If you're enjoying a hot summer's day in California - it's a perfect day for a Finathon! "Thank you to Miranda and the team at Oceanside Scuba & Swim, California for their generosity in hosting me for their Project AWARE Finathon on August 31st. We swam in beautiful Southern California weather and raised awareness and funds for shark and ray protection," said Alex Earl, Executive Director, Project AWARE Foundation.  

Winter downunder doesn't deter our Aussies swimmers who show they can still get swimming to end finning with an impressive 12 hour indoor pool event.  

Two awesome events in one weekend show the Finathon fundraiser can be a success all year round and right around the world.

At the first 12 hour Finathon 56 swimmers completed an amazing 115.7km thanks to Kirin Apps who championed sharks in northern New South Wales. “It was great to see people challenge themselves to swim further than they had ever swam before. Most of the children and adults got back in the pool to add another lap to the tally,” said Kirin. A big thanks to Summit Fitness Centre for supporting this amazing day which included a BBQ, a 12 hour continuous swim, raffles, education session and some delicious shark cupcakes to raise $1,375 AUD. 

Just as swimmers were hopping out of the water downunder, it was time for the swimmers at Oceanside Scuba, California to jump in. Congratulations to all participants who swam a mile with a smile including Alex Earl, Project AWARE Executive Director and mascot Shark Stanley!

"We were thrilled to have them both join our swim, all donations to help protect some of the most amazing creatures in our ocean is money well spent. A big thanks to all our supporters who contributed to our grand total of $1725 towards shark protection! Thank you for your support and SWIM ON," said Miranda Johnson.

Scuba divers have clocked up a jawesome 780km swimming to end finning as part of Project AWARE’s global Finathon. All donations help:

• Fight to stop finning
• Insist on full protections for Critically Endangered sharks
• Negotiate strong policies to ensure a brighter future for all sharks

To take on a Finathon challenge visit www.finathon.org