Sharks Need Your Help!
UPDATE 8 November: We just delivered over 25,000 signatures!
Every year, tens of thousands of blue sharks are caught and killed.
These awesome swimmers travel long distances across international boundaries and this leaves them particularly vulnerable – especially since there are no global rules about catching these amazing creatures.
The U.S. has some protections in place for blue sharks. But sharks swim in many countries' waters, so international protections are vital.
We have to do more than pass local and national measures to protect sharks. The US will soon be attending a meeting with the power to create international shark regulations, where we have a real chance to make a difference.
Speak up by November 8 to protect vulnerable sharks in the Atlantic Ocean.
Dear Mr. Russell Smith,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association
As you prepare for the 22nd Regular Meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), please make shark conservation a top U.S. priority. Because sharks migrate across national boundaries and are highly vulnerable to overfishing, international management is vital.
Specifically, the U.S. should propose or support proposals to prohibit retention of vulnerable shark species such as porbeagle, longfin mako and common thresher sharks, establish catch limits for the commonly caught species shortfin mako and blue sharks, and require all sharks be landed with their fins still naturally attached.
I appreciate the continued efforts by the US to work towards shark conservation at ICCAT but believe more needs to be done. Please help sharks get the attention they deserve.
