One of television’s biggest events is almost upon us: Discovery Channel’s Shark Week. Whether you love the infamous programming or plan to boycott the drama, one thing is certain — scuba divers are some of sharks’ biggest fans. These apex predators are critical to marine ecosystems, but they’re in danger. The good news is that divers will go to great lengths to protect them. Scuba diver and Project AWARE supporter Natalie Parrinder has done just that.

Like many ocean enthusiasts, Parrinder wasn’t always aware of the dangers facing numerous shark species around the world. Often portrayed as fierce and predatory, in reality, many shark species are incredibly vulnerable to overfishing, bycatch and finning, the practice of brutally slicing off an animal’s fins and throwing the live shark overboard to drown at sea. Largely unregulated shark fishing and finning practices across the globe are killing thousands each day. In certain regions, population counts are so low that the continued existence of some shark species seems dubious.

Upon learning these facts, Parrinder reached out to Project AWARE to find out how she could help protect her beloved ocean friends. Combining her love of swimming and desire to raise funds for a cause she cares about, Parrinder organized a Finathon fundraiser event. Like a swim-a-thon, fun run, or marathon, a Finathon offers an opportunity for individuals and communities to come together to raise funds and awareness to support sharks in peril.

Through her Finathon, Parrinder, who had never swum farther than 1 kilometer (.6 mile) in a single day, pledged to swim 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) per day over the course of five days, for a total of 10 kilo- meters (6.2 miles). She found her goal both challenging and motivating. With the sup- port and contributions of her community, Parrinder was able to raise generous funds for Project AWARE to support shark- conservation efforts around the world.

With help from supporters like Parrinder, Project AWARE has secured international-trade protections for eight of the world’s most vulnerable sharks and rays. But we need more help. To ensure the survival of sharks, we must fight for stricter, enforceable controls at national, regional and global levels. With support from people like you and the rest of the scuba-diving community, we can achieve stronger protections for some of the world’s most threatened species.

This year during Shark Week, be sure to keep conservation in mind. To organize your own fundraising event, visit finathon.org.

For more on Project AWARE, read these articles:

Project AWARE's Debris Month of Action | Project AWARE's My Ocean Online Community | Project AWARE's Movement to Protect the Ocean