Bycatch on longlines
Most sharks die in nets and on hooks set for tuna and swordfish, caught by fisheries that were not looking for them.
Your symbolic adoption supports the Wildlife Connect Shark Fund, which provides funding to vetted organizations working to protect sharks and their habitats.
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| Item | $25 | $50 | $100 | $250 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold plated 2026 ornamentFree through December 20th, 2026 | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Personalized adoption certificate | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Collectible species cardFront and back | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| 8" plush | Not included | Included | Not included | Not included |
| 12" plush | Not included | Not included | Included | Included |
| Wildlife Connect tote | Not included | Not included | Not included | Included |
Sharks have been in the ocean for more than four hundred million years, and most people's picture of them comes from a film. Behind the populations still holding on is work that looks nothing like the film: tagging and tracking that shows where sharks actually go, observers on working boats, gear trials that cut bycatch, and the fisheries rules that come out of all of it.
A symbolic adoption puts your name behind that work.
Your adoption helps support the organizations protecting sharks and the waters they move through. Protection can work quickly here, and several well-enforced shark sanctuaries have seen numbers recover. The overall trend has not turned. More than a third of sharks and rays are threatened with extinction according to the IUCN, and a 2021 study in Nature found oceanic shark and ray abundance has fallen by roughly 71% since 1970.
And your adoption gives you something to keep.
You'll receive a personalized adoption certificate and a collectible, numbered species card that tells the story of the animal you're helping protect. At higher adoption levels, you'll also receive a shark plush: a small, tangible reminder of something much bigger.
Because the best gifts don't disappear when they're opened. They spark curiosity. They start conversations. They remind us that an animal patrolling a reef edge in the Pacific is part of our world, too. Its future is something all of us can help protect.
Adopt a shark. Help protect its ocean. Become part of its story.
Population trend: decreasing. More than a third of sharks and rays are threatened with extinction according to the IUCN, and a 2021 study in Nature found oceanic shark and ray abundance has fallen by roughly 71% since 1970.
Most sharks die in nets and on hooks set for tuna and swordfish, caught by fisheries that were not looking for them.
Fins remain valuable enough to drive a global trade, and markets for shark meat have grown alongside it.
Sharks mature late and have few young, so a fished-down population recovers over decades rather than seasons.
The mangroves and estuaries where young sharks and sawfish grow up are being cleared and dredged.
Funds from our shark adoptions go to the Wildlife Connect Shark Fund, which supports vetted wildlife sanctuaries and conservation organizations working to protect sharks, their habitats, and the many species that live alongside them.
Learn about our impact
