Shark Angels and Sea Shepherd Launch Petition to End Shark Meat in Brazilian Schools
Conservation groups Shark Angels and Sea Shepherd are urging the Brazilian government to stop the sale and serving of shark meat — often mislabeled as 'cação' — in schools and public institutions, warning that the practice is accelerating the extinction of already-threatened species.
Sharks in Brazil are being pushed closer to extinction, and most people do not even realize it. That is the stark warning from Shark Angels and Sea Shepherd, who have joined forces to launch a public petition demanding that the Brazilian government end the sale and serving of shark meat in schools, public institutions, and government-regulated food programs.
The petition highlights a widespread but poorly understood practice: shark meat in Brazil is commonly sold and served under the generic local name cação, a label that can legally apply to any shark species. This mislabeling makes it virtually impossible for consumers — including school children receiving subsidized meals — to know they are eating shark at all, let alone which species.
Brazil is one of the world's largest consumers of shark meat, with catches drawn from both domestic waters and imports. Several of the species caught and sold as cação are listed as Vulnerable, Endangered, or Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, including the largetooth sawfish, the great hammerhead, and multiple requiem shark species.
Shark Angels, founded by ocean advocate Julie Andersen, has long campaigned to raise awareness of the shark fin and shark meat trade globally. Sea Shepherd, the international non-profit marine conservation organization, brings its established presence in Brazilian waters and significant public reach to the campaign.
The groups argue that removing shark meat from institutional food programs — particularly school lunches funded through Brazil's National School Feeding Program (PNAE) — would send a powerful policy signal and reduce pressure on threatened populations. They are calling on citizens, divers, and ocean advocates worldwide to sign the petition and pressure Brazilian legislators to act before more species are lost.