Tseung Kwan O Government Secondary School Address: 2 King Yin Lane, Tseung Kwan O Tel: (852) 2704 0051 Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.tkogss.edu.hk

July 2013

Letter From The Editor

What is being done to improve the air pollution problem? What more can be done? What about water pollution and the rubbish in the ocean that affects marine and bird life? Shark Finning! Is that to be encouraged? Should the landfill in Tseung Kwan O be expanded or not? Should a new landfill be built? The 4 R’s…Recycle, Reduce, Reuse, Replace? Is this happening to assist the huge waste problem? What can be done to stop the enormous problem involving plastic? Not a day goes past when there is not an item of news in the newspaper or on the radio about these social issues. As such, our students carried out a survey to find out their fellow students’ opinions about these issues, what they see as priorities and what they are personally doing to improve the situation. In this newsletter, there are also articles written by the students that are excellent reading. We were fortunate to have Tracey Read, founder of ‘Plasticfreeseas’ speak to all the students about the ‘plastic’ problem. The students’ responses are contained within as well as pictures which ‘can say more than a thousand words’. I hope you find this ‘TKO Express’ to be informative, interesting as well as educational. As many students state here – we can all make a difference.

List of Contributors: Editor: Ms Ann Miles Assistant Editor: Ms Tam Kin Fai Contributors: Au Yeung Kwok Iu, Gloria 4D Lee Pui Yi, Koby 4D Luk Tsz Kwan, Natalie 4D Hui Fuk Yuen, William 4D Chan Ka Yee, Karen 4D Wong Chi Hong, Ken 4D Chan Chi Wing, Susan 4D Lai Hiu Man, Rebecca 4D Tam Nga Ting, Tanya 4D Leung Hoi Yan, Cindy 4D Yeung Ka Ho, Cynthia 4D Chau Hoi Yan, Katherine 5E Tsang Hiu Tung, Hazel 5E Lam Yeuk Yu, Pansy 6D Wong Wai Shan, Dora 6D Wong Yan Yan, Lesley 6D

1 Our schoolmates’ concerns about the environmental issues in Hong Kong 5E Chau Hoi Yan We interviewed 186 students from S4-5 about the environmental issues in Hong Kong. Here are the results of the interviews.

The pie chart shows that most of the students (64%) are concerned because the problems will affect our health. The pie chart shows that air pollution (40%), rubbish disposal (13%) and water pollution (12%) are the three areas of the environment in Hong Kong that concern our schoolmates the most.

The pie chart shows that the majority of the students (73%) think the recent policies set up to tackle the environmental problems in Hong The pie chart shows that almost half of the students (49%) think that Kong are not enough. by setting up laws it will help to improve the environmental situation in Hong Kong.

The pie chart shows that most of the students (70%) sometimes take The pie chart shows how the majority of the students protect the action to protect the environment but only 20% of the students always environment: 22% use less plastic bags, 21% do not throw rubbish take action to protect the environment. onto the ground and into the sea and 21% turn off lights when not using them.

2 Reflections about Ms Tracey Read’s Speech 5E Tsang Hiu Tung, Hazel On 9th May, Tracey Read from Plastic Free Seas (PFS), a Non-Governmental Organization, was invited to our school to give us a speech about the environment. It was our pleasure to listen to her. With the rising awareness and education in schools, we realize that the environmental situation in Hong Kong is deteriorating. Air pollution is bad, but apart from that, plastic pollution is a major concern too. From the photos taken by the members of PFS, we could see lots of rubbish along the beaches including plastic bags, water bottles, cigarette butts, lighters, etc. It is really a tragedy. On the other hand, I feel consoled that some people volunteered to help with cleaning up the beaches and giving a hand to save our oceans and the environment. If we really want to save the oceans, our legislators should not only focus on land use, but should also show some respect for the environment. We as individuals must play our part too. If you want to show your concern about our environmental situation, you can ‘like’ the website of PFS on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PlasticDisasterHongKong. Please give a hand to protect our oceans!

