Gordon Ramsay's Shark Bait

[lazarusb]

Did anyone watch this? Shark finning (banning of) has been one of my pet crusades for a long time. It's horrific. Please do whatever you can to support the Shark Trust.

I watched it. I was open-mouthed in shock for the duration. I had no idea this even happened. I felt tears nearly coming in my eyes when he was shown that cruel footage.

When I saw the title I thought "I wish he was."

I'm glad this issue was given prime time on TV for once and more ppl can become aware of this. Me and my husband have been banging on about this for years (members of the Sharktrust)

LOL at Unquietdad

UQD I'm not a fan of GR at all but thought I'd watch this and glad I did.

It was sickening wasn't it? Inactually warmed to him after I saw how passionate he is about the cause

I do think it's hilarious that GR only agrees to join in the Fish Fight campaign if he can do sharks.
You can imagine the emails his people sent to HFW - 'Sorry, Gordon says mackerel not macho enough.' 'Sorry, Gordon worried being associated with halibut won't help his flagging image.' 'Sharks - now you're talking! Can he kill some live on air?' 'OK, Gordon disappointed about the killing but swimming with them will do. Make sure they have big teeth.'

i did not buy him as a major shark fiend, agree that it was sold to him by production as 'you will look tougher than hugh and jamie'.

interesting show, though, but i do think he's a thick, primping bully.

Whatever people feel about Gordon himself, it's great him and Channel 4 are highlighting this important issue. I don't want my child to grow up in a world without ecologically important and beautiful animals such as sharks.

Please sign this petition a charity called Global Ocean have set up about the issue: www.thepetitionsite.com/1/a-public-plea-to-ban-shark-finning-in-the-eu/

Save the environment now for our childrens' futures tomorrow! (etc etc )

I watched a bit, but GR is such a knob that he put me off the programme

I thought he'd had a hair transplant? he has a full head of hair anyway, why would he need it?

I'm not his biggest fan but the important bit is that sharks are being cruelly butchered and many people are either unaware of what is happening or are uninterested because they are wrongly perceived as man-eaters.

Please support Nessydi's petition and the Shark Trust/ Marine Conservation Society.

A lot of fish are being cruelly butchered don't centre all your emotions on sharks, there really isn't anything shocking going on with the fishing practices, it is the same across the board, many fish are still caught only to be thrown back over the side dead as they are the wrong type, don't eat unsustainable wild and farmed fish.

it is fairly hopeless. teh people doing the fishing need the cash and nobbos keep paying ridiculous amounts of money for them.

not unlike the west destroy beluga sturgeon so they can boast about gorging on caviar. are they going to cover that or is that too close to home?

Mitsabishi (? no idea not looking it up) are the biggest buyers of blue fin tuna in the world, they freeze it and keep it awhile so the price goes up before selling, meat of rare creatures is no different to any other kind of commodity.

The human race is inherently evil and selfish and nothing will ever change that.

(and no I'm not a vegetarian, I just treat dead animals as a treat not a daily expectation and try to shop wisely).

This show was so depressing for me because it just felt so hopeless. Only 4 of those Chinese restaurants in Chinatown ( In London- why can they legally sell the fins of endangered species??) stopped selling shark fin soup. What hope do we have of them stopping it in China and Taiwan? As well as the ridiculous Chinese herbal medicine business that's busy making the Rhino extinct. I don't know what we can do about this, before it's too late.

Ryoko- my point is that sharks are often finned alive, then thrown back into the sea to die. They feel pain. They can take 3 days to bleed to death or be eaten by other fish. We do not do that to ANY other species on the planet.

They are also apex predators- the destruction of a species at the top of the food chain could have huge ramifications.

I am also aware that the food industry does operate badly in certain areas and that humans can be cruel. But some of us do care and don't want to allow this cruelty to continue.

noeyedear- I think those Chinese restaurants that said they would stop selling it but haven't should be called to account.

One thing is clear- if we do nothing we will lose valuable species of animals.

yes only 4 of the restaurants actually stopped selling the revolting soup after all the nodding at how barbaric it was.

..yet Ramsay still serves Foie Gras at his restaurants. Although I am pro what this programme is trying to do - I am not a fan of anyone who can be so hypocritical.

ALL forms of cruel food production should be banned. Frog's legs? Don't get me started....

I am watching it now. I feel sick!

The link doesn't work to the petition. Can you repost.

I'd forgotten about GR and the Foie Gras- so presumably,if the sharks fin in the soup had tasted delicious, it would have been fair enough?

Gordon is all about Gordon. I'm sure he'd do an anti-foie gras programme too if he thought it would be good for his career. Or indeed, a pro-shark-finning one.

I would be very happy to support the banning of foie gras too.

I'm not defending foie gras before I get flamed but there is a difference in over fishing sharks and depleting stocks of the apex predator, which will have huge impacts on the oceans, and farming geese.

I have to agree with Choufleur the extent of shark finning is at a seriously dangerous level where we are looking at the possibility of extinction with some species of shark.I dont like any cruelty to any animals but the future of the shark is a priority at present.I am not a fan of GR but this was a hard hitting documentary and I think he dealt with the issue well and was quite brave in doing so.please watch it if you havent already done so.

Absolutely Choufleur. I started this thread to raise awareness of the treatment of sharks and the impact that will have on the planet. I really didn't intend that it would become a thread about whether people like or dislike GR and whatever he serves in his restaurants. That's why I've been trying to bring back the focus in each of my posts.

Thank you to everyone who is willing the support the ban.