----- Forwarded Message ---- From: Membership <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, February 22, 2007 2:38:08 PM Subject: Breaking News from WWF: Be careful what you eat, it might be Whale Meat.
Whale Meat Sushi in Metro-Manila's Central Business District By Lory Tan First, it was Napoleon Wrasse. Heightened consumer awareness fueled a civil society email campaign to compel restaurants serving "mameng" to take it off their menus. Of the five restaurants identified in Manila, Portico and the North Park chain acted immediately and withdrew the protected species from their menus. The Jumbo Restaurant on the bay and the Chinese restaurant at Century Park and Gloria Maris continue to serve it, though. A newly aware private sector has just revealed new violations of both local fisheries orders and CITES rules. Whale meat is being openly served at two restaurants in Makati, Metro-Manila's Central Business District. Tsukiji Restaurant on Pasay Road and Sushi Tsumura in Salcedo both serve whale meat. The second restaurant, in fact, specifically identifies it as minke whale meat. A private sector led SMS campaign has called for a public boycott of these two restaurants until they pull the illegal meat off their menus. WWF has forwarded the reports to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources - the Philippine national CITES authority for whales and dolphins. The best written laws produce no public benefit unless they are implemented consistently and without favor. Strict enforcement fosters compliance. A case in point - a Korean resort, just off Mactan Island in Cebu, was reported to have close to one dozen captive hawksbill turtles on display for their guests. The Wildlife Act establishes a fine from P100,000 to P500,000 per animal. WWF reported the violation to the DENR close to a month ago. We have yet to receive a report on the actions taken. Unless cases such as the restaurants serving live Napoleon Wrasse, the whale meat in Makati, and the captive hawksbill turtles in Cebu are acted upon with dispatch, we should not be surprised that barely 1% of Philippine reefs remain in pristine condition, while the use of explosives and poison continues in many parts of the country. The issue is not wildlife conservation. It is ecological productivity. The issue is food. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Finding fabulous fares is fun. Let Yahoo! FareChase search your favorite travel sites to find flight and hotel bargains. http://farechase.yahoo.com/promo-generic-14795097
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