Citing disinterest by the public and a general lack of awareness that this week is Shark Awareness Week, the New Zealand Shark Alliance has announced that it will next week launch something called Shark Awareness Week Awareness Week; a concerted effort to remind people that this week was Shark Awareness Week.
Shark Alliance media spokeswoman Katrina Subedar said that the campaign was inspired by the difficulty faced by institutions around the country to make the public aware not only of sharks, but that this week was the week to be made aware of them.
A private poll conducted by the alliance showed that more people were aware of sharks than were aware of Shark Awareness Week, and of those who were aware of Shark Awareness Week, only 1% of respondents had been aware prior to taking the survey.
“What we’re really hoping to do is get the message out to people that, you know, last week was Shark Awareness Week, and there are going to be all these events going on last week that, had you known about them, you would’ve been able to attend,” said Subedar. “Not anymore, obviously, but, you know, next year.”
The alliance, along with Auckland Museum and Te Papa, will be holding a series of events next week to highlight the important role Shark Awareness Weeks play in interrupting our lives.
“We just want to remind people that, while they might take Shark Awareness Weeks for granted, they are heavily endangered,” said Auckland Museum publicist Melanie Cooper, “and if we don’t think about how our actions affect our environment, we might lose them for good.”
Subedar hoped that if enough people were made to care about Shark Awareness Week, some might even find themselves caring about sharks.