As a shark conservationist and diver, I have had the privilege of encountering many large sharks personally. From recognizing individual white sharks off California to tiger sharks off Hawai'i, these magnificent creatures have become familiar faces due to their protection. However, this is not the case everywhere. In other areas, I've witnessed firsthand how overfishing has led to a drastic decline in shark populations and how reefs change without them.

Over my career spanning two decades dedicated to protecting sharks - through five films, two books and 12 laws passed to protect sharks- I've seen species disappear because they were not protected. One such species on the brink is the oceanic whitetip shark (Carcharhinus longimanus).

According to a study published in Current Biology (2018), oceanic whitetip shark populations have declined by an alarming 98% in the Atlantic over just 55 years due to overfishing. A 2019 scientific analysis commissioned by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) revealed that their population has declined by around 95% in the Western Pacific. These figures are heartbreaking for anyone who cares about marine life and biodiversity.

The time has come for us all to take action against this issue that affects not only these majestic creatures but also our oceans' health as a whole. We must demand that commercial tuna fisheries stop catching, killing, and trading critically endangered oceanic sharks immediately.

We cannot stand by while these beautiful animals disappear from our oceans forever. Please sign this petition today so we can protect our ocean's apex predators before it's too late. There are solutions we can take:

Ask the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission to follow the example of Hawai'i and West Pacific Tuna fisheries to eliminate retention and change out wire leaders and lines to reduce bycatch at the Regional Fisheries Management Organizations CIAT and IATTC in the Indian and East Pacific Oceans.

Help us with our film and campaign directed at international fisheries management bodies, following the example set by Hawai'i banning wire leaders and retention of oceanic whitetip sharks, and take it to the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission and International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic to reduce retention and bycatch of endangered sharks.