Iinternet petitions to protect sharks and demand a ban on shark finning. Sign as many of them as you can!

Alibaba.com is collusive and partner to the criminal and wasteful practice of shark finning. Sign this petition to tell Alibaba to stop the distribution of shark fins.

The Shark Trust has an on-line petition to the European Commission ask for a European plan of action for sharks and rays.

Sign Wild Aid's petition to encourage Ban Ki-Moon and the UN General Assembly to take action immediately to protect the shark populations across the globe and stop shark finning.

The Sharklife Conservation Group, which is based in South Africa, currently has three ongoing campaigns. The first is to pressure the South African government to protect the Zambezi shark. Catch data show a reduction in the size and number of Zambezi sharks caught in nets along the coastline, indicating a likely reduction in the population. The second is to urge South Africa to take a sustainable approach to fishing and to stop longline fishing which has an adverse impact on shark populations, particularly the blue shark and short fin mako. The third is to tell Alibaba to stop promoting the shark fin trade.

Petition to the President of the People's Republic of China to tell the government to ban the catching, import and sale of sharks and all shark related products.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) took place recently, and most of the world’s countries gathered to decide which species would receive international protection. There were three shark species proposed to be listed: the spiny dogfish (fish and chips), the porbeagle (like a smaller great white), and saw sharks.

These proposals would add three more sharks to the list that so far only contains the basking shark, whale shark and the great white shark. Getting species listed is often a case of politics, as only the most charismatic of megafauna tend to make it. The great white is the most recognizable shark, while the basking and whale sharks have no teeth, and are popular tourist attractions.

The proposed listing of the porbeagle and spiny dogfish on CITES were met by fierce resistance by the US, New Zealand, with Canada leading the opposition. With having 29,000 names and pledges in support of these species protection, and receiving over 2500 emails from savingsharks.com supporters, the US decided to support the listing, while Canada’s stance stayed firm, and they pushed for the species to remain off the CITES list. Canada and New Zealand’s presence at the assembly swayed voters, and the sharks were not placed on the CITES list, despite recommendations by top scientists that their populations had declined by over 90%.

» Contact your government representative through the CITES website and demand they act now.