marine conservation

Courtesy Scubapro/Neil Andrea

JULIE ANDERSON

A random encounter with a hammerhead led to one woman’s lifelong crusade to protect sharks.

I have always been drawn to sharks. Their powerful grace and presence has fascinated me since we first met. Solo on a safety stop, I suddenly felt I was not alone. Much to my initial terror, a huge scalloped hammerhead appeared next to me. But gazing into the eyes of the animal, I saw life — not a cold, cruel stare. That day sealed my fate. This shark exemplified all that is beautiful on Earth: the extraordinary power of nature, and a vital reminder of what we must respect and protect.

Hooked, I traveled to dive in places famous for sharks. Everywhere I went, I saw the effects of shark finning. I quickly realized I was watching sharks disappear before my eyes. Fueled by passion, I sold my house and business to start Shark Angels, a nonprofit dedicated to giving the world a new view of sharks.

I spent years undercover documenting the heartbreaking destruction. I walked among 7,000 bloody sharks landed in a tuna fishery in Japan, and watched a starving fishing village in Indonesia fin the last of its baby sharks — having decimated the population.

Seven years later, I’m still fighting. And I am filled with hope. Together, we are making a difference. From passing legislation that makes shark fin an illegal substance to developing campaigns to stop the demand in Asia to educating thousands of children, Angels around the world are giving sharks a chance.

Anyone can become a guardian angel to the sharks. Lobby for their protection, vote with your dollars, volunteer, educate, go shark diving to prove their value — just get involved. After all, it’s not just about the sharks — it’s about the oceans and our collective futures.

To learn more, visit sharkangels.org.

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Paul Hilton

Stop Shark Finning
26-73 million sharks are killed for their fins each year.

SOMETIMES THE BATTLE TO SAVE SHARKS GETS UGLY

Fighting for shark conservation is often frustrating and discouraging.

With more than a decade of investigative experience, I have seen just about every imaginable act of cruelty and wanton destruction. I have gone undercover in some of the most remote locations in the world: Taiwan, Indonesia, Ecuador, Peru, Costa Rica, Fiji and Africa. My objective is to combine powerful stories with images, exposing the truth.

One chilling experience occurred in 2010 in Manta, the shark-fishing hub of Ecuador. I was on assignment to document large-scale landings of shark species. With its tuna stocks severely depleted, the local fishing community had turned to targeting sharks.

When I entered the town, the tension weighed heavily. What followed next were perhaps the most intense 24 hours of my life. In the first hour, I had to fend off teenage bandits using only my monopod. Dinner ended abruptly when the restaurant owner informed my group that intoxicated fishermen were about to storm in and assault us. We slipped quietly out the back door.

Wielding bloodstained machetes, fishermen hacked the fins off the bodies of sharks piled on the beach. Twice a razor-sharp machete was pressed against my jugular, as angry fishermen cursed me and threatened to cut my throat. Each time I defused the situation with a smile, proclaiming myself a pescador de tiburones (shark fisherman). As the last sharks were processed, our fixer grabbed me and said, “The fishermen say as soon as they are done chopping the sharks, they are coming for you.” It was time go.

Our photos were the “smoking gun” images circulated globally by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Almost overnight, sharks became a priority on the CITES agenda. Finally, at the 2013 CITES meeting, historic protections for many species of sharks (and rays) were achieved.