4D Tam Nga Ting, Tanya I really enjoyed the talk on the Assembly and in the classroom given by Tracey and Steve. It was about plastic pollution in the ocean and the disposal of it on the beaches of Hong Kong. Through the talk, I learned a lot of about plastic pollution. It is difficult to imagine that our facial or body scrubs are common plastic pollutants that end up in the ocean, because they contain polyethylene. Therefore, the talk reminded me to choose products carefully and reduce the use of plastic. Moreover, the powerpoint demonstration from the talk showed that the dead birds and fish were found with bellies full of plastic. It is cruel. They mistook the plastic which floated on the ocean for food. Indeed, we must take action to reduce the plastic in the ocean. Also, plastic fragments on the beaches in Hong Kong mix in with sand. Are you willing to play on a littered beach? Of course not. Tracey’s organization is willing to go there but not to play. They go there to recover the beauty of the beaches. They clean up the rubbish on the beaches. I remember that Tracey said that if one person joined the activity, one person would help reduce the pollution in the world. It encouraged me to reduce the plastic pollution. Therefore, I will take action to reduce plastic pollution! I will reduce using plastic products, especially the single-use plastic products! I will recycle plastic rubbish! I will also encourage my family and friends to reduce buying plastic products and reuse them when possible!!

4D Chan Chi Wing, Susan I really enjoyed Tracey’s talk because she told us a lot about the disadvantages of using plastic products. Plastic does not decompose within 200 years at least so the plastic waste stays on the Earth for a very long time. Tracey and Steve told us that there is a huge amount of plastic waste on Hong Kong’s beaches and also in the oceans all over the world. One of their jobs is the beach cleanup to remove what they can. Almost all the plastic waste easily gets into the seas, oceans and eventually into gyres - which is a circular ocean current moving in a spiral motion. The plastic waste will be broken down into many very small pieces because of the sunlight, then, some marine animals will be mistaken by those small plastic pieces and eat them and die. The sea birds that eat the plastic will die also. So, we can imagine how terrible the plastic is when it gets into our food chain. To protect the seas, oceans and the marine animals, we can start living a ‘green’ life from today. We can simply reduce the use of plastic products by bringing our own shopping bags, water bottles and cutlery. Or we can reuse the plastic products so as to reduce the amount of plastic waste. If we want to throw the plastic waste, we shouldn’t throw it into the seas and oceans, but separate it into different kinds of plastic and throw it into the recycling bins. Also, we can join some environmental protection campaigns such as the beach clean-ups to help protect the environment.

4D Lai Hiu Man, Rebecca In daily life, plastic products surround us because they are convenient and light. We can use them in many ways, however, they cause plastic waste which cannot be broken down easily. IThey cause pollution and threaten birds and animals’ lives. I enjoyed Ms Read’s speech because she brought the truths to us. She told us how serious this issue is. Before she came, I didn’t know our cleansing cream contains plastic. This is disgusting! Can you accept using plastic to wash your face every day? Moreover, these polyethylenes (the tiny plastic beads inside the facial or body scrubs) are washed away and go into the ocean through the drains. The marine animals eat these beads, and they cannot digest them. As a result, the plastic beads stay inside their bodies and finally take away their lives. I feel sorry for these animals because I have tried the product which contains micro beads; maybe there were some animals that died from my thoughtless action! Animals, birds, and marine life are the residents that live on this Earth, so we should respect them. Although plastic is convenient, it kills lives when we cannot place the plastic waste correctly. To reduce the waste, we can bring our own water bottle, so that we don’t need to buy a new water bottle every time. Moreover, if we can use our own shopping bags, it can reduce the plastic waste. There are many ways for us to reduce the waste. All we need to do is to try to apply them in our daily lives. When you want to buy something new, just ask yourself ‘Do I really need this?’ and decide what you should do.

