Get Involved: 3 Things You Can
do to Protect Sharks

   

1.       Avoid Supermarkets that Sell Shark Products

Supermarkets sell much of the fish we consume. But not all the fish they sell is sustainable. With your help we can put pressure on supermarkets to stop selling vulnerable species of sharks.  Make sure you let the supermarket know that you will not shop with them as long as they sell shark products.

 

If you see shark products on sale take a photo of the product and the store where you found it and send it to us here at SOS, as we are currently developing a campaign against supermarkets selling such products.

   

2.       Refuse to Patronise Restaurants Selling Shark Products

Millions of sharks are killed each year to keep up with demand for shark fin soup. If we do nothing about it we’ll become either participants or, at best, witnesses to an underwater genocide. We need to engage with restaurants that sell shark products and let them know that it is not ok. Let restaurants know, by letter, phone, email or in person, that you will no longer eat there as long as they sell shark products.

For information on how you can get more actively involved in this initiative check out the website of The Australian Anti Shark Finning Alliance (TAASFA).

 

3.       Join the SOS Facebook Page and Sign Petitions

By joining the SOS Facebook page you will have access to all the latest shark conservation campaigns from around the world that need your support.  Often it is as simple as signing a petition which takes a matter of seconds, and petitions do work and can result in major benefits for our sharks (Eg. The SOS Anti Cull Campaign 2011).  Please also share the SOS Facebook page with as many people as possible so that we can be more effective at protecting sharks.

 

 

 

Other Actions You Can Take to Protect Sharks [To the Top]

  • Support the work of the Support Our Sharks team by purchasing an SOS T-Shirt. All profits from the SOS shop are invested into shark research and conservations projects around the world.

  • Download the SOS Sign up sheet to encourage others to join in our efforts to protect sharks.

  • Refuse to buy any shark products at all.  Follow this link for products that commonly use shark ingredients.

  • Refrain from buying or eating shark meat. Is it really necessary to eat shark meat when there are already so many other, more sustainable, options available. Click the link to your country to download your free sustainable fish guide. Australasia, Europe, Gulf of Mexico, USA (East Coast, West Coast, Hawaii), South Africa. If you know of other fish guides please email them to us here.

  • Whenever you see shark fin soup or other shark products on the menus of restaurants or fish stores, ask the owner why he or she buys shark. Explain that they should avoid such purchases in the future because shark populations are seriously endangered worldwide. Print out this leaflet and hand it to the owner to show that they can also help sharks and give their restaurant a good reputation in the process.

  • Actively get involved in shark petitions, because they do work.  Find petitions here.

  • Lobby your local government on the matter. Follow the link to download a prewritten letter for you to send to you local government to improve shark protection. 

  • Spread the word, both at work and your social events about the need for shark protection and improved conservation efforts. Encourage your friends to visit our website and Facebook page.

  • Make a donation to a shark conservation organisation like Shark Savers.

  • When spending your vacation near the ocean, avoid going on fishing excursions that also conduct fishing trips to catch sharks and other large predatory fish. Also avoid "Tag and Release" fishing trips during which sharks are apparently only caught for tagging. Sharks can often get hurt during such actions and subsequently die as a result.

  • Divers should avoid underwater rodeos where sharks are fed by hand or with a stick. This can lead to accidents and may change the sharks' natural behaviour.

  • Call up your local TV station and complain if for the hundredth time they show "The Man-eater" or some similar sensational film involving sharks, that depicts them in an unsavoury light.

  • If you read articles or see TV transmissions which portray sharks as being bloodthirsty monsters, write to the authors or those responsible. Explain that such sensational reports are extremely damaging to worldwide shark populations.