Saba's Shark Strong Week

The Saba Conservation Foundation is bringing something very special to the island this year, due to generous funding received from the Nationale Postcode Loterij. With the goal to promote the establishment of a shark sanctuary in the Dutch Caribbean, we’ve been busy planning to fill next week, the week of August 24th to 29th, with fun activities for kids and adults of all ages. The event is called “Shark Strong”.

Our oceans cover over 70% of the earth’s surface and contain 80% of life on earth. Therefore, maintaining this ecosystem is crucial to our existence. Sharks keep our largest and most important ecosystem healthy. They are a critical component in an ecosystem that provides 1/3 of our world with food, produces more oxygen than all the rainforests combined, removes half of the atmosphere’s man-made greenhouse gases, and controls our planet’s temperature and weather.

Unfortunately, due to overfishing and slow reproduction, some shark species populations have declined by over 90 percent in the last 20 years and as the number of sharks dwindles, the oceans will suffer unpredictable and devastating consequences.

Saba is known as the Unspoiled Queen and is proud of its conservation efforts. The Saba Bank and Saba National Marine Parks are home to healthy corals and an abundance of fish. Sharks are not only important on a worldwide scale, but they are also important to Saba’s local economy, through fisheries as well as tourism.

On Saba, every week is “Shark Week”, which is why we are “Shark Strong”.

Follows is the schedule of events for next week that are open to the public. We will also be in the Sacred Heart and Saba Comprehensive Schools every morning teaching about shark conservation. You can also find the complete schedule and more details at www.facebook.com/SabaSharkStrong.

Monday 24th August:
3pm-5pm
Shark Strong Color Run from Saba Electric Company parking lot in The Bottom to parking lot in Windwardside. (Weather Dependent- we will probably move this event to Saturday. Announcement will be made on Facebook)

Tuesday 25th August:
3pm-5pm
Shark Themed Kickball Tournament for 1st-6th grades at Johan Cruijff Sports Field. (Weather Dependent. Announcement will be made on Facebook)

Wednesday 26th August:
10:30am- 1.00pm
Shark Stanley Day- Travel the world with Shark Stanley! Join us at the Eugenius Johnson Center in Windwardside for a fun filled morning for the kids, full of awesome activities!

7.00pm
Shark Strong Trivia Night at Tropics Café. Gather your team, test your Shark Knowledge, and win great prizes!

Thursday 27th August:
3:00pm – 5.00pm
Shark themed Dodgeball Tournament for the Saba Comprehensive School at Johan Cruijff Sports Field.

6.00pm
Shark Water Screening at Sea Witch Bar & Grill in Windwardside.

Friday 28th August:
5.00pm- 8.00pm
“Sponsor a Shark” Ecolodge BBQ at the Breadline Plaza in Windwardside.

Saturday 29th August:
6.00pm- until
Closing Night Shark Party @ Sea Grape Grill with the Shark Domino Competition. Contact Kai Wulf to register your domino team. Wear a shark costume to be entered to win awesome prizes!

Press release Saba Conservation Foundation.