PADI’s Project AWARE is urging dive operators in Brazil and South Africa to work with local stakeholders and public opinion to call on their governments to support the fishing ban on Mako sharks in the Atlantic Ocean.
The Mako shark campaign launched in February 2021 and is a collaboration between The PADI AWARE Foundation and the Shark League. It aims to get Brazil and South Africa to recognize problems with Mako shark overfishing and for them to support the ban.
According to Ian Campbell, the Associate Director for Policy and Campaigns at the PADI AWARE Foundation:
“Mako sharks are particularly vulnerable to overfishing, especially in the North Atlantic, where we have seen populations decline severely. It is currently estimated that the shark population will take 50 years to fully recover if fishing bans were implemented today. By working directly with PADI Members to raise awareness of the issue with the diving community, we aim to enlist governmental support of mako shark protections in the Atlantic.”
You can sign the petition to stop Mako shark overfishing here.
