By: Alexandra Riggle
The presenter declares to a group of students, “Sharks are bad, right?” The class nods in agreement. Of course they’re bad- everyone knows that sharks are ruthless, indiscriminate killers-- the media tells us so. Such was the reaction among a group of post-doctoral English language students at UCLA last week.
But a very different viewpoint emerged among the group by the end of the presentation…
Patty Civalleri, Iemanya’s Executive Vice President and marketing mastermind, capitalized on a perfect opportunity to spread awareness about the importance of sharks and the single largest threat they face: shark fin soup. Patty’s friend and university professor, Dale Hartnett, teaches English as a second language at UCLA and develops her lesson plans around such practical activities as getting around the city, visiting a museum, or buying items at a grocery store. Out of sheer coincidence Dale had been planning a lesson last week about, of all things, soup- all of the varieties, shopping for ingredients, preparation, etc. Lessons like these help the students learn practical, every day, English. Upon learning about the professor’s lesson topic, Patty seized the opportunity to not only educate the students about the destructiveness of shark fin soup to shark populations worldwide, but to gauge how many of the students were aware of the current situation facing sharks.
The results of this pseudo-sociological experiment were eye-opening.
Most of the students were of Asian descent, a demographic among which shark fin soup has long been traditionally consumed. When asked how many had ever consumed shark fin soup, about 50% of the students raised their hands. When asked how well they liked shark fin soup, the responses varied, from “It was ok,” to, “What a delicious dish!” Patty then kicked off her presentation by talking about food chains and ecosystem balance. She explained that when apex predators like sharks are removed from an ecosystem, the entire food chain beneath it is disrupted, often with disastrous consequences. She explained that 100 million sharks are killed annually, tens of millions for their fins alone.
Patty saw a clear progression in attitude among the students from one of apathy toward sharks to one of genuine concern. One student cried upon the learning about the plight of sharks. By the end of the presentation, the students were hungry to know what they could do to help sharks, and when asked how many would refuse to eat shark fin soup again, almost all of the students raised their hands!
Patty provided these newly enlightened students with plenty of activities to help save sharks, including writing to their government representative to institute a ban on shark finning and shark fin sales, and spreading the important message to family and friends about the destructiveness of shark fin soup. As this group proved, the public is still largely unaware of the threats sharks face and how critically important they are to healthy oceans.
Although Patty’s audience was small, her efforts are crucial in helping to propel a shift in mindset among the public about sharks. And, as cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead so famously quoted: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”
