What Elasmobranchs think about the new CITES Regulations

Nearly 100 species of elasmobranchs (sharks and rays) were awarded protection in the form of an agreement on regulations on finning and trade between signatories to the CITES, at the conference held recently in Panama City this year. Here's what the elasmobranchs have to say about it!

Comic from my column with Roundglass Sustain. Read more about the CITES regulations here. 

Shark Death Stats

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Just a shark reading out some stats, in my column with The Hindu Weekend.

Sharks of D'Arros

Blacktip Reef Sharks and Sicklefin Lemon Sharks are two common sharks found in The Seychelles. The comic is a part of a project with Save our Seas Foundation, in which I worked in conjunction with marine biologists to convert their studies into comics. This comic takes notes from Shark researcher Ornella Weideli's studies.

Trump Brain Soup

US President Donald Trump recently celebrated his ties with Vietnam with shark fin soup, on his visit to that country. Here's an eco-friendly alternative to shark fin soup.

From my page with Gocomics.

Hammerhead Sharks of the World

Know your hammerhead sharks with this new poster! There are 9 species of Hammerheads (10, if you include the Whitefin Hammerhead, which is lumped with the Scalloped now). The Great Hammerhead is the largest species while the Scalloped Bonnethead is the smallest. The 'hammer' or 'cephalofoil' is used to locate and immobilize prey (specially rays, which are a favourite food of the larger hammerheads). Widely hunted for their fins, hammerhead populations are on the decline, with three species already endangered.

Buy Hammerhead prints and merchandise from my webstore here. Here are a few samples of the goodies available-

For orders within India, mail me on rohanchakcartoonist@gmail.com. The range of merchandise for Indian orders is listed below-

A1 Posters (loose)- Rs. 3000 each

A2 Posters (loose)- Rs. 1200 each

Mounted Posters (A3- Individual species and compilation)- Rs. 2000

Loose Posters (A3- Individual species and compilation)- Rs. 500 for the first copy and Rs. 200 for the second copy onwards

Fridge Magnets (65 x 65 mm, Printed in sets of 4)- Any 4 shark caricatures for Rs. 1200

Coasters (3.5" x 3.5", Printed in sets of 6)- Any 6 shark caricatures for Rs. 800

Coffee Mug (Compilation)- Rs. 850

Jet Airways bans Shark Fin Cargo

Here's a comic I wrote and drew for the Humane Society International, India to celebrate the ban on shark fin cargo by Jet Airways. A welcome move that must be adopted by all airlines immediately, this was a result of the efforts of activist Chemudupati Samyukta and her team, who have been battling tirelessly for the cause of sharks across the coasts of India. 

All copyrights to the artwork belong to the HSI.

The comic also appeared in Jet Airways' on board magazine 'Jet Wings', in the January 2015 issue.

How to scare a shark- Shark Week 2013

Although shark finning is carried out almost worldwide, China can safely be called the hub of the trade as the demand for shark fins for fin soup and traditional medicine is increasing alarmingly in China and its territories. The removal of the fin from the body of the shark renders it unable to swim and hunt, and the animal drowns to an extremely painful death. Recent statistics have reported India and Indonesia to be the leaders among shark-finning countries. 

This work by Rohan Chakravarty is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Shark Week 2013

Shark Week begins tomorrow. More shark cartoons will be coming up shortly.

And for some glamour on my blog, here's a picture of the beautiful Chemudupati Samyukta of the Humane Society International, India with a print of my Whale Shark poster :) Samyukta is campaigning actively against shark-finning in Indian coasts.

Happy Shark Week!

Demand for shark fin soup continues to rise and shark populations across the world continue to be decimated. A soup that originated in Ming China, it uses shark fins indiscriminately as the fin only provides texture to the soup while the taste comes from other ingredients. This luxury item in Chinese culture is promoting the cruel practice of shark finning in which fins are chopped off live sharks and the rest of its body is thrown back into the sea, rendered unable to swim or hunt.

Say no to shark fin soup, say yes to sharks!

This work by Rohan Chakravarty is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Shark 'Weak'!

Sharks are illegally hunted for food and tortured brutally, with their fins chopped off and their bodies thrown back into the ocean. Without its fins, the shark is unable to swim, let alone hunt, and drowns and starves to death. This brutal practice is prevalent in most oriental countries, and over the years, there have been several reports of finning being practised along Indian coasts.

It is the Shark Week but the food network is celebrating it with shark recipes! Raise your voice against these shameful proceedings; please sign the petition here at http://www.change.org/petitions/food-network-stop-featuring-shark-as-food?utm_source=action_alert&utm_medium=email&alert_id=wJVKGJawHJ_BTyaWairNU

This work by Rohan Chakravarty is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.