Shark conservation is so hot it’s setting the world on fire. And the battle is on to secure the protections sharks deserve.
Focus your Earth Day activism on sharks and do the ocean a favor. During April’s Big Shark Shout Out, stand with divers worldwide and demand overdue protections from overexploitation: overfishing, finning, and bycatch.
- Sign the most important shark petition on the planet (at least we think so)! We’ll carry your voice to those who can make shark protection a reality.
- Already signed? Be a petition organizer and visit the Shark Action Kit to grab all the tools to take a bigger stand for sharks. We’re shooting for 250,000 shark signatures this year and you can help us get there. Give us a shout on Facebook. We want to hear from you!
- Get creative and show your passion for sharks on camera in PADI and Project AWARE’s joint “I Heart Sharks” photo contest. Start taking shots now. The contest begins 9 April and deadline to enter is 30 April 2012. There might just be a prize in it for you.
Why Shout for Sharks this April?
Highly sought for their fins, meat, oil, teeth and cartilage, sharks have a high price on their heads. Demand for shark fins, lacking fishery management and virtually non-existing regulations for almost all shark trade are pushing many shark species to the brink of extinction.
The heat is on to give decimated shark populations the protections they deserve. And Project AWARE is targeting the power of one of the world’s largest, most effective wildlife conservation agreements to do it - Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
While CITES has helped to save a myriad of terrestrial species like the African elephant, the effort to add sharks and marine fish to CITES is still relatively new territory, resulting in difficult battles.
But divers are up to the challenge – especially for some of the world’s most vulnerable species such as hammerheads, oceanic whitetip, spiny dogfish, porbeagle sharks, manta and devil rays.
Thank you for shouting for sharks this April and propelling shark conservation in your community and around the globe!
