 The Shark-Sand Sculpture competition was a huge success. The sun was shining as over 100 people gathered on the beach to take part in the competition. British shark species started appearing all over the beach as the day progressed. 23 sharks were finished in total, all meticulously carved out of the sand by enthusiastic shark supporters.
Who won the Shark-Sand Sculpture competition?
The winner of the competition was Jack and Rachel Mathews, and their team who made a 4 metre Short-fin Mako Shark.The runner up was Dr B. Rapperied and his children aged 11, 6 and 4, who sculpted a fantastic Hammerhead Shark. In 3rd place were Sophie  Tadhunter and her fellow students, all aged 21. These very keen sculptures were the first to arrive and spent the whole four and a half hours creating their master piece; a beautifully sculpted basking shark. Lots of imagination and effort went into all of the sharks; it was extremely tough judging the winners.
On the day we also managed to collect 130 postcards urging members of the European Parliament to stop shark finning. This shows how passionate people are now about protecting sharks.
What else happened on the day?
Everyone on the day had lots of fun and many were surprised to learn that we had so many sharks in our waters (over 30 species). They were also surprised to learn that over 50% of those species are threatened, with some critically endangered.
It is clear from the event though that people are now really starting to care about sharks. The jaws generation has moved on and people can now see how important sharks are for our oceans. Attitudes have changed and people in Bournemouth have sent out a clear message that they want sharks protected.
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