SAFE Sharks and Rays

10/14/2026

Amazing work!! Congratulations!

10/12/2026

On this Indigenous People's Day, I wanted to share an article from the The Safina Center that focuses on connections to sharks from a native, historical perspective.
May we all respect and honor the land, the people, their stories, and the gifts of this planet! We can learn so much from each other…we are stronger together!

Read it here: https://www.safinacenter.org/blog/unveiling-the-mystical-connections-sharks-and-indigenous-mythology






📸: Jenkinson's Aquarium

10/08/2026

A HUGE Thank YOU to everyone who came out to Suds for Sharks in Portland! What an incredible evening, a great venue, awesome shark people, and delicious food and beverages.
Your donations and support through our raffle and silent auction raised $3165 for shark conservation! Absolutely incredible. 🍻🦈😍
We could not do this without our phenomonal event sponsors Longhorn Organics, LLC. and McRoberts Sales Co., Inc.….another huge round of applause for them, as well as Seattle Aquarium for their ongoing support as our fiscal funds sponsors! 👏👏
Interested in hosting an event in your community? Reach out! We are here to support you in your efforts.

10/08/2026

Are you ready to celebrate sawfish? Register your event and get resources for celebrations on October 17th!

  INTERNATIONAL SAWFISH DAY (OCT 17th)International Sawfish Day (ISD) is an annual event that is held every October 17th, with the aim of raising awareness of these endangered animals and the threats they face. You can participate in ISD by creating or visiting a sawfish outreach event in your comm...

10/07/2026

SAFE Shark and Ray, along with partners Shark Ray 360 and the South-East Zoo Alliance for Reproduction & Conservation are delighted to announce that we have received an AZA Conservation Grant award for the project: Feasibility of artificial insemination in bowmouth guitarfish: a pilot study investigating semen collection and cryopreservation, ultrasound and hormone analysis.
This project aligns with our Direct Species Conservation Action pillar of work and will propel our knowledge and understanding of breeding the species in human care! 🦈 🙌

10/01/2026

What an incredible evening spent celebrating sharks and conservation! Thank you to our event sponsors McRoberts Sales Co., Inc. and Longhorn Organics, LLC. for supporting this amazing event! Thanks to the awesome venue Old Town Pizza and Brewing in downtown Portland for the delicious food and beverages as well as the incredible customer service. We can't forget the fabulous women from Wands and Wishes Occasions for being our emcees. And finally, a HUGE thank you to all our partners and supporters that showed up! We couldn't do this work without you!





Pictured below: Windy Kent, Hap Fatzinger, Paul Cox, Riley Pollom, Beth Firchau

10/01/2026

Stronger together 🤝
The AZA SAFE Shark and Ray team connected with two of our amazing sponsors at the AZA annual conference — thank you to Wands and Wishes Mermaids and McRoberts Sales Co. for standing with us in support of shark and ray conservation!
Your partnership powers real change for these vulnerable species. 🦈

09/29/2026

Standing room only! 🦈

The AZA SAFE Sharks & Rays team packed the room at the AZA annual conference yesterday, with speakers highlighting our projects, programs, partner contributions, case studies, and business sponsorships.

Huge thank you to everyone who presented — and to every partner and supporter working alongside us to protect sharks and rays around the world. Together we’re making waves for conservation.

Swipe through for highlights from the session 👉
ConservationInAction

09/28/2026

We are at the Annual Conference in Portland!

Join us:
Monday, Sep 28, 2026 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM PDT
Location: C123, Oregon Convention Center

Description

We will have a quick program and project updates and then spend some time introducing a new digital resource/website for partners.

The remaining time will include various presenters and contributors diving into details about partner participation in the following projects, as well as Q&A with the audience:

· Messaging and Communications
· Best Practices for Elasmobranch Handling Events/Handling App
· Direct Species Conservation and the Elasmobranch Genetics Project
· Policy Initiative on the Cownose Ray Campaign
· Chondro Census
· Elasmobranch Blood Project
· Sustainable Feed Project and Case Study
· Singapore Oceanarium Reports on International Collaboration with SAFE

09/23/2026

Headed to Portland for the AZA Conference? Don't miss opportunities to engage with the SAFE team!
🗣Annual Meeting - Monday, 9/28 @ 10am
🍻Suds for Sharks -Wednesday, 9/30 @ 630pm.

Many thanks to McRoberts Sales Co., Inc. and Longhorn Organics, LLC. for sponsoring this years event! Can't wait to see you there!