“Mad Men” Star January Jones Comes to Washington to Save Sharks - Oceana USA

“Mad Men” Star January Jones Comes to Washington to Save Sharks

Urges for U.S. Leadership in Domestic and International Shark Conservation

Press Release Date: September 29, 2009

Location: Washington, DC

Contact:

Dustin Cranor, APR | email: dcranor@oceana.org | tel: 954.348.1314

 

January Jones is in Washington this week on a mission to save sharks. Jones is meeting with key members of Congress, including Senators Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and John McCain (R-AZ), to urge them to pass the Shark Conservation Act of 2009 and to push for U.S. leadership on international shark conservation.

Jones is best known for her role as Betty Draper in the American Movie Channel’s critically acclaimed series “Mad Men,” which has won Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards. Jones became a spokesperson for Oceana’s Save Sharks campaign in early 2009.

“We should be scared FOR sharks, not of them,” said the Golden Globe nominee. “The survival of sharks and the health of our oceans depend on it.”

Sharks have been swimming the world’s oceans since before the age of the dinosaur, but today some species face extinction. Each year, commercial fishing kills more than 100 million sharks worldwide – including tens of millions for just their fins. Sharks are especially vulnerable to pressure from human activities because of their slow growth and low reproductive potential.

“The United States needs to stand up for sharks,” said Jones. “Congress can do its part by passing the Shark Conservation Act.”

Sharks can be found in almost every ocean and play a vital role in maintaining the health of the oceans. Many shark populations have declined to levels where they are unable to perform their roles as top predators in the ecosystem, causing drastic and possibly irreversible damage to the oceans. According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, more than half of the highly migratory shark species are now considered overexploited or depleted.

About the Shark Conservation Act of 2009:

The Shark Conservation Act of 2009 (S. 850) would put an end to shark finning. Finning is the process of cutting off the fins and discarding the carcass at sea. The bill would require all sharks caught in U.S. waters to be landed with their fins naturally attached and close other loopholes in existing law.

For more information about Oceana’s campaign to safeguard sharks and its partnership with January Jones, please visit http://oceana.org/scaredforsharks. To learn more about Jones’ recent trip to swim with sharks, please click here.

Photos , B-roll & PSA:

URL: http://webdisk.oceana.org
Username: media
Password: Medi@
Folders: January Jones Photos.zip (photos)
B_Roll_Sharks_film_Neil_Andrea (b-roll)
OCEANA Scared for sharks PSA HD.mp4 (psa)