Jakarta – Today, Vice Governor of DKI Jakarta Province, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, or well known as Ahok, is officially named as Ambassador for WWF Indonesia #SOSharks (Save Our Sharks) Campaign. While visiting WWF-Indonesia’s booth during Jakarta International Festival opening ceremony in the National Monument (Monas), Ahok urges restaurateurs in Jakarta to stop consumption and sale of all shark products.

 
“Jakarta Administration is preparing Local Regulation – derived from Ministerial Regulation – which calls restaurants in Jakarta to  end consumption and sale of sharks products, off from their menus. The “New Jakarta” has to be more environmentally conscious. The “New Jakarta” should be more civilized and stands equal with other cities in the world,” Ahok stated
 
By ending consumption and sale of sharks based products, Jakarta has joined other cities in the world, that has officially declared their supports on sharks protection. For example, the Chinese Government has decided to pull out shark fin dishes from menus at state's event. Moreover, Australia has banned sharks finning.
 
Shark protection has grabbed international attention as demand for shark fin in the market continues to rise annually amid threats of extinction. Around 8,000 tons of dried shark fin are being traded every year and 2010 data from the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization ranked Indonesia as the 1st largest shark-fishing country in the world.
 
WWF-Indonesia’s #SOSharks Campaign calls public to stop consumption and sale of sharks products in restaurants, hotels, retailers and online store, as well as stop sharks culinary promotion on media. Since its launched in May 2013, the campaign has been collecting public support through online petition at www.change.org/sosharks. 
 
By participating in Jakarta International Festival, we hope our SOSharks campaign can invite public – particularly Jakarta’s citizens – to sign the petition, as well as learn about the importance of sharks in marine ecosystems and its function for Indonesia's food resilience,” said Wawan Ridwan, WWF-Indonesia’s Director of Marine and Fisheries.  
 
 
For more information, please kindly contact:
Dewi Satriani, Communication Manager of Marine & Marine Species Program, WWF-Indonesia
Email: dsatriani@wwf.or.id, Mobile: +62811910970
Aulia Rahman, Campaign Coordinator of Marine & Marine Species Program, WWF-Indonesia
Email: arahman@wwf.or.id, Mobile: +628113616341

Note for Editor:
Photos of Ahok’s support and #SOSharks Campaign at the Jakarta International Festival can be accessed through https://www.dropbox.com/sh/nz16fd2bm3sq2c2/84R3QcmHvp, by mentioning WWF-Indonesia photo copyright.