L’aquarium Ripley de Toronto a capturé des requins classés « vulnérables » par l’IUCN et s’apprête à recommencer / Toronto should not permit the import of sharks from the wild for Ripley’s Aquarium 2013
Photo : Bob Timmons – Sea Shepherd
Toronto a inauguré son nouvel aquarium de plus de 2,8 millions de litres connu sous le nom d’aquarium Ripley de Toronto, au Canada. Cet aquarium sera le nouveau lieu de vie non naturel de plus de 13 000 poissons d’eau douce et d’eau de mer, dont dix requins.
Les requins exhibés sont les requins taureaux (Carcharias taurus), classés vulnérables sur la liste rouge des espèces menacées de l’UICN. Ils sont protégés aux Etats-Unis, en Australie et en Nouvelle-Guinée. Cette espèce de requin migre près de la baie de Murells en Caroline du Sud vers sa zone de reproduction. Les requins taureaux ne font que deux petits par portée et sont victimes de la pêche commerciale, de la pêche au harpon et des filets de plage anti-requins. La capture supplémentaire de ces animaux par l’équipe de Ripley risque assurément de mettre à mal la croissance démographique de cette espèce protégée.
L’équipe de Ripley en a attrapé et en attrapera d’autres dans leur milieu naturel dans la baie de Murrels, en Caroline du sud. Elle indique avoir reçu une autorisation spéciale du gouvernement en arguant que la présence des requins dans leurs aquariums avait un objectif pédagogique.
“Il y a autant d’intérêt pédagogique à étudier les animaux en captivité qu’il y en aurait à étudier le genre humain en n’observant que des prisonniers isolés.” ~Jacques-Yves Cousteau
Le voyage d’un requin menacé, de la vie sauvage et libre à la vie en captivité, se déroule à peu près comme ceci:
1) Une ligne de pêche similaire à une palangre est utilisée. La pêche à la palangre tue plus de 70 millions de requins tous les ans. Les animaux capturés sur ces lignes sont des raies pastenagues, des requins pointes noires, des requins marteaux et les requins taureaux visés. Cela montre bien la nature destructive et invasive de cette chasse.
2) La queue du requin est attachée avec une corde et l’animal est accroché à la coque du bateau par la mâchoire, puis hissé dans un hamac vers un petit espace, pour être ensuite placé dans un tank sur le bateau.
3) Ramené à quai, le requin sera à placé dans un autre tank et envoyé à l’aquarium Ripley de Caroline du Sud.
4) Une nouvelle source de stress s’ajoute lors du long et pénible trajet de la Caroline du sud jusqu’à New-York, puis à Toronto.
Du début à la fin, cet animal sera enfermé dans un espace confiné, artificiel, lui infligeant stress et tension, avant d’être emprisonné dans une cage dans l’eau en bout de parcours pour être exploité pour des raisons financières et aucunement dans un objectif éducatif.
La ville de Toronto interdit la pêche aux ailerons de requins et devrait poursuivre la protection des requins en n’autorisant pas ces animaux rares et en danger à être capturés dans leur milieu naturel pour être exhibés à Toronto.
Vous pouvez aider de différentes façons:
- En signant la pétition.
Nous souhaitons montrer notre soutien en ligne à ceux qui refusent que les requins soient retirés de leur milieu naturel pour être transférés dans un aquarium artificiel à Toronto, au Canada.
- Tweetez: : #Toronto @TOMayorFord ne devrait pas permettre les transferts de requins de leur milieu naturel à l’aquarium Ripley
- Les citoyens de Toronto peuvent contacter leurs conseillers municipaux pour leur faire savoir qu’ils ne devraient pas permettre les transferts de requins de leur milieu naturel à l’aquarium Ripley.
- Contactez l’aquarium Ripley : TIM O’BRIEN – VP Communications : Bureau: (615) 646-7465, Obrien@ripleys.com
Source utilisée: Article de Bob Timmons, coordinateur de Sea Shepherd Toronto
Toronto Star Article du 11 août 2012, Toronto Star Article du 13 mars 2012
« Toronto should not permit the import of sharks from the wild for Ripley’s »
Ripley’s Aquarium is collecting endangered Sand Tiger Sharks (Carcharias taurus) from South Carolina during their migration through S.C. while en-route to their breeding grounds. They have currently caught 5 Sand Sharks, 3 sharks donated by other aquariums, and most are being housed at the Ripley’s South Carolina Aquarium until they have their final total of 10. These sharks will be transported to a « Secret » location in New York where they will sit in water cages until spring of 2013. Spring of 2013 they will be transporting these sharks across the border to their final destination of Toronto.
