7 Best Shark Charities to Donate to in 2023 | Full List with Details
Sharks play a crucial role in maintaining subtle ocean health. However, the world has failed to acknowledge their importance by putting the economic gain of fishery above all.
Sharks are worth more to the environment than their body parts being sold for a mere profit. These keystone species balance the ocean’s wood web, which would immediately collapse in their absence. The below charities have come up with innovative programs to support the sharks and voice the importance of their survival internationally.
Here are the 7 Best Shark Charities to Donate to:
1. Project AWARE
Founded in 1989, their mission is to educate the world about the importance of preserving the aquatic environment. Over 128,000 professionals across the globe have partnered up to build this community.
Apart from fostering biodiversity, they also engage with the local communities to support the dive industry. They are creating a balance between humans and nature with multiple missions like reef-world, project blue, the ocean foundation, and more.
These programs target ocean parts like reefs, sharks, whales, rays and much more. Under their Blueprint for Ocean action they are minimizing population declines by restricting unregulated fishing and protecting the local health of the shark species. Charity Navigator rates them a 3-star rating.
2. Shark Allies
They were established as a nonprofit charity in Hawaii in 2007. This charity exclusively represents sharks and rays, focusing on public engagement. For a decade, they have been participating in school events and business meetings to educate them and elevate new values through various campaigns such as Reducing shark products, Protecting sharks and habitats and Valuing sharks alive.
They have successfully banned 7 shark fin trades and have their petition signed by 318,650 individuals. Their current campaign focuses on altering the legislation in Florida, eliminating the use of shark products, and changing the perception of the entertainment industry to remove sharks from this business.
3. Shark Research Institute
Founded in 1991, they use science to educate and protect sharks. This scientific community changes the policy, influences the media, educates the public, and helps the dive tourism industry.
They track individual tiger sharks by tracking their movements and ensuring they thrive within the given boundaries. Since 1933 they have placed ID and satellite tags on them; this helps them retrieve the biopsy samples for shark breeding and increases the generic diversity.
By collaborating with conservation groups, they have banned fin trade in 12 states across America. Their staff regularly visit various universities, schools, and clubs to educate the students. Additionally, they release a quarterly newsletter that acts as an informative blog for the public. They hold a 63% rating on Charity Navigator.
4. Shark Guardian
This UK-based charity was founded by professional divers and shark researchers from across the globe. Their objective is to advance the conservation of sharks and the natural environment through research projects.
They host global marine campaigns and enforce conservation through educational programs; apart from these online tools, they even present in schools and public events to enhance customer engagement.
The educational material provided by this charity not only gives a clear insight into the current situation of the sharks but also lists down the benefits and consequences of their absence. Charity Navigator rates them an appreciable score of 97%.
5. Atlantic White Shark Conservancy
With a mission to support scientific projects and educate the public about sharks, AWSC was born. One of their partnership led them to design the Sharktivity app to track the sightings and movements of white sharks.
This charity provides the most comprehensive public knowledge on white sharks in Northwest Atlantic. By collecting current research on their behavior, they use it to paint a clear picture of predatory movements.
This helps the management devise a plan to keep them away from humans and support the ongoing studies for reducing the human-shark conflict. Guidestar awarded them with a Platinum seal of transparency while Charity Navigator rates them a perfect 4-star rating.
6. Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium
Their work revolves around research and awareness about shark extinction. By including the study of human cancer and the effects of human-made toxic substances, they are developing a sustainable fish restocking technique to support food production technology.
Their strategies envisioned a future to minimize the burden on the sharks and address the current challenges faced by the administration for their conservation.
7. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Their sole mission is to protect and conserve the world’s oceans and marine life. They support the coastal island governments against unregulated and illegal fishing. During the last five years, they have assisted the law enforces in devising relatable policies that will save the sharks and rays rather than assisting the opposing trades of their fins.
Since 2015 they have partnered with the Mexican authorities to ban illegal fishing gear. Their ships in international waters have removed more than 1,000 such gear and saved the lives of over 4,000 rays, sharks, and other sea creatures.
One can show their support by volunteering in the ship crew or onshore by hosting beach clean-ups, hosting public awareness events, providing artwork that displays the importance of sharks or organizing a table event for raising donations. Charity Navigator rates then a perfect 100% for cultural values and accurate financial accountability.
Final Thoughts
The 3 R’s of recycling, reusing, and reducing, which have supported our ecosystem for decades, are the base for shark conservation. These simple actions can impact the lives of 100 million sharks that would otherwise be killed like the previous year. Although the actions taken by the charities have had a perplexing impact on the sharks, increased volunteerism would take it up a notch to include them in our ecosystem once again.