3 Has enough been done to control water pollution problem in Hong Kong?

4D Yeung Ka Ho, Cynthia I strongly agree that Hong Kong has not done enough to control the Have you been to the local beaches recently? They are full of rubbish of water pollution of the beaches and seas. Although some effort has all kinds that comes from boats, households, hospitals and litter from been made, still a lot more has to be done. beachgoers. Hong Kong citizens must be educated to make sure rubbish is put in bins and recycled to stop this pollution. Again when the ocean Do you know about the changes to the beaches in Hong Kong? The birds or fish eat it, this causes their cruel deaths. This must be stopped! number of gazetted beaches meeting the Water Quality Objective for bathing water has increased to 41 in 2010, compared with 26 in 1997. The pollution in mainland China water has an effect on Hong Kong The number of river monitoring stations with bad or very bad water also. Hong Kong relies on the Dong River for 80 per cent of its water quality dropped, from 52 per cent in 1988, to less than 15 per cent in for which it pays Guangdong a lump sum. The river travels through recent years. So there has been some improvement in water quality the Jiangxi and Guangdong provinces before reaching Hong Kong and over the recent years. serves 45 million people daily. As industry in the PRD has increased and demand for water with it, even this relatively water-rich area is On 23rd July 2012, 6 shipping containers were lost at sea during facing water quantity problems that exacerbate water pollution and Typhoon Vicente. A total of 150 tonnes of Pre Production Plastic Resin spark tensions within the region. Pellets were lost at sea and were washed ashore on the southern Hong Kong beaches. Plastics are extremely lightweight and float in water Some of the waste like sewage finds so they can easily end up in drains, rivers and the sea. These pellets its way into the harbour, polluting the are ingested by fish and marine life, then they block digestive systems waters and killing marine life! But the leading to starvation. They can cause the fish to be more buoyant as damage doesn't end there! Rotting well which makes it difficult for them to swim below the surface leading waste releases harmful gases into the to stress and extra energy usage in a fish that is already consuming less air which threatens everyone's health! food as a result of the plastic consumption. We must do something to If we ignore the problem, Hong Kong rid the water of plastic. will become harmful to our children! We have to play our part to control The rubbish on the beaches has a direct effect on our water pollution. water pollution! We have to!

4D Leung Hoi Yan, Cindy Hong Kong is famous for its beautiful Victoria Harbour. However, the Harbour is being polluted by us and also other rivers in Hong Kong. Water pollution is a hot issue nowadays. Let’s have a look at what things the government is doing to tackle the problem. Firstly, the Environmental Protection Apartment controls waste water discharges through the Water Control Ordinance. Before releasing this effluent into the ocean, the companies have to make sure the sewage has been cleaned. If the EPD discovers someone doesn’t follow the rule, they will respond to complaints and prosecute offenders. The second thing is the Harbour Area Treatment Scheme. The government has finished Stage 1 of the scheme. About 75% of sewage around Victoria Harbour is collected and treated by chemical processes before it runs into the sea. Therefore, the dissolved oxygen content in the sea water increases by about 10%. Stage 2A of the scheme is going to start in 2014. Maybe this scheme can include other places to treat. The third thing is the factories in China. Guangdong Environment Protection Bureau says the province dumped 6.9 billion tonnes of sewage into the sea in 2007. So the water is polluted by industrial waste and domestic sewage. Then the sewage passes into Victoria Harbour, causing water pollution in Hong Kong. Guangzhou is expected to produce 830,000 tonnes of it this year. So the Hong Kong Government should have good communication with the Guangdong Government to ensure the water is well treated. The fourth problem is red tide, which also affects water pollution. Why does the red tide appear? Some fertilizers are thrown into the rivers by the farmers. They have high energy values and nutrients, so algae grows in the river rapidly. It uses up the oxygen in the water and blocks the sunlight and then the marine life dies. Every year, Hong Kong has 20-30 cases of red tide. These reflect the seriousness of water pollution. So I think the government should do more to improve this problem.

