Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Urgent - Hawaii Shark Fin Bill Needs a Push

If you have some time in your busy schedule over the next two days please add your voice to excellent efforts in Hawaii to help conserve sharks with a new bill SB2169:

Hello everyone,

For some reason the Representative that is the chair of our LAST
committee, Riki Karamatsu, is unresponsive and hasn't scheduled a hearing for our shark finning bill.

If you have the time today or tomorrow, please take a minute and send a message/call to to urge him to hear SB2169.

We have come so far with this bill and I can't believe it is stuck now! Very frustrating.

Tell him how important this is for Hawaii, but also the rest of the US/world.

Tell him that the desire for people to eat shark fin soup should not
override the decision to pass this bill. A delicacy should not cause
the destruction of the ocean... etc

Express yourself as strongly as you can and if you are from Hawaii
make sure you let him know that too.

We have been sending messages and have been stopping by his office. We
have given him photos, letters and videos.

Apparently he needs more pressure to be convinced. I think there are a couple of member in the House that really like to eat their shark fin soup that may have asked him to not hear the bill.

I will go to the capitol this afternoon to park myself outside his
office until he speaks to me.

Here is his info:

Jon Riki Karamatsu
Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee
phone 808-586-8490; fax 808-586-8494
E-mail repkaramatsu@Capitol.hawaii.gov

thank you
Stefanie

3 comments:

Ali said...

Awesome post (heartbreaking picture) and I am heading to my email to send him my thoughts... I will try not to say bad words or anything about his mother.

liquidmocean said...

Wouldn't it be an absolute crime if this Bill fails to get pushed through, especially in a place such as Hawaii where the reverence of sharks even passes into the cultural deity. Much support is needed, and pressure, to try and get all involved to seriously step back and take stock of what is at stake here.

Anonymous said...

Don't cite culture unless you're ready to accept the fact Hawaiian's have (and are fighting for) acceptance of cockfighting. And, honestly, don't expect one culture's reverence of something to mirror your idea of what "reverence" looks like.