Update From The Road: Shark Finning
Just a quick update from the road ... After a week of rain and foul weather, the sky finally cleared up and we hit the water. As we continue our exploration of the unknown reefs and marine ecosystems of Guatemala, which otherwise has been a lot of fun and very productive, we came across a gruesome find - a shark processing facility. 
Hundreds of sharks are hauled in daily. At least they land the entire animal. But we did watch as they hacked off the prized fins and separated them from the lesser valued meat. The main issue is the size of the sharks, which indicate that thousands of these beautiful young creatures are being pulled from the waters before reaching reproductive maturity.
We are working closely with scientists and pioneers in the Guatemalan dive industry and will be featuring a detailed story on this upon our return. Stay tuned...
Marcus
Diverdave thanks for the heads up on that! I just noticed that the google ads on the left are pulling in totally inappropraite ads. I will figure out how to fix that. Unfortunately google deems them relevant - what a world we live in! I am actually in the process of writing an article for a marketing publication about this type of mis-targeting from google 'contextual' ad system, and will use this as a prime example. We should also all email ebay and ask them not to allow shark parts to be sold on the site! They were very helpful in removing shark fin soup products last year. Thanks for the heads up again!