Presenting Sharks - Badly

We have been rabid supporters of Shark Trust Wines and owner Melanie Marks over the years.

If you're in the shark conservation world you have heard of her or enjoyed her wines at innumerable ocean conservation events across the country.

Melanie's company acts as the "shark conversation lubricant" that has launched more conservation ideas, solutions, and efforts then her company generally gets attributed for.

Melanie also keeps tabs on all things shark related and this week alerted her shark network to a seemingly small and some might say insignificant issue with a regional eye wear company (see ad).

To folks like Melanie and Shark Trust Wines who have dedicated the last eight years of her life to sharks and the positive perception of sharks - every bit helps.

Kudos for bringing attention to this. If you would like to add your voice please do so, here is the website you can send a calm, well reasoned letter explaining the need for positive shark media.

vision-centre.com

Need a Good Reason to Imbibe?

Found on the Internet over at our new favorite blog Oh, for the love of Science. Sometimes blog posts are perfect just the way they are. When this happens we re post the whole thing:

How often do you get to say that you are doing something good by drinking? Well, up through World Oceans Day on June 8th (yes, I only just found out about this) , Shark Trust Wines will be donating 30% of your total purchase to The Ocean Project, the world’s most extensive network for advancing ocean education and action. All you have to do is type TOP into the coupon code. Of course, you probably want to donate as much money as possible to The Ocean Project, so you should probably stockpile up on wines. At $10 a bottle, that won’t be hard!

Your options are:

• SIX GILL Syrah
• REEF SHARK Red
• WHALE SHARK Chenin
• GREAT WHITE Chardonnay

Any other time, Shark Trust Wines donate 10% of profits to organizations that deal with shark conservation and research. Included on the list are the National Aquarium, Georgia Aquarium, Florida Aquarium, Shedd Aquarium and Mote Marine Laboratory. So drink up! (Like you needed an excuse to pour yourself a good glass of wine…)

McDonalds Hates Sharks...Apparently

In response to a new McDonalds radio commercial on the east coast, Melanie Marks CEO of Shark Trust Wines sent the following email to McD's corporate headquarters this week.

Having personally known Melanie for over 6 years and her absolute dedication to shark conservation issues we'll agree with her take on this commercial having not yet heard it for ourselves. Sometimes you just have to act:

I recently heard a radio commercial for McDonald's that referenced the great white shark. More specifically, it promoted McDonald's at the expense of the great white. Sickened would not begin to describe how I felt about McDonald's when I heard this commercial.

The great white shark is on the endangered species list. It's population has declined by roughly 80% in the last 15 years and is expected to become extinct within the next several decades unless something is done to reverse this trend. In light of that, how can McDonald's approve an ad that contributes to the negative, and incorrect, image of this animal. Clearly, someone did not do their homework! A great leader once said, if you are not part of the solution than you are part of the problem.

I request that you immediately remove these extremely ignorant and inflammatory commercials from the air. I am prepared to organize a boycott of McDonald's if you do not do so immediately. And, to give you a sense of the power behind this statement, 30 million viewers tuned into Discovery Channel's Shark Week last year because they are interested in the fate of the shark.

I am an active voice in the ocean conservation community and I am not opposed to using that voice to send a message to McDonald's that your advertising campaign is malicious and contributing to the extinction of one of the great ocean animals.

I request that you respond to my request within 5 business days, or I will have no choice but to begin a PR campaign against McDonald's for your slander of an endangered animal.

Regards,

Melanie Marks
President
Shark Trust Wines
619-994-5933
marks@sharktrustwines.com

International Conservation Caucus Foundation Ball

Had a long conversation this morning with the always excited Melanie Marks CEO of Shark Trust Wines about her adventures in Washington this week at the Obama Inauguration.

Turns out Melanie was front and center at both the swearing in ceremony and with the Washington conservation crowd at the International Conservation Caucus Foundation Ball where Shark Trust Wines were served to a standing room only crowd of conservationists and politico's.

For America's only wine brand that supports shark conservation efforts and raises awareness about sharks that was a pretty neat trick. Melanie reports that she is now out of wine in the D.C area for a while, another successful event and a unique way to get shark conservation efforts on the agenda in Washington.

We have been featuring Shark Trust Wines on all our commercial shark diving vessels since the brands inception. As a stand alone wine series they are excellent, as a back end way to message shark conservation efforts, brilliant.

Shark Week 2008-Shark Trust Wines

We got the following email from the folks over at Shark Trust Wines. As huge supporters of this plucky shark brand we're more than happy to pass on the offer to our shark fans.

As far as we know this is the only shark branded wine on the planet...this is why we serve it proudly on all our shark vessels:

Greetings!

It's here...our favorite week of the year...SHARK WEEK! Stock up on Shark Trust Wines this week and get ready for 7 full days of shark programming on the Discovery Channel. With every case of wine purchased this week at sharktrustwines.com, we will include a shark topper. No need for special codes online. We will automatically send the topper.

Cheers,
Melanie CEO
Shark Trust Wines

Shark Trust Wines, Sharky Good Vino

Our friends at Shark Trust Wines asked us to provide a testimonial for their website. For the past few years we have fully supported the efforts of this scrappy little wine company to spread the word about sharks and shark conservation...oh, and it's great wine as well:

When we first "discovered" Shark Trust Wines I was excited about the prospects of a "wine company with a conscience". Traditionally wines focus on the message of the wine. Here was one that focused on the understanding and knowledge of sharks with 10% back to shark causes.

As the CEO of a shark diving company I fully understand the power of the shark. People are simply fascinated by these animals, they will travel half way around the planet to see them in person and millions of viewers tune into shows like BBC Blue Planet and Shark Week each year.

Shark Trust wines taps into that shark conscience and directs the consumer into action, through the purchase, and the enjoyment of the product. We stand behind this wine brand because it is a forward thinking "smart wine".

In an age where consumers are increasingly looking at their buying power as a way to effect change, we support that change and look forward to supplying this product on all our shark diving vessels in the years to come.