It’s that time of the year again!  The Discovery Channel’s 29th annual Shark Week – the week-long series of TV programming dedicated to sharks – is in full swing.

Starting this Shark Week, we’re mobilizing our community and presenting strong arguments in support of the shark and ray proposals submitted by 3 top diving destinations - Maldives, Fiji and Sri Lanka (among others) - for consideration at the upcoming 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES CoP17) this September.

With an opportunity to spark international trade controls for 13 shark and ray species - nine devil ray, three thresher species, and the silky shark - coming up fast, we couldn’t be more excited to join in this year’s Shark Week celebrations by sharing with you top facts, from the JAWsome #ThresherThursday social media weekly phenomenon, about one of divers’ favorite - the thresher shark!

Take part in this year’s Shark Week “Shark N’Awe” fun with us! Join #Divers4SharksNRays around the world urging CITES member governments to vote YES for sharks and rays, including thresher sharks.

Top 5 #ThresherThursday Facts

FACT #1: All three species of thresher sharks have been proposed for CITES Appendix II Listing

Sri Lanka has proposed the inclusion of all 3 thresher shark species – the pelagic thresher, the bigeye thresher, and the common thresher - in Appendix II of CITES, and 50 countries have joined efforts to regulate trade in 13 commercially valuable shark and ray species. The unprecedented co-sponsorship for new shark and ray trade measures is encouraging, but there is still a long way to go.

#ThresherShark: 1 of the 13 shark and ray species proposed for CITES listing @CITES#CoP17https://t.co/IZo7KzjJDKpic.twitter.com/FkyjGg8GUh

— Project AWARE (@projectaware) June 2, 2016

FACT #2: Thresher sharks meat and fins are both valuable and traded internationally 

Exceptionally small litters of just two to four pups greatly hinder their ability to withstand heavy fishing pressure. As with many sharks, threshers also often become entangled in fishing nets and become bycatch. All thresher sharks are listed under the IUCN Red List as Vulnerable globally because of their declining populations.

#ThresherThursday - Their meat and fins are valuable and traded internationally https://t.co/NHIjIw1DOm#CITESC0P17pic.twitter.com/8N4KWKfS03

— Project AWARE (@projectaware) May 5, 2016

FACT #3: Thresher sharks are among the most instantly recognisable sharks

Their scythe-like tail accounts for half their body length and is used to herd, stun and kill their prey.

The Thresher: Whip-Tailed Shark https://t.co/Rmds2Xnico#SharkWeek via https://t.co/Rmds2Xnico#ThresherThursdaypic.twitter.com/PTlJkKvv0I

— Project AWARE (@projectaware) June 16, 2016

FACT #4 – Malapascua, in the Philippines, is the only known place where threshers can be seen regularly, and year-round

They can also be seen in the Atlantic, North America, Asia, the Red Sea, and the North Pacific but sightings are rare.

#ThresherThursday Fact: #Malapascua only known place where threshers can be seen year-round. Have you ever seen one? pic.twitter.com/xPCq4rNlhU

— Project AWARE (@projectaware) May 12, 2016

FACT #5 - All three thresher sharks were listed under the Convention on Migratory Species in 2014

There's global concern for the fate of these species. CITES CoP17 presents new opportunities for Project AWARE to collaborate closely once again with partner NGOs, governments, and to engage other stakeholders, including our dive community, to ensure concrete progress toward conserving thresher sharks and 10 other shark and ray species up for consideration.

Thresher sharks just added to scope of CMS Shark MoU. Ideas for next steps https://t.co/90zlG57BaD#ThresherThursdaypic.twitter.com/u02H6EY3wF

— Shark Advocates (@SharkAdvocates) February 18, 2016

Sharks and rays are under threat from overfishing, which is often driven by international trade demand. So if you enjoy the shock and awe of popular television programming such as Shark Week, live every week like it’s Shark Week by joining #Divers4SharksNRays and taking action year-round for shark and ray conservation. Happy Shark Week!

Photo copyright Christian Vizl - Wildscreen Exchange