Fintastic Friday: Giving Sharks a Voice

Fintastic Friday: Giving Sharks a Voice is an annual worldwide celebration created to raise public awareness of sharks and similar fish. The subclass is called Elasmobranchs, which includes sharks, sawfish, stingrays, and skates. These are unique ocean inhabitants, and their extinction must be prevented. The holiday is observed on the second Friday in May.

History

The story of Fintastic Friday: Giving Sharks a Voice began in 1995 when it was created by the organization While Time, led by Ruth Musgrave. The main goal of the organization is to introduce children to the ocean world.

According to Musgrave, children are great advocates for sharks and other marine species. Children are very sensitive and emotional, so their early connection to the ocean world will help them grow up aware of its challenges and better equipped to solve them. This will ensure the protection of all Elasmobranch species in the future.

Interesting Facts

• Sharks have a unique adaptive ability: when oxygen is scarce, part of their brain shuts down, putting them into a state of minimal activity, similar to anabiosis.
• Sharks’ eyes have both lower and upper eyelids, but they never blink.
• Seahorses are unique in the animal kingdom because it is the males that carry the offspring, the only species with this system.

How to Celebrate

Learn more about sharks and other members of the Elasmobranch subclass on this day. Introduce children to the world of sharks by discussing their features, the dangers they face, and their importance to the ecosystem.

Share information about the holiday on social media. Ask your followers if they’ve ever encountered a shark in real life and what their impressions were.

When is Fintastic Friday: Giving Sharks a Voice in 2025?

Fintastic Friday: Giving Sharks a Voice is observed on the second Friday in May.

Observations