We should practice the 4Rs 4D Luk Tsz Kwan, Natalie In this rich world, why do we need to be get the free plastic bags that are provided by the supermarkets to use for ecological? We can use money to buy places to storage. That’s horrifying! bury our rubbish. We can expand the landfills even though they are very near to our houses. I watched a video about the effect of plastics on animals. I felt great We are producing more rubbish than we can get sorrow. I didn’t imagine plastics might have such a giant effect on living rid of. things. When I saw the birds’ stomachs were full of plastic, I was shocked! I think our behaviour murders too many birds. Humans should feel The Earth has limited resources. If we only ashamed about killing the natural environment, animals and birds! change our ways when all of the resources are used up, is that effective? Last week, I saw a girl holding takeaway drinks, However, there are four ways to save our world six plastic lunchboxes and two plastic bags! What happens to those – replace, reduce, recycle and reuse. To reduce, containers once used? Off to the landfills! We are harming ourselves! We the ‘bring your own bag’ campaign is a good are causing trouble! paragon for all of us. Bringing your own bag can reduce the amount of plastic bags. Also, bringing Do you know decomposing plastic bags can take 200 years? In those 200 your own cutlery when you eat out is another years, they pollute our rivers, dirty our beaches, strangle our wildlife and solution. It doesn’t cause any unnecessary get into the food chain. A current survey showed that more than 85% of waste, such as natural materials – fossil fuel, and people won’t carry their own bag when they go shopping. 90% of people makes enormous financial savings.

4 Do you have a habit of recycling things? Nowadays, paper is often printed Buying less is another essential way to help the environment. You can chat on one side. But the other side is blank. You can use it to write or print with your friends, do exercise or go hiking instead of shopping. Don’t let on the other side. How about that which is printed on both sides? Don’t the shopping habit damage your wallets and the throw it away. Collect and put it into the blue collection boxes. It will world! You won’t waste plastic bags, or packaging become recycling paper. of goods and receipts of the products when you go shopping. You may also use your imagination to create a DIY stationary container by using soft drink cans. You can cut the top off the cans and put all the Stop wasting! Think about our own world! Take pencils and pens into it! It is so creative, isn’t it? action before it is too late!

4D Hui Fuk Yuen, William Have you ever thought about how 200 years to decompose in the landfills. I take my bag every time much household rubbish is produced while shopping now. Do you? every day? According to statistics from the Food and Environmental Furthermore, we can “replace”. If you use some reusable goods Hygiene Department, it is estimated instead of the disposable ones, it will help a lot in the shortage of that about 7500 tonnes of household landfills. What we can do is simply to take action in our daily lives. rubbish are produced every day in Whenever we have lunch, take our own lunch boxes and forks Hong Kong. What a horrifying figure! instead of using the plastic ones that the restaurant provides so as to Sad! Disappointing! Scary! reduce the plastic waste produced. Honestly, I think I used to not care about our Mother Earth much. Moreover, we can “reuse”, for example, reusing paper. As we know, However, I changed my mind after watching a video in our last paper can be reused by some physical methods, so that whole new English lesson. I saw the marine animals and birds dying, just paper would appear. I strongly recommend we buy the reused paper because they had eaten the plastic and other rubbish. They thought instead of some new paper. they had eaten food, but unfortunately, rubbish was the knife killing them. We actually acted like murderers using the knife to kill them. That is only just part of the infamous effect of the rubbish problem. What a scary and awful truth! As a global citizen, I cannot bear to see it. Take action before it is too late - that’s the message I want to give you. If we keep on producing rubbish, our friends, the animals, will die. Furthermore, Finally, we can “recycle”. As a spokesperson of Friends of the Earth all our rubbish will be sent to the landfills. The rubbish problem will said, recycling can reduce 70% of rubbish before polluting our Earth. cause a shortage of the landfill space. As the government said, Hong Of course, recycling plastic plays an important role in recycling. Kong will soon run out of landfills in 2015.We all have responsibility As the UN estimated, more than 50 millions tonnes of plastic are to tackle the problem, don’t we? How about putting our best foot produced every year. The whole eco-system actually is polluted by forward towards carrying the 4Rs’ home, so as to solve the rubbish plastic. problem step by step? In conclusion, practising 4Rs’ actually has a long-term effect. Such a First of all, “Reduce”. If we reduce our rubbish in the first place, minor inconvenience would help a lot to save our Mother Earth. It’s we will not need to worry about whether the rubbish will cause time for us to practising the 4Rs’, don’t you think? environmental problems. I suggest that we bring our own material bags instead of buying plastic bags while shopping. Plastic can take

