Shark and trees

IN SOCIAL media sites, there’s a significant difference among users’ interest in two environmental issues: the century-old acacia trees and shark meat or fins.

The cutting of old acacia trees along the highway from the cities of Naga to Carcar generated a lot of discussion on Facebook, some on Twitter. The clamor to preserve the trees was as loud as calls to cut the diseased acacia for the sake of public safety.

Some conservationists climbed old acacia trees scheduled to be cut by the Department of Public Works and Highways. Running priest Fr. Robert Reyes summoned God’s wrath on those who want the trees cut.

But when wildlife conservationists called on the public to help protect sharks, few Facebook users were as impassioned as those who defended the acacia trees. There are speculations concerning this.

* Sharks are portrayed as human-eating creatures, thanks to the movie, Jaws. Few read the apology of Peter Benchley, the novelist who wrote “Jaws” -- which was lthe basis for the movie directed by Steven Spielberg -- for putting the species in a bad light. Benchley made his apology to sharks in the book, “Shark Trouble.”

* Except for those shown in films, sharks are not the type of creatures you see every day. Only divers see them and are able to marvel at their grace and intellect. Some fishermen see them, but most of the time they are entangled in nets.

* Many people in Asia consider sharks as food or medicine. Some use shark liver oil for vanity. Here in Cebu, shark fin soup is a regular item on the menu of Chinese restaurants. Shark meat and the meat of its cousin, rays, are among the ingredients in the local dish, larang, and in fish balls and tempura.

* Shark tourism -- the only activity that lets people appreciate sharks while still alive -- is not really affordable. In Oslob, Cebu, Filipinos pay P300 to watch whale sharks while perched on a banca. Foreigners pay P500. One pays P200 more to get in the water with the gentle creatures. The activity, however, is the subject of debate. Some sectors frown against feeding the whale sharks so tourists are guaranteed to see them. Some say that with strict regulations in place, it can serve as a good learning tool so the public would appreciate sharks and their importance to the marine ecosystem.

Groups like Greenpeace, LAMAVE and Save the Philippine Seas are trying to find ways to raise awareness on sharks and rays. They have partnered with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and Ecofish to hold the country’s first Shark Summit.

One of the related activities to the summit is the creation of murals of sharks, which come with slogans, “Migo sa Iho,” “No shark in our fish ball” and “Dili mi karne.”

Would the murals work? Maybe. But to be sure, laws protecting sharks and other wildlife need to have more teeth.