Howard Stein

More than 2 million people are diving into their couches and watching the underwater drama of Discovery’s Shark Week. One scene you shouldn’t miss: you doing your part to save sharks. Preserving this world-wide summer staple means we need to increase both awareness and action through the choices we make each and every day.

Sharks are often type-casted as being scary and aggressive. However, you’re more likely to get killed by a coconut or a vending machine than a shark, and there are 440 known species, all with their own unique behaviors.

We can all agree their hunting skills and human encounters are fascinating, but did you know that we kill more than 50 million sharks each year as bycatch in our tuna and other commercial fishing industries? In the absence of sharks, entire ecosystems will collapse, and we can’t let that happen on our watch.

All of us can help protect sharks if we take a few simple steps:

·         Did you know whale sharks are not whales? And we still don’t know what their 3,000 teeth are for because they don’t use them to eat. What we do know is that whale sharks are jawsome and more people should meet them! 

Share this video to help make that happen.

·         Shark meat and products are consumed around the world (not just in Asia and not just their fins). Before you buy cosmetics or vitamins, simply check the labels for shark oil, shark cartilage and non-vegetable squalene. 

Learn more about sharks in our everyday products.

·         Cutting back on your seafood intake (especially tuna and shark meat) will help stop shark overfishing. However, if that’s not an option for you, make sure to only buy sustainable seafood. 

Here’s how. 

·        UPS, DHL, American Airlines and other carriers have announced they will stop shipping shark fins as a company policy. Now, we turn to FedEx to do the same. 

Tell FedEx to stop shipping shark fins!

Remember, there is no Shark Week without sharks. If enough people take these actions to help protect them, we could save the lives of millions of sharks.