Four shark and ray species, who deserve to be better loved, have been nominated in the Wildscreen’s Arkive #LoveSpecies campaign by conservation charities, including Project AWARE, to raise awareness of the plight of these under-appreciated and unloved sea creatures.

Project AWARE has nominated the Silky Shark for this year’s Valentine’s day #LoveSpecies poll. Classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, and ranked among the top three most important sharks in the global fin trade, the silky shark truly deserves all your love and attention.

.@projectaware has nominated the silky shark ? in @Arkive#LoveSpecies campaign! Vote NOW to get it in the top 10! https://t.co/XTQzJ4btPqpic.twitter.com/shMmz0J2f9

— Project AWARE (@projectaware) January 27, 2017

Project AWARE’s shark conservation partner, Shark Advocates International, has nominated the Common Guitarfish, one of the most threatened of all the world’s shark and ray species. Sharks4Kids has nominated the iconic Thresher Shark, and SharkFest UK the Greenland Shark, one of the top predators of the Arctic food chain.

Who will be crowned the world’s favorites unloved species? You decide. Only one of your votes will count so don’t let sharks be overshadowed by the more cute, handsome and (seemingly) interesting members of the natural world. Read our #LoveSpecies blog to learn more about the work that we do to protect vulnerable sharks and rays and why the silky shark in particular deserves your vote.

Although all #LoveSpecies nominees deserve your attention, in the lead up to Valentine’s Day, show that you love sharks and rays and vote for your favorite by clicking ‘vote now’ underneath their photo.

Voting is open until 23:59 PST (07:59 GMT) on Friday 10th February 2017, and the results will be announced on Valentine’s Day.

Want to do more?

If you’re a PADI® scuba diver, you can show your love for the silky shark with the latest limited edition PADI diver certification card supporting Project AWARE’s conservation work. This card features an amazing silky shark photo by underwater photographer and conservationist Rodrigo Friscione.