Shark Savers launches "Say 'no' to shark fin soup" online campaign

Monday, 21 December 2009 06:24

As part of the campaign launched today with WildAid, we developed an online component complete with four grass roots campaigns that include downloadable materials and an additional video that should magnify the impact of the campaign. Everything has been designed and written for the primary consumers of shark fin soup.

The PSA and billboards featuring Yao Ming are designed to bring awareness and then, the website is provided to allow them to learn more. As people come to the web site for more information, they will discover three persuasive reasons not to eat the soup:

Shark can contain high concentrations of toxic mercury
Shark fin soup is the primary cause of the rapid and severe eradication of sharks
Sharks play a critical role in the ocean environment and their elimination can be highly destructive to the oceans and our future marine food supply

As far as we know, this is the first full-fledged online advocacy campaign in China. And, taken together with the PSA and billboards, the campaign is probably the most integrated and far-reaching conservation campaign ever conducted in China.

The advocacy campaign allows consumers of shark fin in China to take direct, meaningful action starting with a pledge to "Say 'no' to shark fin soup" following in Yao's footsteps. Then, we empower them to take even more action - ranging from helping brides to make important decisions at their weddings to enabling diners, to approach restaurants serving shark fin soup, to appealing to corporations to act ethically during business dinners. We are putting it all into the hands of those who can make the biggest difference for sharks.

The site has launched in China as part of WildAid's web site in both English and Mandarin. We are in the process of integrating this into Shark Savers web site for other parts of the world.

Visit the "Say 'no' to shark fin soup" web site.

The web site still has some elements that are still being completed.

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