The good news is you don’t have to be an event organiser extraordinaire to get involved in the Finathon™ 2013. In fact you don’t actually have to swim at all.

Simply create your very own personal Finathon™ fundraising page, write a few words from the heart about why you love sharks, why sharks are totally awesome and why you think they deserve protecting. Make it personal and ask your friends to support the cause!

Sharks need our help, and that's what the Finathon is all about. So create your own fundraising page to protect sharks and share like crazy.

A big thanks to Finathon™ champion Lucas Schmitz, for raising 50% of his fundraising goal in one weekend! Lucas raised $150 in just two days. FINtastic.

“I started diving eleven years ago. In the first year, I realized the immense impact, over fishing has on the ecosystem. I’ve also seen the change in the underwater flora and fauna from year to year. I see less biodiversity and less marine live every year. It’s sad to see humans exploit the resources of the sea in a destructive way. I try to inform my divers about the problems,” said Lucas, a PADI IDC Staff Instructor from Germany currently teaching in Portugal.

“Shark finning in my opinion is one of the most important practices we have to stop as soon as possible. There’s not much time left to save the apex predators,” added Lucas.

“Sharks are wonderful creatures and shark finning is incredibly cruel. That’s why I'm very happy to be one of the first Finathon™ champions! Without a healthy ocean, no life on earth is possible. Now is our chance to stop the destruction. The ocean is what Sylvia Earle calls our "life support system" so let’s protect it."

Lucas’s message for you ''Join the Finathon and have a FINtastic day”.

To donate or check out Lucas' Finathon™ page at http://finathon.org/lucasschmitz