I watched your “Sharkwater” documentary last year and was so angry as well as inspired.

Born in Hong Kong, I’ve had my fair share of shark fin soups. I never quite understood the significance of those tasteless cartilage or why we “have to” eat them in every semi-special occasion in Hong Kong. Your film made me feel so ashamed of this irresponsible Hong Kong/Chinese custom.

To be fair, there are just so many Chinese in the world, whichever wildlife species we choose to eat, they will extinct sooner or later. But now that there is considerable evidence for the cruelty involved and the ecological damages shark finning is causing, we Chinese have no excuse to continue.

Last time I talked to my friends in Hong Kong on the subject, some merely noted that the “free market will take care of itself” (yes, that was last year), or that sharks don’t look as cute as panda and it’d be hard to make people care. But I also know people who have stopped eating shark fin soup for years or have refused to serve it at their own wedding. Change is coming. I hope we still have time.

As a token of appreciation for your work on saving sharks, I made a shark costume to raise awareness within my circle at Halloween last year in Missouri. I can’t tell you what kind of shark it’s supposed to be, but all its fins have been chopped off, dangling off the body with blood coming out everywhere. Needless to say, I got lots of attention and all my friends now acknowledge the urgency of saving these incredible animals. I just wish I can do the same thing back in Hong Kong too.

Anyways. Keep up the good work. Best of luck with your next film.

Ed
Kansas City, Missouri