Last weekend we've opened our Shark stand in the Olomouc Zoo. The event was held on the occasion of the World Ocean Day that falls on June 8. By coincidence  the Olomouc Zoo was celebrating the anniversary at the same time, so our event became the part of celebrations. Therefore we had to attend to many visitors at our stand. You have donated us in total 503 CZK during the two days. This amount, rounded to 22 USD, was transferred to the account of WildAid organization, specifically to their Marine Protection program. We would like to thank to the Olomouc Zoo management for organizational support and also, in name of the organization WildAid, to all donors.

Importance of live sharks for tourism

Divers, when choosing a dive destination, rank sharks and mantas as the #1 attraction—ranking even higher than healthy coral reefs or turtles. Separate studies conducted in the Bahamas, South Africa, Palau, the Maldives, and Australia show that revenue from shark diving significantly surpasses potential shark fishing revenue. For example, the tourism value of each living grey reef shark in the Maldives has been placed at US$33,500 each year. This revenue reccurs year after year from the same sharks. Shark diving can result in millions of dollars annually in each of the individual local destinations, well beyond the one-time income from shark fishing.