To promote Ocean conservation, Summit At Sea was asking all the 1,000 attending entrepreneurs and other activists “What is the most serious issue facing the oceans today, and how can you, your company, or your industry help address it?”. An added incentive was access to an exciting shark tagging experience.

I thought long and hard. Or at least hard, and came up with the recommendation: The 500 mile Shark Swim, with the following details:

sharktagyoureit:

The 500 mile Shark Swim

Sami Inkinen | @samiinkinen

The problem:  Because of the size of the oceans we often think that almost anything thrown or spilled into the water will be quickly diluted, to the point that neither sea life nor we humans are in immediate danger. It is too easy for us to ignore what is happening in the oceans around us. And a lot of unfortunate things are happening: because of human activities, we are rapidly killing our shark population. Of the 350 species of sharks, 79 are now imperiled, white sharks in particular.

Can we - or I - do something about it?

The solution: Put money where your (or my) mouth is. I literally learned to swim in three months between January and April of 2004 and mostly by reading on the Internet and talking to friends. This was all in an effort to survive a short swim in my first triathlon race. I’ve done a few Triathlons since then, but my swimming still sucks, big time. That said, I also know that we human beings are capable of doing incredible things. And saving the sharks shouldn’t be that hard if we are so capable of amazing things. Attention, funds raised and an example of what is possible with some effort, can take us a long way!

So, why don’t I set an example and act: I will continuously swim from San Francisco to Los Angeles, about 500 miles, through the white shark infested waters. (of course, with some sleep and rest breaks) Why? Because we still can. Because if I can do that, others can do at least a little to save our friends, white sharks. I will raise the funds and bring awareness for the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s White Shark conservation efforts.

Of course, it’s easier to say than deliver, but if I make a promise…

Source: sharktagyoureit