The Carcharias taurus is also know as the Grey Nurse Shark, Grey Nurse Shark, Sand Tiger, Sand Tiger Shark, Spotted Ragged-tooth Shark, Spotted Raggedtooth Shark in English, requin taureau in French, Toro Bacota in Spanish.
The Grey Nurse Shark is a large, coastal shark with a disjunct distribution, occurring in most subtropical and warm temperate oceans, except for the Eastern Pacific. It has a strongly K-selected life history. Males and females both mature at approximately 2 m in length off the south-eastern USA. They are ovoviviparous and usually only two pups are born per litter once every two years. This is because the remaining eggs and developing embryos are eaten by the largest and/or most advanced embryo in each horn of the uterus (a phenomenon known as adelphophagy or uterine cannibalism). The gestation period may last from 9 to12 months and size at birth is relatively large, at about 1m. As a result, annual rates of population increase are very low, greatly reducing its ability to sustain fishing pressure. Populations in several locations have been severely depleted by commercial fishing, spearfishing and protective beach meshing, requiring the introduction of specific management measures.
The additional catch of these animals by the team of Ripley risk certainly undermine the population growth of this protected species. Ripley’s team has caught and will catch more sharks in their natural environment in the Bay of Murrels, South Carolina. It said it had received special permission from the government, arguing that the presence of sharks in their aquariums had an educational purpose.
« There are so many educational interest to study animals in captivity there would be studying mankind by only observing prisoners as isolated. » ~ Jacques-Yves Cousteau
The journey of a threatened shark from wildlife to captivity, goes something like this:
1) A fishing line similar to a longline is used. The longline fishing kills more than 70 million sharks every year. Animals that are captured on these lines are stingrays, black tip sharks, hammerhead sharks and sand sharks. This shows the destructive and invasive approach of hunting.
2) The tail of the shark is tied with a rope and the animal is attached to the hull by the jaw, then raised in a hammock into a small space, and then placed in a tank on the boat.
3) Brought back to shore, the shark will be placed in another tank and sent to Ripley’s Aquarium of South Carolina.
4) A new source of stress is added during the long and arduous journey from South Carolina to New York, and Toronto.
From beginning to end, this animal will be trapped in a confined space, artificial, inflicting stress and tension, before being imprisoned in a cage in the water at the end of course to be exploited for financial reasons and with no educational objective.
The City of Toronto bans shark fin fishing and should continue to protect sharks by not allowing these rare and endangered animals to be captured in their natural environment to be exhibited in Toronto.
We would like to show online support from all over the world that do not want the sharks removed from their habitat and located in an unnatural tank in Toronto, Canada.
Bysigning the petition.
Toronto has a shark fin ban and they should follow through with the protection of sharks by not allowing them to be taken from the wild for display in Toronto.
Ripley’s Aquarium is collecting endangered Sand Tiger Sharks from South Carolina during their migration through S.C. while en-route to their breeding grounds. They have currently caught 5 Sand Tiger Sharks, 3 sharks donated by other aquariums, and most are being housed at the Ripley’s South Carolina Aquarium until they have their final total of 10. These sharks will be transported to a « Secret » location in New York where they will sit in water cages until spring of 2013. Spring of 2013 they will be transporting these sharks across the border to their final destination of Toronto.
We would like to show online support from Canadians & Americans that do not want the sharks removed from their habitat and located in an unnatural tank in Toronto, Canada.
Toronto has a shark fin ban and they should follow through with the protection of sharks by not allowing them to be taken from the wild for display in Toronto.
Please read the latest article discussing the sharks:
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/1240875–biologists-hunt-for-sharks-for-toronto-s-new-aquarium
Ripley’s Aquarium is collecting endangered Sand Tiger Sharks from South Carolina during their migration through S.C. while en-route to their breeding grounds. They have currently caught 5 Sand Tiger Sharks, 3 sharks donated by other aquariums, and most are being housed at the Ripley’s South Carolina Aquarium until they have their final total of 10. These sharks will be transported to a « Secret » location in New York where they will sit in water cages until spring of 2013. Spring of 2013 they will be transporting these sharks across the border to their final destination of Toronto.
We would like to show online support from Canadians & Americans that do not want the sharks removed from their habitat and located in an unnatural tank in Toronto, Canada.
Toronto has a shark fin ban and they should follow through with the protection of sharks by not allowing them to be taken from the wild for display in Toronto.
Please read the latest article discussing the sharks:
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/1240875–biologists-hunt-for-sharks-for-toronto-s-new-aquarium