Dear Mr. Goh and Ms. Brown,

On behalf of Filmmakers for Conservation, an international organization which champions conservation issues within filmmaking and the promotion of conservation on screen, we would like to bring to your attention a serious matter that has perhaps been overlooked by your channel.

On Tuesday July 27, the Jason Yeoh hosted show called “TASTE WITH JASON 2" featured a dish called “Buddha Jumps Over The Wall” which had shark’s fin as it’s primary ingredient. Such programmes unwittingly encourage and promote a widely condemned and ecologically destructive practice of shark finning.

Recently numerous studies have documented huge declines in shark populations. Sharks play a vital role in the oceans ecosystems, and their decline threatens the equilibrium of those ecosystems. One of the greatest threats on shark populations is the practice of shark finning – catching a shark, slicing off its fins and then discarding the body at sea.

Approximately 73 million sharks are killed for their fins, valued for the Asian delicacy “Shark Fin Soup.”  Several species of sharks, such as the porbeagle and spiny dogfish, are also fished for their meat – a staple of the fish-and-chips dish served in Europe.

Declines in population sizes of sharks, as much as 70–80 percent, have been reported globally.  Their low reproductive rates make them particularly susceptible to overfishing in the face of increased demand for shark products.

More than half of the shark species taken in high-seas fisheries are classified as Endangered, Vulnerable or Near Threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. 

Across the world, conservationists, activists and fishing communities are campaigning to prevent further over-exploitation of sharks. Amongst these concerned citizens are celebrity activists including Jackie Chan and Yao Ming.

To give an overview of the issue, the following reports document the effects of shark finning.

http://www.wildaid.org/PDF/reports/Asia%20Shark%20Press%20Pack_2008_lr.pdf

http://www.pewtrusts.org/our_work_report_detail.aspx?id=59157&category=140

We believe that AFC can play a positive ecological role by increasing its awareness of such issues, and understanding its power to raise awareness of these issues by airing programmes that promote ecologically sustainable practices, rather than appear to endorse the continued exploitation of endangered species that are critical to important ecosystems.

We ask that the programme Taste with Jason 2 indicate to the public that they have come to learn that shark finning practices are ecologically unsustainable, and they regret airing the programme. We ask that future programmes consider and address the ecological aspects of the foods being utilised. It is likely that today's audiences are open to and appreciative of environmental concerns and would be interested in aspects of Asian cuisine which support sustainable practices and in turn, communities.

If such outcomes are unviable we ask that the programme Taste with Jason 2 be removed or amended in order that it doesn’t promote active use of endangered species for culinary delight. The resulting loss from such promotion will in the end be felt by us all.

Should you require further information, or are interested in footage that supports sustainable practices please contact us on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and we will be happy to provide further advice.

We look forward to your response and action.

With best regards,

FFC Co-presidents
Tanya Petersen
Joe Yaggi