(DiverWire) A new online Shark Awareness Education training course has been launched. “Sharks continue to be misrepresented and badly portrayed in the media,” explains Alex Antoniou, Ph.D., course developer and co-founder of Fins Attached: Marine Research and Conservation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of sharks. “The Shark Awareness Education course helps individuals view sharks and the role they play in the marine ecosystem with a fresh eye focused on conservation.” Dr. Antoniou continues, “No other training program like this exists where someone can learn about sharks at their own pace, in a highly interactive format.”
The goal of this Shark Awareness Education training is to provide individuals with the basic knowledge, and understanding about sharks and why they need to be protected. In this interactive online training program students will learn how to:
- Identify basic concepts of shark classification
- Identify components of shark anatomy
- Identify basic concepts of shark physiology
- Identify different forms of shark behavior
- Identify components of shark interactions
- Identify different species of sharks
- Identify importance of shark conservation
- Identify research practices used to study sharks
Once someone is enrolled in the course they have access to the training for six months, are able to take a final knowledge test, and then print your own completion certificate. Learners are taken though a journey about sharks using amazing imagery, video clips, and interactive activities. They can navigate through the interactive “Shark-O-Matic” to learn about shark classifications and species identification. Students can also print out their own copies of the species identification forms to have as references.
Why is this course important? Dr. Antoniou explains that, “Millions of sharks are killed every year. Many sharks also fall victim to finning, the practice of cutting the shark’s fins and then discarding the still-living shark into the sea to die. With the exception of a few countries that have instituted national measures for their shark fisheries or protection for individual species, there are virtually no controls on shark fisheries around the world.” This course can help individuals become better stewards of our world’s oceans. Proceeds from this training course will help fund the research and conservation efforts of Fins Attached.
Media attention commonly points out the bad about sharks with only “shark attacks” ever being reported. Having this course online brings the shark information to our fingertips.
“The goal of the Shark Awareness Education course is a commitment to helping sharks become more protected in the global fight against shark fisheries. This can be done by empowering divers, non-divers, young and old. Education is the first step by eliminating the bad information about sharks so the world can enjoy the good about sharks,” stresses Dr. Antoniou.
Participants can see a free demo of the course and register for the Shark Awareness Education online training course at www.studysharks.org.
