Duncan Oliver
Scuba Junkies’ Shark Week, Pulau Mabul, Sabah, Malaysia kicked off spectacularly with the tagline - '400 million years to perfect - 30 years to almost destroy' to inspire support for their shark conservation efforts.
Shark Week participants were buzzing from seeing 147 sharks and rays in ONE day! Don’t you all wish you were diving around Mabul?
On the first day of Shark Week, a lucky group of divers saw a whale shark and a breaching thresher shark at Sipadan, and at Si Amil all divers saw a school of over 50 devil rays! But despite this great experience Scuba Junkie Shark week aims to raise awareness about the threats to sharks and rays.
“Sharks are under dire threat worldwide, with many species facing extinction. In addition, many people hold negative perceptions of sharks, which is a hindrance to conservation efforts. Our shark week will focus on amazing, yet responsible information about sharks – which are incredible creatures, their lives needing no negative embellishments. We also wanted to show our support for Project AWARE - so today, as part of our Shark Week, we're holding a sponsored Finathon 8km relay snorkel around Mabul to raise funds for Project AWARE,” said organiser Cat Cassidy.
Earlier in the week Scuba Junkie organised two days Dive Against Debris events including reef and beach cleans around Mabul. Their network of friends created shark sandcastles on beaches around the world and shared their photos on the Scuba Junkie Facebook profile to show their support.
Thankfully, divers are some of sharks’ closest and most influential allies. Together, we can create a powerful, collective voice to lead global grassroots change. Thanks to all the Finathon swimmers and the Scuba Junkie team.
