Make Friends With Sharks

Before you help us save them, it's important you know them and know what's happening to them.

First and foremost, Sharks aren't mean. See? They're playing :)

They seem mean because when they bite, it leaves a decent mark and it hurts. But that's all they do, is bite. They don't eat people, because apparently our blood tastes gross. They just bite to see what we are. More people die each year from vending machines falling on them than from shark attacks. I know right? Not kidding. Watch Sharkwater. This fantastic, award-winning documentary not only taught us that little fact but way, way more. Here's a clip to get you started:

Here's what's happening to them:

Their fins are seen as valuable because they are believed to cure cancer and because shark fin soup is a sign of wealth. Serving the soup means you're rich. And who doesn't want to look rich?  A bowl of the shark fin soup costs a hundred bucks. SOUP. This translates into roughly 73 MILLION sharks being killed a year, just for their fins.

To put that into perspective for you, the population of Russia is almost 142 million, so if as many Russians were killed every year as sharks, the entire population would be wiped out in less than two years.

They're being killed at an incredibly high rate and what's worse, their live bodies are just dumped back in the ocean once the fins are retrieved. They sink to the bottom of the ocean and die from suffocation, because most fish need to move to be able to breathe. No fins, no movement.   

Here's how you can help

First of all, get better aquainted with sharks. We gave you a basic rundown, but a great site with a wealth of info is http://www.sharksavers.com/. You'll learn what could happen to YOU if sharks go extinct.  

Next, GET EDUCATED ON THE HARM OF SHARK FIN SOUP!!! Knowledge is power. Here's another video that gives a glimpse as to what's going on. It's graphic, but you need to know what's happening.

Come back tomorrow for t-shirts you can buy to support the cause and more ways to help! 

Want to see who else is interested in saving sharks? If you're on Facebook, check out the Shark Savers and Shark Trust groups to see what people are saying and make some great friends who want to do as much good as you!