Back in March I met with the Australian CITES Representatives to talk about AWARE's Sharks in Peril campaign. I spoke about our petition - back in March 50,000 people had signed demanding sharks get the protection they deserve.

One thing was very clear from this meeting - Divers can play a critical role in lobbying for increased protection. We have voting power - and we can choose to use this power and lobby for change.

Just a few months on from my meeting and we've now reached the 70,000 mark! And every day when I enter the office more signatures come flooding in. Just today I received 50 from Bali, 25 from Australia, and another 70 from Malaysia!

These signatures are collected by you and your dive centre - it's incredible to see the passion and drive and sheer determination that we have towards protecting these creatures.

Divers are speaking out for sharks, demanding stronger action and showing that we're a serious economic and political constituency. We want our voice heard.

Thank you everyone. Let's keep up the momentum!