This photo made the cover of Pacific Whale Foundation’s 2021 Marine Life Calendar. It was PWF’s first annual Marine Life Photo Calendar Contest, and the image raised over $2,000 in votes. In fact, that’s roughly one quarter of the total amount raised in the voting round that year! If you are one of the people who voted for this photo to make the cover, thank you for supporting Pacific Whale Foundation and making the calendar contest such a big success.
This year, we have helped PWF yet again with a stunning donation to their annual online auction. We have beautifully printed “Priceless” on 8×10 inch metallic photo paper. The metallic luster of the photo paper gives the image a wonderful luminosity. We have mounted it on a white gallery mat with beveled opening for display in an 11X14 inch frame of your choice (frame not included).
The perfect accent to your home, office, or other living space, this print is one of a kind, and not available in this format anywhere else. In addition, we have added the phrase “PWF 2023” to the discreet signature of the artist (hidden in the shadows of the lower left corner).
If you’d like to see all the items that were up for auction this year, you can check it out here. Pacific Whale Foundation’s online auction was a huge success. This print brought in $89, and the grand total for the auction was close to $50,000.
To learn more about our vision at Reef Surge, and about the work you’re supporting by shopping with us, check out our latest post:
Create a Brighter Ocean Future in 3 Easy Steps
Priceless: This gray reef shark is natural capital. Alive and swimming, it is a platinum mine. To sell its fins is to trade the deed for fool’s gold.
Are You Afraid of Sharks?
I work as a naturalist for Pacwhale Eco-adventures, the social enterprise of Pacific Whale Foundation. We lead snorkeling and whale watching adventures. Our mission is protecting the ocean through science and advocacy and inspiring environmental stewardship. People ask me all the time: “there aren’t any sharks here, are there?” If I’m feeling cheeky, I like to tell them how you can tell if there are sharks in the area. Take your finger, and stick it in the water. Taste it: if it tastes salty, there are sharks around.
I also do my best to reassure people. The risks of a shark attack are quite low. Especially when compared with other risks you face every day, shark attacks are highly unlikely. The odds are in your favor.
However, sharks are facing a tougher situation. In 2013, scientists estimated that humans kill at least 100 million sharks per year. That’s 11,416 sharks killed per hour. And the scientists concluded that the total number of sharks killed per year could be as high as 273 million. It’s clear to me that people should be afraid FOR sharks, not afraid OF sharks.
They are beautiful animals, and they are important to ocean ecosystems.
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