4D Au Yeung Kwok Iu, Gloria Have you heard about the 4R’s? They are “reuse”, “recycle”, useless letter? Put it in the paper bin. After the classifying, there should be “replace” and “reduce”. Everyone knows that they work but less rubbish left, because we can recycle most of the rubbish. We can go only a few of us do it. Actually, it is not so difficult. I will tell to the recycling bin often with our classified materials. This can help the you how to practice the 4R’s with plastic bags. land pollution. A plastic bag can be ‘gotten’ easily. We usually We have lots of rubbish because we throw things get one when we buy clothes or snacks. After away easily without thinking. If we reuse things, we shopping, we throw it away. But the plastic won’t produce so much rubbish. Also, we can reduce bag can still be used. Is it dirty? No. Has it been using things that can be used only one time, like broken by accident? No. Is it convenient to use? tissues. Yes! Then why don’t we reuse it? We can use it to place things in that we need to use when we The 4R’s above can help the land pollution problem are out. We can use it to collect rubbish when we and the bird and marine life. are far away from the bin. There are many rainy I saw a video about ‘Midway Island’. It used to be days in Hong Kong. I take a plastic bag every day a paradise with a beautiful sea and birds. But we to put my wet umbrella in. Isn’t it good to reuse a threw too much rubbish into the sea. We killed the marine life and the plastic bag? birds ate our rubbish. You can see that the birds’ The blue, yellow and brown recycling bins are popular in Hong Kong. The stomachs are full of small pieces of plastic. That blue one is for paper recycling. The yellow one is for plastic recycling. The killed them. brown one is for aluminum recycling. Recycling is easy. Before we throw If you don’t want to be a killer, start practising away the rubbish, we can classify it. the 4R’s, save the world’s environment and let When we finish a can of soft drink, we can put the can into the aluminum our lives become better. bin. When we have a broken plastic bag, put it to the plastic bin. Got a

5 4D Wong Chi Hong, Ken Dear Sir / Madam, Air Monster

The air is terrible. I want the government to take more action in dealing with the air pollution problem. This morning, I saw the grey dark sky and heavy smog cloaking the buildings. It is usual. What are the causes of the air pollution in Hong Kong? According to the Environmental Protection Department, the major emission source of air pollutants is the power plants, accounting for 92% of the total carbon dioxide (CO2) emission, and half of nitrogen oxide (NOX) and reparable suspended participates (RSP). Both the CLP and HEC have reduced the NOX and CO2 emissions. Furthermore, they have increased the electricity generated from natural gas too. Wind power is also used. Wind power is a clean and renewable power while natural gas does not cause air pollution. Everybody can see the efforts made by the HEC and CLP. Just a few years ago, three turbines of wind power were set up on Lamma Island. They provide electricity for 500 families. In fact, I anticipate that air pollution caused by the power plants will be relieved sharply. However, the roadside air pollution is severe. You can even see a lot of soot and dust flying on the road. If we breathe it, we will choke. In order to tackle the problem, the Motor Vehicle Idling Ordinance was created in 2011 to prohibit the engines of idling vehicles from releasing air pollutants such as CO2 and NO2. 1204 drivers were tested last year. The law is not working because the engines are activated immediately after the inspectors have gone. Next, buses also produce air pollutants. Let me tell you an unbelievable and shocking statistic! According to the franchised bus companies, 8 tonnes of RSP and 668 tonnes of NOX are produced by the buses in Hong Kong. See how disgusting it is! The companies have promised that no pre-Euro and Euro-1 buses will be in use by the end of 2015. No doubt that is a brilliant plan, but who is going to pay? And, the plan is useless for the existing air pollution problem. As a consequence, we are still breathing RSP and NOX into our lungs. I am disappointed. In addition, air pollutants from the mainland factories are one of the causes of air pollution. The Guangdong government has an agreement with the Hong Kong government about the emission targets. However, research shows that the air pollutants from Guangdong are still as much as before. That's why I am more and more upset. The Hong Kong Health Club claims that the air pollution problem in Hong Kong causes 1600 premature deaths and HK$2 billion of direct economic losses. Also, many foreign investors and talent refuse to work in Hong Kong because of the bad air. The government should do more to tackle the air pollution problem. Our efforts make a big change. Don't hesitate! Go to the Internet and search for air pollution. We ought not to use the products that give out greenhouse gases such as CFCs. We can plant trees too. I look forward to hearing good news abut our air. Yours faithfully, Ken Wong

