This September, member countries of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) will decide on proposals, led by Fiji, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, to list three species of thresher sharks, nine species of devil rays and the silky shark.

Join Matt Wenger, PADI Regional Manager for the Maldives, and other #Divers4SharksNRays across the world, in urging CITES Parties to control trade for these vulnerable species.

Share Matt's multilingual video message and add your photo to the Project AWARE's #Divers4SharksNRays campaign gallery.

Together with my colleague Ania Budziak, Project AWARE Associate Director, Programs, I'll be heading to the 17th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES, in less than 3 weeks, to represent the voice of the global dive community. In close collaboration with partner NGOs, including Shark Advocates International and the Shark Trust, Project AWARE is engaging with relevant governments from leading supporting countries and from select undecided countries to achieve the two-thirds majority support needed for CITES Appendix II listing for these highly traded shark and ray species.

Learn more about why CITES is important for shark conservation and visit www.divers4sharksnrays.projectaware.org to see how you can get involved.