Petition
Help Give Sharks A Fighting Chance
Join AWARE Divers Worldwide Demanding Better Shark Protection - Sign the Petition
Project AWARE Foundation and AWARE divers worldwide are outraged at the results of the recent Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), held in Qatar in March. Proposals to restrict trade in eight shark species - spiny dogfish, porbeagle, oceanic whitetip, scalloped hammerhead, great hammerhead, smooth hammerhead, dusky and sandbar sharks - failed to receive the required two-thirds vote majority, representing victory for narrow, short-term economic interests over science and the myriad long-term benefits of conservation.
Despite international setbacks at CITES 2010, sharks have recently received historic, national protections in Europe, Palau and Maldives thanks to support from divers and advocates like you.
Don't let CITES failures predict the future for severely depleted shark populations. AWARE divers worldwide are joining together here, to declare our concern. Project AWARE will deliver your signature, demanding better shark protection to CITES Party representatives.
Yes, I'm appalled at the failure of the world's environment leaders at CITES 2010 in Qatar to approve trade protections for some of the Earth's most vulnerable and heavily traded shark species.
Each year, tens of millions of sharks are killed by Earth's most dangerous predators - humans. Too many of them fall victim to the cruel and wasteful practice of shark finning - the act of removing shark fins and discarding the often still alive shark overboard. As Asian demand for fins remains strong, markets for shark meat are growing, helping to push shark species to the brink.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) analyses, all shark species proposed at the meeting met the criteria for listing under CITES Appendix II. Such listing requires that trade is controlled in order to avoid use that threatens the species' survival. Despite the depletion of sharks worldwide, restrictions on international trade are in place for only three shark species - whale shark, great white shark and basking shark.
I join with Project AWARE, divers and activists worldwide, calling on CITES Parties, between now and the next CITES Conference, to:
- Heed all available scientific advice for limiting shark catches;
- Fully protect shark species listed as Endangered or Critically Endangered by the IUCN;
- Set precautionary shark fishing limits [where no advice exists];
- Ensure all sharks are landed with their fins naturally attached;
- Work with other countries to prepare and promote shark listing proposals for the next CITES Conference; and
- Improve shark trade data collection by taking national action to list all species proposed at CITES 2010 on Appendix III before the next CITES meeting in 2013.
We call on governments around the world to heed scientific advice to provide better protection for all sharks and their ocean ecosystem.
| #38793 | 02-09-2010 | Marzia Musso | Italy |
| #38792 | 02-09-2010 | Tamar Brendzel | United States |
| #38791 | 02-09-2010 | Robert Humberson | United States |
| The travesty against the world's sharks must stop. | |||
| #38790 | 02-09-2010 | Kieran Ward | Ireland |
| Save Sharks | |||
| #38789 | 02-09-2010 | David McLean | United Kingdom |
| Over population by humans of our planet means the death of the animal world | |||
| #38788 | 02-09-2010 | Eric Gardner | United States |
| #38787 | 02-09-2010 | Anonymous | Anonymous |
| #38786 | 02-09-2010 | gabrielle douglas | Bahamas |
| In the Bahamas we are experiencing an invasion of Chinese business men who are paying local fishermen to catch sharks, remove the fins and discard the bodies. | |||
| #38785 | 02-09-2010 | stephen allington | United Kingdom |
| #38784 | 02-09-2010 | Al Herstig | United States |
| #38783 | 02-09-2010 | Gyles Westcott | United Kingdom |
| #38782 | 02-09-2010 | Roxann Duclos | United States |
| #38781 | 02-09-2010 | laurent moisse | Belgium |
| #38780 | 02-09-2010 | Romain DESORMIERE | France |
| #38779 | 02-09-2010 | Andreas Aceranti | Italy |
| #38778 | 02-09-2010 | Anonymous | Anonymous |
| #38777 | 02-09-2010 | Donald Eisenberger | United States |
| #38776 | 02-09-2010 | Barbara oskam | Netherlands |
| #38775 | 02-09-2010 | George Wenger | United States |
| #38774 | 02-09-2010 | casey michaels | United Kingdom |
| #38773 | 02-09-2010 | Joana Fernandes | Portugal |
| #38772 | 02-09-2010 | paul rogic | Colombia |
| #38771 | 02-09-2010 | Liam Markey | Australia |
| #38770 | 02-09-2010 | Matin Taghioff | Iran (Islamic Republic of) |
| #38769 | 02-09-2010 | Lucette Louw | South Africa |
| #38768 | 02-09-2010 | James Watson | United Kingdom |
| #38767 | 02-09-2010 | Nima Firooz | Brazil |
| stop the shark killing stop the shark feeting diver tours | |||
| #38766 | 02-09-2010 | Anonymous | Anonymous |
| It's a shameful and needless destruction of one of the world's most beautiful creatures. Something needs to be done now before it's too late. | |||
| #38765 | 02-09-2010 | Susan Dickerson | United Kingdom |
| #38764 | 02-09-2010 | Margareth Meutia | Indonesia |
| #38763 | 02-09-2010 | Barbara Copperthwaite | United Kingdom |
| #38762 | 02-09-2010 | luis garces | Spain |
| #38761 | 02-09-2010 | Anand Ashar | India |
| Please help by spreading the word..thanks. | |||
| #38760 | 02-09-2010 | Karen Dunn | United Kingdom |
| Please save the sharks else the ocean will die xx | |||
| #38759 | 02-09-2010 | Stephen Allen | United Kingdom |
| #38758 | 02-09-2010 | Kate Turner | United Kingdom |
| #38757 | 02-09-2010 | Anonymous | Anonymous |
| #38756 | 02-09-2010 | Raquel Pereira | Portugal |
| #38755 | 02-09-2010 | Paul Franklin | United Kingdom |
| #38754 | 02-09-2010 | Alasdair Knox | United Kingdom |
| #38753 | 02-09-2010 | Stephan Kutzer | Germany |
| #38752 | 02-09-2010 | Dougal McColl | Australia |
| #38751 | 02-09-2010 | Anonymous | Anonymous |
| #38750 | 02-09-2010 | Anonymous | Anonymous |
| #38749 | 02-09-2010 | Alison Cocker | United Kingdom |
| #38748 | 02-09-2010 | Agnieszka Stolarczyk | Poland |
| #38747 | 02-09-2010 | Horst Müller | Germany |
| #38746 | 02-09-2010 | dominique picard | Switzerland |
| #38745 | 02-09-2010 | Rohan Shrestha | India |
| #38744 | 02-09-2010 | Anonymous | Anonymous |


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