Hello, I am an 11 year old Connecticut resident and future marine biologist, and today I want to share some sad news about one of my favorite species. Sharks are amazing creatures. They are a keystone species whose survival is closely related to the health of our ocean ecosystems and our own survival. Unfortunately, even though sharks are a fascinating animal who are celebrated with their own week on television each year, their populations are being decimated. While sharks have captured the imagination of many, most people don't realize how close this important animal is to extinction. These majestic fish have been on earth for over 400 million years, that's older than the dinosaurs! Yet, in the last fifty years some species populations have decreased by 99%! This is a big problem because sharks are slow growing and don't mature fast, most also only have one to two young at a time. The biggest threat facing sharks today is finning. This barbaric practice takes live sharks from the ocean, to have their fins sliced off, after which they are tossed back in alive to drown or bleed to death. These fins are being robbed from sharks to supply Asian markets with shark fin soup at a rate of around 73 million sharks killed per year! Many national and local governments have passed legislation to help keep fins on sharks where they belong. However, Connecticut has not yet joined it's neighboring states of Massachusetts and New York in banning the possession, sale, trade and distribution of shark fins and products. Please join me today and ask the government of Connecticut to take this step in protecting these magnificent animals. Thank you for taking this small step to help our oceans!