Hollywood Popular Artists

Jun 4th 2012, 17:16

Leonardo DiCaprio may have died in the ocean at the end of "Titanic" (well, okay, his character Jack Dawson did), but that doesn't mean Leo holds any ill will toward the ocean. In fact, he cares about it a lot, plus its many inhabitants, which is why he's trying to help sharks.

Shark finning is a major problem that's been going on for years now. Believe it or not, there's a demand for shark fin soup out there, and this has resulted in the over hunting and horrifying treatment of sharks. Since only the fins are needed, it's not uncommon for living sharks to have their fins cut off. Then these sharks are just tossed back into the ocean where they have no hope of survival. Some shark species are even nearing extinction because of this, with more than a 90% decrease in populations.

However, we do have a glimmer of good news: this can be stopped. Leonardo's found a petition on Oceana's website asking New York to ban "the possession, sale, offering for sale, trade, or distribution of shark fins in the state of New York." Take a look:

We did it in Cali. C'mon #NewYork! RT @Oceana. Time is running out for bill banning trade of #shark fins. Act now: ow.ly/biCvC

— Leonardo DiCaprio (@LeoDiCaprio) June 1, 2012

California, Washington and Oregon already have bans like this going on, so it's time to get the same thing happening on the east coast. The New York State Senate and Assembly are considering bills that could really help sharks. And when you help sharks, you also help the ocean as a whole. Just follow Leo's link to the petition where you can read it and sign!

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