Overfishing and finning
- Fins are cut off and the mutilated animal is thrown back alive. Some populations have fallen by more than 70% in fifty years.
Project AWARE
Saving sharks and rays
With the global organisation Project AWARE — Extinction is not an option
Please donate today: it is urgent and crucial to support our campaign to protect sharks and rays from overexploitation.
It is high time that the most threatened sharks and rays received the protection many land animals have already been given.
Every year tens of millions of sharks are taken from the ocean, mainly for their fins. Rays are victims of bycatch and of the trade in their gill plates. Without top predators, reefs lose their balance and their biodiversity.
The main threats
Bycatch
- Drift nets, longlines and trawls capture sharks, rays and turtles that were never the target of the fishery.
Habitat destruction
- Coral bleaching, careless anchoring and pollution destroy the nurseries juveniles depend on.
Slow reproduction
- Late maturity, long gestation and few young: these species simply cannot recover quickly.
What we do, what you can do
- Sign and share the petition for shark and ray protection.
- Refuse any product derived from sharks or rays.
- Join clean-up dives and Dive Against Debris surveys.
- Report your sightings of protected species to our instructors.
- Respect approach distances and never touch marine life.
- Choose dive centres committed to sustainable practices.
Please give sharks and rays a chance
Thank you for signing our petition and sharing this page. Diver mobilisation has already brought several species under CITES protection.