Will it ever be possible for shark fin to be banned in Singapore?

It would be so righteous for Singapore to be the First Asian Country (a.k.a. the shark fin soup eaters) to ban shark fin. It would be a historical moment man, and the law makers would have to have

• COURAGE- there might be a very public backlash. Imagine: angry chinese, “this is our culture, our history blah blah”, “what will we serve at weddings?”
• GOOD FORESIGHT – they must have the understanding that in the long run, unchecked shark finning is not good for shark populations, which in turn will impact other marine populations, which in turn will affect us, humans.
• MAGNANIMITY – Singapore banning shark fin will impact other asian countries, and hopefully those in Southeast Asia. But first, we have to forgo all the short term profits to be reaped in order for the health of the marine ecosystems in the future. And if shark finning ceases in southeast asia, good for the diving industry. Singapore will benefit much, but other countries will benefit more. And that’s okay.

In the meantime, as long as there is a demand for shark fin soup at our weddings, there will continue to be shark finning. I remember on one Liveaboard to Tioman, on our dive at Jack’s Rock, we chanced across a finned shark. It was a small shark and someone picked it up and started freaking the others out with it, horsing around. When I saw the finned shark, I only felt sadness that at some obscure reef that hardly any one came too, the fishmen were, the finners. And they didn’t even spare the little ones, I mean how much could a fin smaller than your palm fetch? Was it enough for one bowl of soup? Was it worth the life of that little shark, the pain of it drowning? One or two measly bowls of soup which would get consumed within 5 minutes?

1 bowl of shark fin soup = 5 minutes of impressing chinese guests? = the life of a shark?

Anyway, what I wanted to say was kudos to Hawaii for this first-of-its-kind ban. Sharks take too long to breed, our rate of consumption definitely is not giving them the chance to repopulate. I can only dream Singapore will be number 2 on that list.

Singapore
Area: total: 692.7 sq km
land: 682.7 sq km – Can you imagine what Singapore would do with a space 1000 times bigger than our current land!
water: 10 sq km

Thailand: 514,000 sq km
Peninsular Malaysia: 131,500 sq km
World water area: 61,000,000 sq km

That is a big area! For those of you who can imagine, it is like
Thailand + Peninsular Malaysia

The President of Palau is a pretty spunky fellow. Here is a quote from the BBC article that I really like.

President Toribiong on sharks: “And we feel that the need to protect the sharks outweighs the need to enjoy a bowl of soup.”
Asked what he would be urging other leaders to do, he said simply: “To follow suit.”

I really hope he means it because according to BBC, Palau only has one patrol boat for to monitor their waters. How are they going to enforce the ban? Maybe they can use that Guantanamo Money to buy more patrol boats, radars etc.

Four Afterthoughts
1. 100 million sharks are killed each year around the world.
100 million sharks are killed each year around the world.
100 million sharks are killed each year around the world.
100 million sharks are killed each year around the world.
100 million sharks are killed each year around the world.

2. 600,000 sq km is less than 1% of the world water area. I wonder what area is actually safe for sharks to roam.

3. Why does it it always the small developing countries that make moves like this first (Maldives, Palau)? Sure, they are dependent on tourism, and yes, they are out there in the ocean, in direct contact with the sharks. But they could have also easily just given in to the huge Asian demand like other countries. They could have easily turned a blind eye like we do.

What is Singapore doing? What is the diving community doing? What is Gill doing? What am I doing? We all know what is happening, how many people actually have the courage to boycott our friends’ weddings if they serve Sharks Fin. How many of us boycott places that serve Sharksfin. I do. I confess, I let it slide when hungry staff/friends orderd from Macpherson for themselves and for me. (They have sharks fin on their menu and are 1 or 2 places that actually deliver to Gill). But no more, I will not slip again.

4. Palau – This has strengthened my resolve to visit this country. The Blue Hole and Blue Corner. The jellyfish lake. Dear Palau, I will visit you next year! For like-minded folk, email me at monica@gilldivers.com! I’m looking for buddies.

Bali, Indonesia from the 7-11 August to do 9 dives over 3 diving days. On the first day, we went to Crystal Bay, straight for the mola molas or Sunfish, which Nusa Penida/Bali is famous for this time of year. We saw 2, and boy were they deep! The first was tricky to spot it was so deep, I would guess 43-45m. I was going down to meet it whilst attempting to point it out to Maeva when the guide signaled a second one coming our way slightly shallower. It was 37-38m and in my group only Maeva attempted to get closer, the others stayed at about 25m watching from a distance.  What a majestic yet strangely goofy fish! It had such black eyes, and such white patches and you can have a look at them in the photos. This was my first Mola experience so I was not really paying close attention to capturing them on my camera though. It was like when we went to Malapascua for the thresher sharks, I was concentrating on them with my own two eyes and they seemed A LOT closer. The photos are not a good depiction of how I felt about the whole encounter.

