Shark Stewards Southeast

Some thoughts about the that took place today:

1. Thanks to those who spoke including from and the gentlemen representing the dive industry. did an awesome job reminding the commissioners that angler anecdotes about depredation are currently not data driven and that before any changes in the rules take place to loosen restrictions there absolutely must be data to do so.


2. who want to bypass fin legislation are now referring to shark find as and want to be able to reverse the rule about having detached fins about boats because they want to use the for baiting crabs and deterring sharks. That was the argument. This could lead to a slippery slope and we must make sure OUR collective voices are heard.

3. Despite the science showing that diving doesn’t change shark behavior, the dept of fisheries is looking to enforce federal waters restrictions on this type of .

4. I sent my email to the commissioners yesterday. Did you??

Just sent my email to the commissioners about the shark legislation update. You can do it so easily by following these steps:
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🦈STAND UP FOR FLORIDA SHARKS🦈

The December FWC meeting kicks off this Wednesday the 16th at 9 am, and sharks will be a topic that day. This is your opportunity to share any incidents you have witnessed with shore-based shark fishers breaking the law and bringing prohibited species of sharks ashore. We know many of you have also seen dead sharks wash onto the beach as a result of shore-based shark fishing, and this is the time to speak up for those sharks!

🦈WHAT TO DO🦈

If you are unable to call in on Wednesday to give your input during the open comment portion after the presentation, NOW is the time to fill out the public comment form AND email the commissioners. By sending in both the public comment form and emailing the commissioners directly, we can make the maximum impact and make sure our voices are heard. Please remember to be polite, otherwise we will not make a positive impact!

EVERYTHING can be found in the link in the bio: The Comment Form, The Email Form, The Shark Presentation, and the FWC Meeting Agenda.

Perspective.

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With all the Holiday shopping going on I want to remind everyone that shark tooth necklaces, baby sharks in jars, puffer fish, sea horse and starfish ornaments, shark jerky, corals and all kinds of these things do not make good gifts. These are all products of animals that were killed to be in a jar, have a tooth dangling on a string or were dried to be turned into a ornament or eaten. Sometimes people don’t give any thought to buying one of these things. They might even think the person they are buying it for will love it because they love sharks or because they want a souvenir from their vacation. No shark lover will want a baby shark in a jar or a bag of hammerhead jerky. These things should not be on any Christmas lists. If they are.. that is naughty, not nice. But the other thing, is that maybe people just don’t know these things are bad ? This is why it is important to keep getting the word out and to not buy things that might be hurting animals. So please do not ever buy any of these types of products !

*Black shark teeth are ok to buy. They are fossilized from sharks that lived millions of years ago and died of natural causes. Also if you know the tooth was picked up on a beach or something like that it would be ok too. These would be really cool gifts , they are nice not naughty 🎁 😁
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Awesome news! Styrofoam is the worst and once it’s in the ocean for a while and exposed to weathering, it crumbled into tiny pieces and is super hard to cleanup. TRACC

Thank you, city of Fort Lauderdale! This evening, the city of Fort Lauderdale took action to reduce plastic pollution by passing an ordinance prohibiting the use of single-use polystyrene foam food-service products on city property. The ordinance prohibits the use of single-use polystyrene foam cups and food containers (also sometimes called Styrofoam) in places like city parks, city facilities, and the beach.

🐋 Learn more about plastic pollution at: https://usa.oceana.org/our-campaigns/plastic/campaign

Happy Shark

Finally some good news in 2020!! Congrats for all your hard work. May Kristen Jacobs rest a little easier in Heaven.


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FLORIDA BANS SHARK FIN TRADE -
From our friends at and especially my dear friend , an indomitable force for conservation and whose efforts were critical to this success!

It’s time to celebrate, Florida is officially the 15th state to ban the shark fin trade! The Kristin Jacobs Ocean Conservation Act (SB680) is now law in the Sunshine State, what will soon be known as the previous hub of the fin trade for the United States. This was no easy feat, to say the least, 2 years of sweat, tears and a couple drops of blood. The journey was filled with tough hurdles and strong opposition, there was not a single easy day in this campaign. But all of us persisted and with this we have proven, once again, that we can succeed if we persist. When we started this campaign we were told that it couldn’t be done in Florida, that there was no point in trying. Well, sometimes it is the toughest fights we have to tackle, just because they usually are the most important ones. When we put our collective power behind an effort, we can do the (nearly) impossible.⁠⠀
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We cannot thank our Allies enough, you spoke up for sharks every single time we said go! This would without-a-doubt not have been possible without our masterful lobbyists, Senator Travis Hutson, the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation team, our seasters at Fin Alliance, the organizations and last but definitely not least, the ocean warrior herself, Representatives Kristin Jacobs. Without her, there would be no Kristin Jacobs Ocean Conservation Act. Kristin's work will always be remembered. We love you, the sharks thank you, Mother Nature thanks you!⁠

Today is

While we couldn’t organize an even this year, we can raise a

Humans are changing our world, our ecosystems and our sources of life in insurmountable ways faster than ever before. YOUR VOICE is important. In the US we are facing one of the most important elections of most of our lifetime. An election that in many ways will be the US vote to either our and or loosen restrictions and allow to take over.

Local elections, writing and calling local officials is just as important as voting in the in many ways. Your are yours. From raw sewage spills in to producing we need to raise our voices and

We could all use some humor these days 💙

☀️

So excited to see one of our favorite be honored as a part of this amazing tribute!


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I’m feeling a bit speechless about this news, but here we go: Today, for the first time in history (!), Central Park in NYC will unveil its first statues of women. Did you know that less than half a dozen statues of women exist in the public spaces of America’s major cities? Today, and changed that statistic by displaying six 3D printed statues of diverse, real working female wildlife at the ! As you can see from the photo, I’m extremely humbled to announce that I’m one of them.

The badass women that I have the honor to “stand” beside are fellow ambassadors:
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Please follow these ladies to learn more about their amazing work. And follow to learn more about incredible women in STEM (seriously, the work that my fellow ambassadors do is mind blowing).

So, who’s going to teach me how to take a virtual selfie with my statue?

!!

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⚠️BREAKING NEWS⚠️ The MV ‪Wakashio ‬just broke into two pieces off the coast of Mauritius and now the front part is being towed and will be sunk "at least 1,000 kilometers" off the island. Click the link in the bio of or to donate to our fundraiser to help them with their oil cleanup and wildlife recovery and share this sad news with everyone you know to get EVERYONE helping this tiny island nation in their time of need! Please also DM and leave comments on .s.k_line_official the giant oil company that makes billions of dollars per year and whose fault this catastrophe is and remind them they MUST pay for ALL the damages this absolute disaster is for the locals of Mauritius, their economy, marine life, coral reefs and biodiversity too! We MUST all work together to stop this from happening again and again and spreading awareness on social media is the key so please share this with your followers and tag people, influencers, celebrities and news media in the comments and have them share it too...ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! ‪ ‪ @ Mauritius