In September 2015 Performance Diver and I organised a FINATHON event in Auckland. Although we raised over $1000 towards the cause, only 10-12 people turned up to the event!

I know we can do better than this!

I have talked to my local council about running another FINATHON event on one of the main beaches here in the North Shore. It is free of charge to hold the event on the beach and I would love to go ahead with a summer event that benifits Project AWARE and spreads awareness of the shark finning problem, that is still present in New Zealand.

Although 2014 saw the illegalisation of shark finning in New Zealand, many shark species within the quota managment system (QMS) were excluded from the legistation. Two of the sharks excluded from the anti-finning act were Short Fin Mako's and Porbeagle sharks. Like many other shark species, both of these sharks are slow growing and highly vulnerable to overfishing. They both appear on the IUCN-Red list of threatened species. NZ Forest & Bird identify that Mako and Porbeagle sharks are taken in large numbers in New Zealand’s tuna longline fisheries. Around 80% of the porbeagle sharks are caught just for their highly priced fins, leaving the remainder of the carcass dumped at sea. Only about 25% of Mako sharks caught are processed, with the rest being discarded. The Mako shark has the second worst ecological ranking of any commercial fishery in New Zealand. Furthermore, there are no specific conservation actions undertaken in New Zealand for Mako or Porbeagle sharks. Finnig Mako and Porbeagle sharks continues to be legal in New Zealand. This in not only detrimental to the species, but also enormously wastefull.    

I am proud to say that as a New Zealander, our country and citizens take enviromental issues seriously. I would like to spread the notion that if we are to have an anti shark finning legistation, then we should do it properly! The export of ANY shark product from New Zealand should be banned. Lets face it, shark fins and other shark products are an uneeded resource for the human population. 

So here I am, diving in to the deep end once again. I have no idea how I am going to organise this event. I am writing this in the hope to find some advice from others that may have done an event like this before. I will warmly welcome anyone in the area who woud like to help me organise an amazing event in Feburary 2016. Many thanks in advance!!