16 September 2006
Alex - Photographer
From: England, but living in Hong Kong
Why are you on this expedition?
Im here because I love all marine life, from the smallest single-cell organisms to the top predators. But Ive got a soft spot for sharks.
Have you been on a Greenpeace ship before?
No, but Ive been on a Greenpeace inflatable. I did a job for European Pressphoto Agency (EPA) and photographed the Rainbow Warrior protest the filthy coal-powered China Light and Power (CLP) power station that contributes so much to Hong Kong's chronic air pollution.
How or why did you get involved with Greenpeace?
A friends cleaner's family owns a fishing trawler, and like the rest of the fishing community in Hong Kong, were complaining that their daily catch is in steep decline, as is their income.
They have monthly mortgage repayments to make on their boat, so they had decided to generate income in other ways - one of which was to run leisure trips around the beautiful islands south of Hong Kong. I took one of these trips that they had pitched as 'a day out on a traditional fishing boat' where you could `enjoy an afternoon out at sea with real fishermen going about their work'. Which in reality meant catching...not a lot. Net after net, each haul of fish smaller than the last none bigger than a football.
So I took pictures of these guys bringing up all kinds of juvenile fish, crustaceans of every description, old gum boots, paint cans, polythene sheets, broken coral and mud. I donated the pictures to Greenpeace Hong Kong around the time the Greenpeace International Picture Editor was passing through on his way to Beijing. The right place at the right time, I believe...
What was your best experience for Greenpeace so far?
Seeing how my pesticide photographs from the vegetable fields in Guangdong Province, China had a real and tangible effect in forcing the issue of pesticide overuse onto the Hong Kong political agenda. Greenpeace succeeded in pushing the Hong Kong Government to increase their vigilance and monitoring of pesticide levels in fruit and vegetables that cross the Hong Kong/China border every day, some of it from dubious suppliers, bound for supermarkets right across Hong Kong. We all have to eat, so of course it blew up into major hot potato in the press thanks to Greenpeace. I was really proud to be part of that campaign!
What do you like best about your work on the ship?
Shooting on this ocean voyage has made me work a lot with the colour blue. It's my favourite colour, so that's really great. Oh, and watering the plants - they looked so wilted when I got on board!
And least?
The strict meal-time routine. I prefer eating whenever I please. I also miss my girlfriend, family and friends.
If you had three free wishes, what would those be?
'Amor, dinero y salud'.
What is your favourite place on the ship?
The chart room (order from chaos), and the Heli deck where I can see the ocean all around.
Why this place?
Both places can make you appreciate the vastness of the ocean in different ways.
If you were not on the Esperanza, where would you probably be instead, and what would you be doing?
Running around Central District in Hong Kong like a headless chicken, breathing in the airborne `minerals', trying to make ends meet in the humid and polluted metropolis I have adopted as my home.
What personal connection do you have with the ocean?
Diving opened my eyes up to a whole new and wonderful world. Being at a diving eco-resort in West Papua in the company of some great minds was amazing. There were scientists collecting undiscovered species of sponges for cancer research and a film crew from National Geographic who were shooting a documentary on the endangered Leatherback turtles' journey from the US West Coast to Papua. And seeing shoaling Manta Rays in West Papua was just awesome. Even snorkelling there was beyond belief - I saw a Blacktip shark (which is listed as Near Threatened on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species) as I drifted along the coral reef.
My love of the ocean prompted me and a fellow photographer to set up a Global Anti-Shark Fin Project in Hong Kong. This city is where 70% of all the fins are consumed. Shark's Fin Soup is a high status 'traditional' Chinese dish served at celebratory meals. We want to target the problem at the source, and have already travelled to Mozambique and Yemen this year to document the barbaric trade and systematic shark slaughter in those two countries. We intend to make a hard-hitting documentary and host a photo exhibition next year in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai.
Did you bring anything special for spare time?
A book about a South Sea myth - ever heard of Nan-Madol or the `Cthulhu'?
Anything else you'd like to say?
Sharks and tuna might not seem related at first glance but sharks are threatened by the activities of the Pacific tuna fishing industry. Firstly overfishing is reducing the food supply for the sharks, and secondly many sharks are accidentally caught and killed each year by long-liners targeting tuna.
It's not just sharks and tuna that are affected by overfishing. Like the rest of the planet, the ocean is holistic, and by taking out any of the links in the marine food chain we are in deep trouble.