4D Chan Ka Yee, Karen Dear Sir / Madam, Serious air pollution in Hong Kong

I refer to the newspaper article “Idling engine ban law is not working” written by Terry Scott on 16th April. Terry Scott thinks that the idling engine ban law is not effective and the law is just a joke. I strongly agree with his point and feel that the Government should do more to improve this policy in order to reduce lots of pollutants from the motor vehicles. According to the newspaper article “Two-pronged approach to idling engines” in 2011, the department’s law enforcement staff, including traffic wardens and environmental protection inspectors, timed 1204 vehicles with idling engines. All drivers except seven switched off their engines after three minutes when law enforcement staff started timing. The drivers who refused to obey the law of idling engines needed to pay HK$320. But only seven drivers received citations, showing the law is a great failure. At this point, do you think that the government has been doing enough to reduce air pollution? ‘I think the answer is absolutely not. As a citizen, I hope the government will improve this policy. Power plants in Hong Kong are also one of the sources of air pollution. The fuels used by two power companies in Hong Kong are coal, natural gas and nuclear energy, making air pollution more serious. Since the combustion of fuel discharges non-environmentally friendly pollutants, for instance, sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides and green gases, it affects our living environment badly. In recent years, greenhouse gas emissions in Hong Kong have fallen slightly due to a cleaner fuel (natural gas) by power companies, the latest official figures show. The emission intensity in 2010 was 0.53kg of carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour, down from 0.56kg in 2009. However, it is not enough! Friends of the Earth (HK) senior environmental officer Frances Yeung Hoi-Sam said there is still plenty of room for energy saving, for example, shopping malls should switch off external lights for signboards. Factories in China have also increased the degree of air pollution. When the machines in the factories are working, they produce lots of pollutants. The most common pollutant you can see is the black smoke, which contains carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides. The air pollutants from the factories in China reduce the air quality in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong government must do more and cooperate with the government in China to reduce pollutants. Old trucks are harmful to the environment due to the air pollutants they produce. The government in Hong Kong has tried to increase license fees for outdated diesel trucks, to discourage owners from keeping them, as 15 year or older vehicles emit as much as 20 times more pollutants than new ones. But who is going to pay for the replacement? The Hong Kong government has executed several policies in order to lessen the local street-level pollution, such as using GPU instead of diesel, using unleaded petrol and fitting catalytic converters to motor vehicles. As a result, the roadside concentration of some of the main air pollutants dropped in 2011: reparable suspended particulates and sulphur dioxide have been reduced by 33% and 56% respectively, and the number of smoky vehicles spotted has also been reduced by about 80%. However, nitrogen dioxide at the roadside has been increased by 23% during the same period. Because of human’s daily activities, it has made our living environment worse. It is our problem! And we should all take action before it is too late.

