostly in Hong Kong and other cities with Chinese populations, but only rarely in China, itself. This relatively low consumption of shark fin soup did not result in a significant problem for shark survival.
But now, many of the 1.3 billion people of China are enjoying more prosperity. Shark fin soup has become popular, even obligatory, at banquets, business dinners, and weddings. That adds up to a lot of shark fin soup, and a lot of sharks are being killed for this soup.
Shark fin soup is responsible for the destruction of shark populations throughout the world. Up to 73 million sharks are killed each year, and the greatest cause is the growing demand for shark fin soup. These sharks are generally not caught for their meat, but for their valuable fins. The most prized shark fins can cost hundreds of dollars, with the average being about US$450 (HK$3500) per pound. Shark meat, in contrast, is worth less than most fish.
Sharks play a very important role in the oceans in a way that an average fish does not. Sharks are at the top of the food chain in virtually every part of every ocean. In that role, they keep populations of other fish healthy and in proper proportion for their ecosystem. The less fishes like sharks and tuna are there, the more are the smaller fishes. If an overpopulation of small fishes is created, the phytoplankton is dramatically reduced, which result in less “green ocean inhabitants” to convert the CO2 emissions in oxygen.
WCH: What do you say to people when they accuse you that you’re in a race against your own culture?
YP: Times change and certain traits of the culture just have to go away with it.
WCH: How do you convince your friends who get married not to serve shark fin soup at their weddings?
YP: If you don’t serve shark fin soup, you lose face. To avoid this, I do the following: I offer my friends, who are getting married to design, print and send them cards that they could put on every table at the wedding reception with the text. “Thank you for joining us to celebrate our big day. We decide not to serve shark fin soup in order to preserve the oceans.” This is a key to keep the respectful glances of all guests. Yee Ping believes this will create a ripple effect and hopefully even create a trend amongst the young Chinese.
WCH: When do you think you will be successful?
YP: When global shark finning is illegal.
A Malaysian Chinese, Yee Ping is multi-media designer and an experienced diver who - no wonder! - loves passionately the deep dark blue ocean waters. Needless to say, she walks the talk and didn’t serve shark fin soup at her wedding. Yee Ping makes change happen from out ofMalaysia.
This story of change for social good was brought to us by Krassimira Iordanova from Anokha Jewellery.
