I'm going a little out of the ordinary handmade items today with a small PSA about oceanic conservation and saving sharks. The biggest reason, sharks are very important to our global ecosystem, and as many as 73 million are killed each year for their fins. The second reason - my family and I are relocating, so I'm just not working on projects this week.
As is evident by the vast majority of my products, my twitter feed, and the environmentally friendly way I try to live, one of my biggest passions is conservation. I absolutely adore sharks, and I appreciate everything they have to offer the world. That's why I donate proceeds to Project Aware at Christmas, and I try to make sure to spread the word about the wonders - instead of the horrors - of sharks.
As is evident by the vast majority of my products, my twitter feed, and the environmentally friendly way I try to live, one of my biggest passions is conservation. I absolutely adore sharks, and I appreciate everything they have to offer the world. That's why I donate proceeds to Project Aware at Christmas, and I try to make sure to spread the word about the wonders - instead of the horrors - of sharks.
One of the coolest things about sharks is how varied the 350+ species are. They vary in size from as small as 6 inches to 40+ feet. They'll eat things like plankton, crabs, conch, sea turtles, and even other sharks. Most large species of sharks have long gestation periods - even similar to humans. Tiger sharks have interuterine mammary glands. These large species don't have the ability to recover from such drastic population decline. But only 10 species ever attack humans. Even so, when we enter the water, it's like we are going into an alien world - where we look like food. 68% of shark attacks are on surfers who are mistaken for seals or for sea turtles. Texting while driving killed 6,000 more people in the United States in 2011 than sharks did worldwide. Yet there are still people pulling out their phones while driving and states that have not passed laws against it. But we're afraid to go in the water. Our fear is unjustified, and helps perpetuate the dangers against sharks. |
According to Project Aware: " Nearly one out of five shark species is classified by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) as Threatened with extinction. That doesn’t even include hundreds of species (almost half of all sharks) whose population status cannot be assessed because of lack of information. Scientists warn that, in actuality, a third of sharks might already be threatened."
The biggest thing that I would love to see is more protections to save these animals before the different species are pushed beyond repair. With this, I implore everyone to sign this petition to save such a wonderful group of animals.
The biggest thing that I would love to see is more protections to save these animals before the different species are pushed beyond repair. With this, I implore everyone to sign this petition to save such a wonderful group of animals.
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