And to any young Chinese out there reading this, please, please convince your parents or grandparents to stop ordering shark fin soup from now on. I know it's a tough call, but it has to be done - before it's too late.
Check out my website: www.image-solutions.info
Check out my Hong Kong Shark Fin Shop photos: www.image-solutions.info/hksharkfin
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Comments
Hello Alex,
I visited Hong Kong and China last year and fell in love with HK, but I was deeply saddened by what seemed to me a to be a general disregard for nature and our dependence on it. Do you think that the mindset can be changed before it is too late?
I try not to get despondent about it and I am proud of people like yourself that are doing something tangible to improve the situation.
Good luck and enjoy your trip
Regards
Louise
Posted by: louise wileman at September 20, 2006 5:34 AM
Hi Louise
Thanks for your comments. I think there is (always) hope. The younger generation of Chinese in Hong Kong are certainly a lot more environmentally minded than their parents and grandparents ever were.
However Hong Kong is a city that is driven by a handful cartels whose only motive is profit, and that is a problem for the Hong Kong environment - air pollution being a case in point.
Apart from Greenpeace Hong Kong, one organisation doing good work on air pollution in Hong Kong is the Civic Exchange run by Christine Loh. Check it out here: http://www.civic-exchange.org/
But when it comes to other issues like shark fin and even littering, there is still A LOT of work to be done to change the mindset.
cheers
Alex
Posted by: Alex at September 20, 2006 7:49 AM
Hey Alex,
Its really good that people like you & Greenpeace are working together for such a campaign.
For most of us the pollution in our backyard & on our streets is what matters, but we are hardly concern about rotten things that occur in the middle of the ocean.
Keep the good work going mate!
Cheers
Binu
Posted by: Binu at September 22, 2006 12:39 PM
Hey Alex
Seeing as Al Gore's just passed thru our lungless city w/ every local channel running chatshows on how to mitigate global warming, we've definitely witnessed an acute rise in the numbers of armchair critics. So super thumbs up to u n ur crew who actively strive to spread awareness! We are such a tiny division of the global foodweb... as destructive as we are constructive, and like u said, there is always hope. Consumers need to understand the knock-on effects that work within our fragile ecosystem... all we need is that CLICK of realising the cost of seriously abusing parts of the earth. the spiral of decline can stop NOW!!!
it is indeed a slow but worthwhile process... so thanks for your efforts!
see u when u get back
Posted by: Crystal Goh at September 23, 2006 2:54 PM
Thanks for the encouragement, Crystal and Binu. Appreciate it. From what we've seen so far it certainly ain't roses...
Hey Crystal, say Hi to Neil and B from me!
cheers
Alex
Posted by: Alex at September 26, 2006 12:19 PM
hello alex,
i am in shanghai at the moment, visiting for the first time. i found you on the internet at my hotel while searching on the subject of shark finning. i am very disturbed by this issue. i saw a television show in the U.S. regarding the dire "finning" situation last year and i am shocked how it is on every menu in every restaurant here in china. i cannot forget how awful the images were of the "finned" sharks on that tv program; hundreds of sharks lying on the bottom unable to swim. it does not help much though to have that program in the states; it needs to be shown here in china. i wish i could do something myself... i hope your work and passion will educate people.
the way people litter here in the streets and water is awful too; it seems there is not a lot of awareness on the environment.
suzanne sultana
Posted by: suzanne sultana at October 10, 2006 9:39 PM
Thanks, Suzanne, for your kind encouragement.
I will add you to our mailing list for any future sharkfin-related events in Hong Kong and/or the mainland...
cheers
Alex
Posted by: Alex at October 14, 2006 11:29 PM
Hi Alex,
Thank you and your crew for documenting the connection between us and the oceans. Your efforts gear us up to act responsibly for the protection of oceans.
"The more you do, the more you can do" is what I believe to be the correct mindset that we should acquire to maintain a healthy balance between humans and nature.
Keep well and see you soon!
b
Posted by: beelo at November 15, 2006 7:22 PM
Thanks B,
Positive thinking indeed.
That's why the name of the ship we are on, the 'Esperanza' means hope in Spanish...
Alex
Posted by: Alex at November 16, 2006 8:10 PM
Hey Alex,
....Each of your friends is giving you two thumbs-up for what you're doing out in the Pacific Ocean....! Went to le velo with Jason today, the guy asked if he needed a plastic bag for his baguette, he said "no, that saves a dolphin!"
B
Posted by: beelo at November 28, 2006 6:11 PM
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