Stop Shark Finning 6D Lam Yeuk Yu, Pansy Sharks have always been the powerful top predators in the the sharks out of the water, cut their fins off and then throw marine system. Can you believe that they are now being life- them alive back in the water,” said Mussatto, who is the North threatened just because of a small bowl of shark fin soup? Vancouver Mayor. Unable to swim, sharks slowly sink towards the bottom where they are eaten alive by other fish. With the Let us think about one question - there are millions of sea improvement of hunting methods, is there any right for the animals all over the world, but why do the fishermen choose to sharks to be killed in such a cruel way? Do we have any right to kill the sharks for fins? The major reason is that the increased treat them like this? average wealth in the Asian countries has resulted in a massive increase in the demand for fins. The shark fins are used to make Sharks are not the only victims in this case as some fishermen shark fin soup and traditional medicines. cut up dolphins to use as shark bait. Also, dolphins, whales, albatrosses, and turtles are caught in the long line nets used However, how many of us for shark fishing. It is barbaric! This lowers the sustainability of have ever thought of the the marine ecosystem and speeds up the rate of the declining disastrous effect being brought population of the sea animals. So, there is no excuse for us to about by the removal of these continue killing the top predators in the ocean for their fins. top predators of the marine ecosystem from the oceans? Hong Kong has been the largest trading centre of shark fins and According to research, about accounted for 50-80% of fins traded worldwide. Over 10,200 100 to 200 million sharks of tonnes of shark fins were imported into Hong Kong in 2011, different species and ages according to the South China Morning Post. Last year, The are killed for their fins. The Peninsula Hotel in Hong Kong took shark fin soup off its menu, sharks may become extinct in the near future due to the rapid followed by the Shangri-La chain; worldwide, Cathay Pacific has increase in shark finning. Sharks are extremely important to the banned shark fins from its cargo flights. marine ecosystem as they help remove the diseased animals and maintain the balance of predators and prey in the ocean. No matter whether it is the business in Hong Kong or other Added to that, our lives are directly affected by the loss of international organizations, sharks from the imbalance to the marine ecosystem. According awareness about this issue is to an article from Suite 101, the loss of sharks has led to an being increased. There is no explosion in the octopus population, and because octopuses reason for us to just stay still and prey on lobsters, the lobster fisheries of some regions have wait for things to go back to the collapsed. This condition endangers the livelihoods of people original by themselves; and there in sustainable fishing communities and even our source of is no reason for me to not say ‘no’ seafood. to the banning of shark finning. But it seems that money still seems to be much more important I hope that there will not be any than our top predators in the ocean. The rapidly declining shark fin soup on the menu when population of sharks is due to increasing fishing pressure and I attend a wedding this coming increasing prices. Over the past 15 years, some Atlantic shark Friday! populations have declined by up to 90%. Furthermore, the inhumanity of hunting sharks for fins is also a main reason for me to support the ban of shark fins. “They take 6D Wong Wai Shan, Dora On 30 June, 2010, Hawaii significantly, the amount of smaller fish in the middle of the food became the first Pacific island web will grow rapidly and eat all the organisms at the bottom of state to ban the sale, distribution the food chain, for example, scallops. Therefore, killing sharks for or possession of shark fins. Yao luxurious consumption in fact ruins fishery industries. Ming, celebrity and former NBA player, also joined forces with As well, eating sharks’ products is harmful to our health. Due a green group in a worldwide to being the highest level in the food chain, sharks have a long broadcast to call for a stop to killing sharks for their fins. life span and hence consume a large amount of fish. As days go Recently, Cathay Pacific bowed to pressure from environmental on, they absorb high amounts of heavy metals from other sea groups and banned shark fin from its cargo flights. All these are animals which accumulate in their bodies. Heavy metals, for seemingly averting the over-fishing of sharks, but I think more example, mercury, can damage our central nervous system and action should take place. decrease the number of sperm if we eat the product of sharks. Shark finning refers to the removal and retention of shark Moreover, conserving sharks helps boost the tourism industries fins. The rest of the body is generally discarded into the as well. Countries including Australia, the Maldives and the ocean. There is a misconception among people that sharks Philippines benefit from shark watching tours. without their fins can live but the truth is that they are unable All Hong Kong people are exhorted to stop importing, selling, to move normally and then usually die of suffocation or are storing and consuming shark fin as there is no right for us to eaten by other predators. This act is like cutting off a dog’s kill or abuse the sharks for our luxurious desire. What we are legs and leaving it to look after itself. How cruel is that? About doing is to cause genocide to a species. How can we change this 100,000,000 sharks are caught every year. About 73,000,000 stubborn mindset? Schools should teach students about the are caught to supply shark fins. Last year, Hong Kong alone issue and raise their respect towards animals and nature for fear consumed 9,396 tons of shark fins. that the situation will deteriorate to an irretrievable end. It is necessary to identify the reasons for the killing of sharks It is of great urgency and for their fins. The primary cause is the demand for shark importance to stop this cruel fin soup and traditional cures, particularly in China and its harm to our ‘adorable’ sharks territories. In the past decades, the demand has been piling up which also have the right to and threatens the sustainability of sharks. live, just like we humans. Why should we stop eating shark fin? It is because we need to prevent our marine ecosystem from being destroyed. As sharks are at the top of the food chain, if their number is lowered

