In many Asian cultures, shark fin soup is a delicacy served to show one's wealth and status. Behind this enjoyable gourmet dish, however, is a cruel and malicious practice known as shark finning.

This year, a self-organized group of WAB students – the Roots & Shoots Shark Fin Project – has overcome their individual differences to act on their shared passion to end this practice.

"First, the fishermen catch the sharks in their nets, then cut their tail or back fins off before dumping what is left back into the ocean to rot," Anna Pan, one of the group's members, said while describing the cruel process.

After learning about the evils behind this practice, Anna, Xiang Yang, Qun Feng, Marcel Tan, Nagisa Tajima, and Tae Kashima from the Roots & Shoots group felt that it was time to take action. They organized fundraisers, spirit days and workshops to raise awareness of declining shark populations.

Their latest project aimed to make a larger impact, so they shared their beliefs with the local community.

On April 18, the Roots & Shoots Shark Fin Group visited YuCai School (育才学校). They spoke to the sixth graders in Chinese to spread awareness of endangered species and shark finning. This visit was important for the Roots & Shoots group, as it was their first activity reaching out to local Chinese people, a culture where the practice is still popular.

The WAB students presented about how sharks are kind and smart, how cruel shark finning is, and what we can do to help the environment. They also did a game to show how important it is to work together, as well as a quiz to raise awareness of endangered species. They wanted to sinspire the YuCai students to change their beliefs about shark finning.

"Many people believe that sharks are vicious, wild animals, and take the kill whenever they feel like it," Qun Feng said. "Therefore, many think that it is necessary to retaliate by killing the sharks, to protect mankind."

"Sharks are actually much smarter than many think," Marcel continued, proving popular belief to be wrong. "In fact, they only feed on seals and otters, and dread humans as their most dangerous predators."

WAB students wanted to challenge popular practice by presenting lesser known facts that could help educate others about the issue and change their mind.

"In 40 years time, the shark population has decreased by a drastic 90 percent," Xiang Yang said. "And approximately 730 million of them were caught for only their fins."

YuCai students learned that sharks are mostly hunted for only their fins, and how that makes sharks critically endangered at a rapid rate. These young students participated enthusiastically in the activities and were inspired by their newfound knowledge to significantly reduce the negative impacts on these endangered animals.

WAB's Roots & Shoots group also benefited greatly from the experience, as they improved their skills with the Chinese language and also learned how to prepare and deliver an effective presentation. The students also gained experience on how to effectively communicate with unfamiliar people in an unfamiliar setting.

World-famous researcher Dr. Jane Goodall established Roots & Shoots in 1994 and has been a popular group at WAB for years. This year's group, which is made up of Grade 9 and 10 students, initiated the Shark Finning project. Some of the group's members have been involved with Roots & Shoots since middle school.

Next year, the group will be preparing for Dr. Goodall's visit to WAB with many different projects, such as the cleaning of Duck Lake and working with local animal shelters.

For more information, please contact the group's supervisors Samira Daoudni or Ditte Jacobsen.