Last week I found myself signing petitions and making donations to several campaigns that are trying to save the most feared of all sea creatures. It all started when I finally got to watch Sharkwater, the incredible documentary by Toronto native Rob Stewart. What I learned while watching this film, and in my follow-up research, frightened me far more than any Jaws movie ever had.

Most people have an unfounded fear of sharks. Ask 1,000 people if they are afraid of sharks and most of them will say yes, even though the odds are such that less than 1 in 1,000 will ever have an encounter with a shark that ends badly. The truth is sharks are not interested in humans any more than lions or tigers. While each of them is a feared predator in its own domain, the main difference between them is that sharks are not protected by any international protection laws, and only sharks are slaughtered by the millions every year. This is problematic on so many levels. Watch the film and you'll understand why.

After watching Sharkwater I had to do something. Anything. So I donated money to the Sharkwater fund, then I made a pledge to save sharks along with the 65,000+ others who have been similarly inspired to do something after watching this film. Eventually I was led to the Saving Sharks website, where I learned about a couple other initiatives to pressure both government and big-business to stop supporting the shark slaughter. There are several online petitions currently. The first, organised by the producers of Sharks: Stewards of the Reef, aims to Stop Distribution of Shark Fins on the Chinese web portal Alibaba.com. The next petition I signed, this time at the Shark Savers website, opposes the Autstralian government's plan to allow new shark fishing on the Great Barrier Reef. Another one seeks to pressure Canadian mega-chain Shoppers Drug Mart to stop selling Hollista brand shark cartilege supplements. And there are other initiatives popping up everywhere as people around the world wake up to the impending ecological disaster.

Please do your part. Get educated. Add your voice to the conversation. Save the sharks!