Supporting Sea Shepherd

Gary Shark Bug is passionate about sharks, and when asked which charity he would like to support, he immediately nominated Sea Shepherd for all the good work they do with their Shark Defence Campaign. 5% of all sales from his online store goes to helping Sea Shepherd defend the oceans of the world.

Last Sunday, Sea Shepherd just so happened to have their Australian tour arrive in Brisbane. Five of us drove down to listen to talks, eat some yummy vegan food and buy some merchandise (on organic cotton we were pleased to discover) and to generally lend our support. We were impressed by the number of volunteers working behind the scenes and everyone happy to share their passion for whales and the ocean.

Gary Shark Bug was very keen to meet Captain Alex Cornelissen, CEO Sea Shepherd Global, who shared stories of their incredible work around the world, saving sealife and removing plastic from the ocean.

Gary Shark Bug was most interested in Sea Shepherd's Shark Defence Campaign. He is most upset about shark fin soup, and the senseless slaughter of so many sharks.

"Grey nurse and whale shark are harmless, they don’t eat people. They might be scary looking but they don’t get on the boat and say I want to chew someone. I love their gills and their fins most, so cool to draw."  

Captain Cornelissen told us that without sharks ecosystems are collapsing. He also drew our attention to their #OpBloodyFjords campaign where artists are encouraged to respond to the slaughter of dolphins and pilot whales in the bloody fjords of the Faroe Islands.