This week, Miami New Times reported on t-shirt shops selling dead baby sharks as souvenirs. The sharks, by-products of the commercial fishing industry, are preserved inside bottles of blue alcohol/water solution.

We don’t know why a tourist would be interested in buying the body of a dead shark. The items have been sold in tourist shops in Florida and across the country for years, but New Times reported that they may be losing their appeal. A manager at one store in Miami Beach told the paper, “We’re getting rid of them because so many people have complained.”

bottled sharks

One of the biggest retailers of the bottled dead sharks is Alvin’s Island, a chain with 12 stores in Florida. Please contact Alvin’s Island and ask them to stop selling bottled sharks in their stores. Contact:

 

Eliezer Tabib, President
Alvin’s Island
Phone: (305) 471-9394
Email: eliezertabib@marcodestin.net
Online comment form.

 

One source of the bottled dead sharks is a Fort Lauderdale-based company, Holiday Souvenirs. Please contact the company and ask them to no longer sell bottled shark souvenirs. Contact:

 

Manuel and Barbara Pascal
Holiday Souvenirs
Phone: (800) 521-4302 or (954) 564-6134
Email: hsshells@bellsouth.net, info@holidaysouvenirs.com

Sharks are magnificent creatures who are essential to the ocean ecosystem, but shark populations are dwindling around the world.