erall judicial fortitude regarding high seas poaching and overharvesting (Martin 1985). Independently, some nations have taken steps in an effort to bring forth a change, but these efforts are often last resorts applied to a shark fishery that has already crashed. The South African White Shark Research Institute is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to the research of the world's greatest predator, and the preservation of its environment (Martin 1985). The WSRI has put forth a strong commitment to educating at all levels, which has led the group to establish one of the world's largest and most far reaching educational and conservation programs on sharks (Martin 1985). To accomplish the goal they have set before themselves, the institutes objectives are to change negative public attitudes towards sharks. With a number of various programs the WSRI has used different avenues to inform the world about the beauty of the shark. They have the international membership adoption program, in which four newsletters are published a year. Then there is the unique schools educational program in which school pupils are invited to join the research team on field trips to come face to face with Great White Sharks. There is the national and international lecture program that consists of lectures given at schools, dive and fishing clubs, universities, public talks and campaigns. The WSRI also has the trade fares and expos program. This program allows the group to display educational information at as many trade fares and expos as possible. Working against trophy fishing, the Management Councils have imposed a limit on the total amount of large, coastal sharks that can be caught by commercial fishermen in the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico. This annual quota has been scaled back periodically because of continued concerns that sharks are overfished. To insure that the quota is not exceeded, the year is divided into two six-month long shar...