We also dived at Tulamben, the Liberty Wreck. Conditions were calm, warm, relaxed. I love black sand and rocky beaches, but unfortunately I lost/got my phone stolen at some point in the day despite leaving it in a deep pocket in my backpack the whole day. But apart from that, it was a lovely day and I actually had time to take a few photos because conditions were calmer and I didn’t have to concentrate on looking out for other divers so much. For the dive sites around Nusa Penida, currents can be really strong and it can get super deep with some down and out currents. I would say Nusa Penida is more challenging for less experienced divers and Tulamben is ideal for noobs.

We did Manta Point at Nusa Penida on the last day and it was terribly cold. First dive we swayed around in the surf, getting excited by the silhouettes of distant divers, only to realize the “mantas” had bright fins. During the surface interval someone spotted the mantas on the surface which encouraged us to brave the icy waters a second time. During the first five minutes we were hanging around the cleaning station and I decided to go a little further out than the rest so we could cover more area between us. Suddenly in the distance, I saw the clear outline of a manta and I started banging my tank. I turned around to point it out to the others and Terry was gesticulating wildly at me. When I turned around a second manta just whizzed over/above me, giving me the shock of my life. We could have collided because of my sudden movement but it was even swifter, maneuvering out of the way. Soon another pair joined them and we had the best dive of the trip, because the great thing about manta point is the mantas hang around for reeeally long, pretty much the entire dive.

Okay gotta run!

Monica

you may want to check out our dive trips to Sipadan..

Cheers

Vijay

Live in Motown – Jackson 5

Live in Motown – Billie Jean

Moonwalker – Smooth Criminal
‘

1995 MTV Music Award Performance

we did upload the photos of diving trip (dayang 5-7th june 09), u just need to click on photo album to view them..

orite, have fun and enjoy those dayang photos…

gill team

Photos photos and more photos.. for all you photos suckers..

Oh, we were having some problems when uploading the photos… some of them are not in yet, hang on, they will be in soon..

Thank you for the great weekend and for diving with Gill Divers..

Gill Team

First confirmed case of Influenza A (H1N1-2009) in Singapore

Singapore has confirmed its first case of Influenza A (H1N1-2009). The patient is currently being treated at the Communicable Disease Centre at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) and is in stable condition.

2 The patient is a 22 year-old Singaporean female who was in New York from May 14- 24. She arrived back inSingapore from New York on SQ25 (Seated at Row 55) on 26 May at 06.30hrs. She began to develop a cough while onboard. She passed the thermal scanner uneventfully as she did not have fever then. Later in the morning, she consulted a GP who decided to send her to TTSH via a 993 ambulance, given her travel history. She was immediately admitted for testing. Laboratory confirmation of her infection was made by midnight of 26 May.

3 The patient has been vigilant in monitoring her own condition and had sought immediate medical attention once she realized that she was unwell. Her attending GP, through his quick response in activating the 993 ambulance for the patient, had also helped to minimize the spread of infection from this case.

4 We have initiated contact tracing of her close contacts. They will be quarantined and provided with antiviral prophylaxis. Passengers who had travelled in the same flight and were seated in rows 52 to 58 are urged to call the hotline at 1800- 333 9999 to enable us to check on their health condition.
Enhanced vigilance

5 The Ministry has reminded all medical practitioners and healthcare institutions to continue to be vigilant to suspect cases. We will continue with temperature screening for passengers entering Singapore at all checkpoints (land, sea and air). All passengers passing through or entering Singapore are given Health Alert Notices on board their flights, advising them to monitor their own health if they have been to affected areas and to seek medical attention immediately if they are not well.

Advice from MOH

6 Singaporeans are reminded to maintain high standards of personal hygiene. This means covering your nose and mouth with a tissue when you sneeze or cough, and washing your hand frequently with soap and water, especially after contact with respiratory secretions (e.g., after sneezing and coughing). We also need the cooperation of everyone to be socially responsible. This means staying home and avoiding crowded places (including trains, buses, offices), putting on a surgical mask and seeing a doctor if you have flu symptoms. MOH advises those who travelled to affected areas to closely monitor their health and seek treatment as soon as possible should they develop symptoms.

7 Members of the public are advised to exercise caution over travel to affected areas. In the event that travel is unavoidable, the public is advised to take precautionary measures such as avoiding crowded areas and maintaining high standards of personal hygiene at all times. However, if you are unwell with fever and cough but have no travel history to affected areas, please see a doctor and stay at home.

8 MOH is monitoring the situation closely and will update the public should there be any new developments. For more information on Influenza A (H1N1-2009), please access MOH’s website at www.moh.gov.sg, call our hotline at 1800-333 9999, or visit www.flu.gov.sg.
MINISTRY OF HEALTH

good weather, good company.. good dives.. what’s there not to like?

here are some of tioman photos from your last trip

hope you had a blast diving tioman..

cheers,
gill divers