Shark Trust

The Shark Trust is a charitable organization founded in the UK in 1997, and is dedicated to promoting the study, management and conservation of sharks, skates and rays (elasmobranchs) in the UK and internationally.[1]

Shark Trust logo

The trust operates scientific research and education programmes, and works with divers, politicians, boat owners, and commercial and recreational fishers as well as the general public. It has produced codes of conduct for approaching basking sharks[2] and whale sharks[3] safely and responsibly. It also campaigns for legislative protection of vulnerable shark species and for tighter legislation restricting shark finning.[4]

The Shark Trust holds events to raise awareness about shark conservation throughout the year, including eggcase hunts at which participants search the coastline for shark eggcases.[5]

Affected regions

The Shark Trust is an international organization that advocates for shark rights in all countries. Although support is sent across the globe, there are areas where attention is specifically given, usually in areas where manmade threats to sharks are particularly common. European fisheries and the EU member states were both focused on extensively, with numerous shark rights advocate groups looking to sway politicians and business owners into adopting more conservative measures to protect the endangered shark species that suffered in national waters.

Fundraising

The Shark Trust's two main sources of funding are marathon running and egg hunting, relying on donations from the participants for funding. Runners will compete in various marathons each year to earn sponsorship money, the funds going to support Shark Trust campaigns. These marathons, are run by multiple runners who each contribute their earnings towards the support of the Shark Trust. [6]

Egg hunts are the second primary fundraising event hosted by the Shark Trust. In these games, participants are sent out in search of shark egg cases that wash up on the shoreline. These egg cases are not manufactured for the hunt, coming directly from shark and skate births in the neighboring waters. In addition to acting as a means of fund raising, these egg hunts serve as a means to educate the public. Members of the Shark Trust educate participants on how to identify the species of the egg cases they uncover based on size, shape, and other features. This identification process helps monitor the birthrates of endangered shark species, with discovered egg cases helping to document the birth rates of the species the cases belong to. [7]

Despite Shark Trust fundraisers being generally well received by the public, the Shark Trust is often placed in a challenging position to find enough sponsors to fund the continuation with their work. This can be attributed to shark conservation being a relatively small niche when compared to other areas of marine conversation movements, and marine conservation overall. Despite these challenges, the Shark Trust gathers enough income to remain a functional organization.

References
  1. "Shark Trust Website". Shark Trust. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  2. "Basking Shark Project". Shark Trust. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  3. "Whale Shark Project". Shark Trust. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  4. "Stop Shark Finning Campaign". Shark Trust. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  5. "Great Eggcase Hunt Project". Shark Trust. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  6. "Affiliate Charities". Edinburgh Marathon Festival. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  7. "Great Eggcase Hunt". The Shark Trust. Retrieved 2 May 2019.


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