Guadalupe Island Conservation Fund Seeks To Protect White Sharks

August 9, 2007

Release from: The Log (California)

GUADALUPE ISLAND, MEXICO - The Guadalupe Island Conservation Fund has set its sights on ensuring that the white shark population here will be protected, raising money to fund a biosphere dedicated to shark science and protection - and the group is asking for help from boaters.

Dave Shuler, a photographer for The Log, recently visited the island to photograph the sharks in their natural habitat and find out more about the group.

The organization was established this year by members of the scuba diving and eco-community to support and raise money to aide the Mexican government in protecting the white shark population - which has experienced a 70- to 90-percent decline in its global population size over the last few decades.

The nonprofit organization looks to channel money from the growing white shark tourism industry into local conservation-related projects on the island.

White sharks are protected in Australia, the U.S. and South Africa. They are listed as endangered species in Mexican waters off Guadalupe Island, but the nation has no resources to dispatch park rangers to protect them.

The sharks' territory intersects with that of large commercial fishing fleets - and their size, slow reproductive rate and decreasing population make them vulnerable to overfishing. They are also targeted by sport anglers and are commercially taken for their fins, teeth and jaws.

The Guadalupe Island Conservation Fund is managed by MarineBio.org, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of marine life.

Donations will be used to assist the park staff and park rangers to protect the area, as well as to conduct important research that will help scientists better understand the majestic and mysterious white sharks and other native species of the island.