6D Wong Yan Yan, Lesley A bowl of yellow and juicy Why do shark fins mean a lot to the environment? Let us step shark fin was glittering in into the environmentalist’s shoes. Killing sharks and taking their front of my eyes last Saturday fins will lead to a loss and devastation of shark populations night when I was taking part around the world. Experts estimate that within a decade, most in my cousin’s wedding. When species of sharks will be lost because of these killings which may it comes to the traditional threaten the stability of the marine ecosystem. luxurious wedding’s ‘must- have’ cuisine, you may first Added to that, the ‘Global Animal’ states that shark fins are think about shark fin soup loaded with mercury and heavy metals, which are 42 times since shark fin is considered by higher than safe levels for humans. This can cause serious Chinese as one of the treasured foods from the sea. In addition, damage to our central nervous system. Plus, shark fins are often shark fin is rare, delicious and requires elaborate preparation, so treated with hydrogen peroxide in order to make their colour that shark fins also symbolize wealth, power, prestige and honour. more attractive. This chemical will also harm our health. It means that shark fins can’t really benefit our health, but actually cause If you are one of the big fans of banning shark finning, here is harm! You see? How stupid are some news that you should have know. Cathay Pacific, one of the human beings! Eating shark fins world’s largest cargo carriers, recently announced that they would has nothing to do with culture stop carrying shark fins. and health, only to do with cruelty, unsustainability and ego. “Due to the vulnerable nature of sharks, their rapidly declining population, and the impact of overfishing for their parts Is this fair to those sharks? Taking and products, our carriage of these is inconsistent with our their fins is actually more cruel commitment to sustainable development,” the airline Cathay than directly taking their lives. Can you imagine how painful it Pacific spokesperson said. would be if someone cut off your hands or legs and threw you into the oceans without any narcosis? Then, Is that fair to them? I appreciate their actions deeply, because in doing so, they disregarded their own benefits and thought of the environment So, please stop being nonsensical. From now on, when there is a and their commitment to it. You may think it doesn’t matter a lot bowl of shark fin soup placed in front of you, please think before to them but please never think in this way! This is actually a great you leap. Think about what you can do for those sharks and how loss to them. It is estimated that Cathay Pacific carried up to 50 you can change this situation, otherwise, the ones who will be per cent or almost 650 tonnes of all the air cargo trade in shark profoundly affected will be all of us. fin last year, which should be considered as a big financial gain. So the income of Cathay Pacific would be greatly reduced by this action. Fortunately, this action will make a big difference to the whole market of shark fins.

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