YOU CAN HELP BAN THE SHARK FIN TRADE IN THE AFRICAN UNION!!!

     Since 2020, StopFinning EU has worked as a collaboration between numerous organizations to secure a comprehensive ban on the trade of shark fins in the European Union, a collective of 27 nations that comprises 22 percent of the global economy. Their citizens' initiative has gathered 230,000 votes, but it needs a million to be brought before the European Union Parliament. If you are a European resident, please vote here.

     Now, we have an opportunity to make this momentum go global. The African Union is a powerhouse of the world's economic growth as well as a hub for global biodiversity, including in the oceans. Shark finning and shark fishing are still legal in most African waters and the shark fin trade remains entirely legal on the continent. With the United States, Canada, China, and other nations working to abolish this barbaric trade, which kills 100 million sharks a year, the African Union can do the same. The body has a unique opportunity as it seeks to build a powerful, interdependent, more just and peaceful future.

     Sharks regulate evolution of fish and marine mammals, which in turn plays a dramatic role in global climate, biodiversity, and food security for the millions of Africans who need artisanal fisheries to survive. Sign here to lend your voice and please contribute even $3 to help show this petition to more people (I receive none of the money: it is all handled directly through Change.org).