Ocean Conservancy Urges Viewers of SHARK WEEK to Help Protect Sharks and Improve...

Ocean Conservancy Urges Viewers of SHARK WEEK to Help Protect Sharks and Improve the Health of the Ocean

Ocean Conservancy Named Conservation Partner for Discovery
Channel's SHARK WEEK, Airing July 27th Through August 1st; Launches
Conservation Blog Today
WASHINGTON--(Business Wire)--
Today, Ocean Conservancy and Discovery Channel launch a shark
conservation blog to run through SHARK WEEK. Our goal is to identify
the latest shark conservation news and science and offer viewers the
opportunity to take action on behalf of sharks. Sonja Fordham,
director of Ocean Conservancy's shark conservation program, will host
the blog beginning on July 22nd at www.discovery.com/sharkweek.
Discovery Channel has also produced and will air public service
announcements to run nightly during prime time SHARK WEEK programming
urging viewers to learn more and take action.

"Sharks are some of the most vulnerable creatures in our ocean and
SHARK WEEK provides a great venue for learning more about these
amazing creatures, the important role they play in our ocean and how
together we can safeguard their future," said Sonja Fordham, director
of Ocean Conservancy's shark conservation program. "Sharks are in
trouble around the world. Through overfishing, finning, and habitat
destruction, we are far more dangerous to sharks than they are to us."

Overexploitation through targeted fishing and accidental capture
("bycatch") is the number one threat to sharks today. Habitat
degradation and pollution also pose threats to sharks and other marine
wildlife. Despite their fierce image, sharks are some of the most
imperiled creatures in the ocean.

"Today, more than ever, people have an understanding of the
increasing threats to our ocean. With this understanding comes a
hunger to be part of the solution and to contribute to a better
future," continued Fordham.

Below are five tips to contribute to the health of the ocean:

-- Pick up your trash. The majority of trash in our ocean comes
from land-based activities and careless behaviors. Ocean trash
alone kills over 100,000 marine mammals each year through
ingestion and entanglement.

-- Use re-usable bags for groceries and beach trips. Single use
bags consume valuable resources and can be mistaken for food
by animals in the ocean.

-- Ask for sustainable seafood options at restaurants and
markets. Market forces can help push managers to ensure
responsible fishing.

-- Support science-based fisheries management. Contact government
officials and tell them to end overfishing and shark finning
in the U.S. and internationally.

-- Join Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup - the
world's largest network of volunteers working to improve the
health of the ocean.

Our ocean is essential to the health of everything on the planet -
including our own. It provides much of the air we breathe, absorbs
over a third of the greenhouse gases we produce and maintains the
climate we need to survive. Fundamentally, the ocean is the life
support system for our planet.

www.oceanconservancy.org

Ocean Conservancy
Tom McCann, 202-351-0465
tmccann@oceanconservancy.org
or
Discovery Channel
Katherine Nelson, 310-975-5975
Katherine_Nelson@discovery.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008