Sharks Savers' is new, but has ambitious goals. Some programs to support these goals are already in place, while additional programs will be established during this first year of our organization's existence. What follows is an outline of our goals and an introduction to how we will go about reaching them.

Awareness: 

• Raise awareness about threats to sharks. Shark Savers will highlight the critical role sharks play in the oceans and how sharks are being dangerously driven out of existence. How? We will work with our partners to develop media campaigns to stop shark finning, reduce demand for shark fin soup, and overfishing in general. Shark Savers will create a presence at appropriate events. 
  

• Improve the image of sharks. Sharks need better press. For decades, sharks have been inaccurately and consistently promoted in the media as bloodthirsty and insatiable enemies of mankind. This negativity towards sharks obstructs what would otherwise appear to be a very compelling set of reasons to protect sharks. Shark Savers will work with media organizations and our partners to present a more balanced view of sharks. Shark Savers will empower its community to create a global campaign to virally spread a more balanced view of sharks.

• Reduce demand for shark fins. Recent studies indicate Asian consumers are largely unaware of the origins of shark fin and have little understanding of overfishing, illegal shark finning or the health hazards, such as mercury, associated with shark fin soup. More knowledge could stem demand. How will Shark Savers reduce demand? We will spawn local, national and global anti-shark finning campaigns (through the educational tools you can leverage as a Shark Saver). Shark Savers will also work with partners already working in Asia trying to reduce demand for shark fin soup.

• Create advocates for sharks. Sharks are incredibly interesting in their own right, but also play a valuable role in the sustainability of the oceans and our own future on this planet. Shark Savers will create education programs that are accessible, approachable, and interesting to various groups and ages. Education will be provided online, in communities, and we will provide resources to be used in schools and by local enthusiasts. We will provide visiting speakers to schools, clubs, and groups.

• End the practice of shark finning globally. The high profit margins of illegal shark finning (it may well be a multi-billion dollar industry) have pushed fishermen to ignore fishery quotas and specific shark finning laws, and into poaching in fragile marine reserves. We will work with our partners and fund efforts to protect reserves and countries who cannot afford shark protection efforts on their own. Most importantly, we will work towards a world-wide sponsorship of a shark finning ban, beyond the mere 17 countries currently outlawing this barbaric practice.

• Promote sustainable management of shark populations. More than 100 million sharks are killed each year, with as much as 50 percent caught as unintentional “bycatch.” Sharks are highly vulnerable to overexploitation due to their longevity, late maturity and slow reproduction rates. Furthermore, the loss of apex predators like sharks wreaks havoc across the ecosystems they inhabit. We will focus on encouraging sustainable management, partnering with groups that are already working with governments and the fishing industry to shape sustainable policies.