How You Can Help Sharks

Bad news first: Sharks are very powerful animals. They dominate the oceans. However, they do have an enemy. Unfortunately, that enemy is responsible for over 100 million sharks killed per year on average. And that enemy is: us.

Because of humans, pretty much every shark you may have heard of before (like great white sharks, bull sharks, tiger sharks, mako sharks) have had their populations decrease so heavily that it's hard to visualize.

However, there is some good news. You can help save sharks! And it's really not as hard as you may think. I've developed 5 steps that you can take to help save these amazing creatures:

1. Don't support commercial fishing of sharks

Probably the easiest way you could help save sharks is not supporting commercial fishing of sharks.

One way you can do this is not eating meals that compose of sharks. The most famous of these is shark fin soup, a dish composed mostly of shark fins.

[The way they make this will make you cry. So, people are out fishing, right? They catch the shark. They cut off the sharks fins. The shark is still alive. Then, they throw the shark into the water, and the shark sinks to the bottom (because they don't have their fins, which help them stay off the bottom) and bleed to death slowly. (And if the shark is an obligate ram ventilator, like the white shark, they will also suffocate because they need to keep swimming to breathe.]

2. Research and Explore

The next level for saving sharks would be to research and explore them.

The reason for this is:

a) At a very basic level, the more you know about sharks, the better chance you have on saving them. For example: We've learned recently that bull sharks thrive in both saltwater and freshwater. Now, people are more cautious when they go into these environments, and that prevents a lot of unprovoked attacks' from happening (because bull sharks also have terrible eyesight) and that can help sharks' reputations a lot.

b) To develop a passion and love for sharks, and in this way you'll have a stronger motivation for saving them. The more you love them, the more you'll do for them.

And my website is the place to start. Check out "Videos" to learn more about sharks!

3. Donate

If you are ready to do even more to help sharks, the next step would be to donate to reliable charities that help the cause. Some of these charities would include sharks.org, oceana.org, and others. The reason for this is that when you give money to a reliable charity, it actually helps them research and save sharks more than you know. Researching sharks is not a cheap operation. You need a boat, tagging technology, and the manpower to research and tag the shark. They need you!

4. Volunteer

Another way you could help shark organizations is by volunteering. Donating your time. The organizations need your time just as much or more then they need your money. More volunteers would result in better quality and quantity research, and the more we know about sharks, and the better the studies we do on them, the better chance we have of saving them.

One way you could do this is through volunteer programs at your local aquarium. Even if you're only doing it for one day (i.e. "Aquarist for a day") you're still helping and that's amazing.

5. Speak Up

The final way is to speak up. Tell others about how non-monstrous sharks are. How much they help the ecosystem. It takes a lot of guts, a lot of patience, a lot of leadership and a lot of work. There are all kinds of people who don't support 100 million sharks being killed each year, but to be the one that speaks for them, that takes a lot of guts, and is worth praising. One way you can speak up by making a website, or a youtube channel and tell people about how amazing and vital sharks are. Another way to do this is just simply tell your friends and family about all the things stated before and convince them to do the same. There is so much that even one person can do to help a cause.

There are so many ways to help save sharks, and no matter which way you choose to do it, even if it's just not eating shark fin soup, you're still helping and you're responsible for one of natures' most amazing creatures still living.