Dear Katrien,

We have to act fast.

The work to secure stronger conservation measures for sharks and rays never stops.

It cannot stop.

It’s year round. 24hrs a day. 7 days a week. Often behind the scenes. So when an opportunity arises, we are there to advocate for change.

That opportunity is NOW!

Project AWARE joins forces with partner NGOs to attend the 24th Regular Meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), Malta 10-17 November 2015.

Our goal: ICCAT Parties to adopt three key shark conservation proposals on the table!

• Precautionary caps on catches of shortfin makos and blue sharks in ICCAT area. Currently there are no limits on how many of these sharks are caught;
   
• Prohibitions on the retention of porbeagle sharks – they give birth to just four pups per litter and will need decades to recover from North Atlantic depletion; and
   
• Ban on at-sea shark fin removal – ICCAT’s finning ban currently relies on a complicated fin-to-body ratio to monitor compliance. We need a finning ban that requires sharks to be landed with fins naturally attached to help enforcement and species specific data collection.

Katrien, we need your help. We need to push for stronger protection for the most vulnerable  and commercially valuable Atlantic Shark species. Please donate before 10 November to support our work at this important meeting.

Currently, in the ICCAT tuna and swordfish fisheries, sharks - like the shortfin makos or the blue sharks - are a casualty of bycatch. Yet due to their high commercial value sharks are increasingly becoming a “wanted bycatch”.

We have just 1 week left to prepare. Your help is critical. Please show your support with a generous donation before 10 November.  

Overfishing, finning and bycatch combined are taking a serious toll on shark populations. Now is the time to act!

Thank you,

Ania Budziak,
Associate Director, Programs
Project AWARE Foundation