Shark Angels partnered with Sea Shepherd Shepherd Conservation Society this summer in a innovative campaign to protect sharks. This summer marked their first mission in the South Pacific together to defend sharks and other animals in the sea.  We visited five nations – Tonga, Vanuatu, Fiji, Solomon Islands and Kiribati and achieved results far beyond our hopes. Thanks to our partnership, we combined awareness/education with enforcement – educating kids about the need to protect the oceans and sharks throughout the nations, rallying support for shark sanctuaries, building collaborative relationships with governments, and patrolling the waters of one of the South Pacific’s largest marine reserves.

Activism can come from unexpected and inspirational places, and one of the better recent examples of this is fifth grader Lilly Forsythe from Chicago, Illinois.  Inspired by her own love of sharks and Discovery Channel’s annual “Shark Week,” Lilly and her friend Natalie put together a Shark Week Fin-Raiser, from which a total of $715 was raised and donated to Shark Angels. 

 “I care about sharks because I have read about them.  They are beautiful creatures that need to be saved. ” Lilly said, “You and everyone else should care, because sharks are a big part of our lives...Without them, the world would fall apart.  And all we do is kill them because we’re scared.  This is one of the most horrible things I have ever learned and we need to stop.”   Held at a restaurant local to her, “The Grafton,” her event was attended by more than forty people, and included a raffle and special menu, as well as viewing of “Shark Week” on every T.V. 

Sam dreams of one day petting a tiger shark. Julie swims with them around the world and runs a non-profit dedicated to saving them. Together, this unlikely duo of Shark Angels is leading a movement to make a real difference for one of the most feared and malaligned animals on the planet. An animal they both happen to adore.