Chances are, none of you are big fans of sharks. But maybe you can see through my point-of-view of just how important these beasts are. 

Sharks are frightening creatures that apparently lurk in shallow waters of the oceans waiting for us to walk right into their territory and take a bite out of our limbs. The movie Jaws has contributed many fears that people hold regarding the ocean and the danger of sharks. Now, statistics show that shark attacks are A LOT less common than you think. “For every human killed by a shark, humans kill approximately two million sharks.” So, according to National Geographic sharks really are not the threat at all and I stand by that. We swim, surf, and wade into their homes; some people are bound to get hurt. But you don’t see sharks jumping into our homes and walking down the streets to hurt us, so why are we killing so many of them every year? It is proven that at least 100 million sharks are killed a year, but estimates show that there are probably about 273 million killed a year world wide. We are killing sharks faster than they can bounce back. There are so many details and facts that come with this threatening course of action than we are taking, and I urge everyone to do their research on how much of an impact the killing of sharks truly are.

Maybe the sharks are the ones scared of us according to this comical article that has pulled quite the attention regarding the Tiger shark, Simon William’s encounter with the Australian surfer, Mick Fanning.

What can I do?

1. It is all about spreading the reality of the information about what killing sharks is doing. Share this information with others. Raise your knowledge and awareness of the issue. Do what you can to get people in the know. Educate yourself.

2. There are countless websites that you can get involved with. Here are a couple that I personally involve myself with Shark Angels and Oceana.

3. Involve yourself locally: There might be restaurants local to you that serve shark fin soup. Contact them and see what you can do to put an end to it.

Sharks are important and in my lifetime I would like to see them and all the other marine life return to their former glory. 

xo, Sarah