Mekong - U.S. Partnership
On October 21, Fin Free Thailand representatives attended the Western Province Hotel association monthly meeting in Cha Am, Phetchaburi Province to promote the campaign to end the shark fin trade and to raise awareness of decreasing shark populations.
Fin Free Youth Ambassador Phitchaya Thongthai, 13, presented the Fin Free Thailand campaign to more than 50 hotel representatives and urged them to stop serving shark fin soup in their hotels, a main factor in the decline of shark populations. Fin Free Thailand began in 2012 with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Asia’s Regional Response to Endangered Species Trafficking (ARREST) Program.
The growing campaign has so far encouraged more than 130 hotels and restaurants to refrain from selling shark fin soup at their establishments, with the ultimate goal of ending shark fin consumption in Thailand. Freeland, the lead implementing partner of ARREST, mentors independent Fin Free youth clubs and youth ambassadors who promote the campaign.
Source: USAID/RDMA Regional Environment Office Weekly Update
Related story: Fin Free Thailand Youth Ambassador Appeals to Hotels in Western Province Association
