Many of you signed the peitition against this bill and so these 'thank you's belong to you. We, too, are sometimes skeptical of the effectiveness of a petition, but in this case our collective voice from around the world helped turn the tide in Palau. Many of the signers of the bill were not just shark enthusiasts, but Palau's customers: those who fly across the world to visit Palau's sharks. All of your impassioned comments made a sizable contribution to this historic declaration by President Toribiong.

First, an email from Dermot Keane, the founder of the Palau Shark Sanctuary, the NGO that has been fighting for the National Shark Sanctuary since 2001:

"First and foremost, I wish to thank you most sincerely for your tremendous help in bringing about this sea change. I've no doubt that your on-line petition played a strong role in bringing about this most positive result. I'm deeply grateful to you and extend my most heartfelt thanks for a job well done! Many many thanks!"

Dermot also posted a blog entry that calls-out Shark Savers and other advocates. An excerpt is here:

"Shark Savers... responded to the call for help early this year when Palau's shark protection laws were under threat by launching an on-line petition on... Shark Savers website. The Shark Savers petition resulted in more than 4,500 "ones" who signed and or sent letters from around the world urging Palau's leadership to stand firm on their strong shark protection laws. The power of "one" multiplied."

Read the rest of the blog entry: http://sharksanctuary.blogspot.com/

From Leah Asanuma Gillham, Executive Director of the Belau (Palau) Tourism Association:

"Thank you very much for your efforts in this fight to save our sharks. Your work contributed a great deal to this very favorable outcome."

Dermot's Palau Shark Sanctuary and Leah's Belau Tourism Association have long been highly committed to this important accomplishment. So, it's an honor to have both been working with them and also receiving this praise--which again is praise for all of you.

It's important to reinforce and to celebrate the positive developments in the area of shark conservation. That is why we have created an online 'thank you' card to President Toribiong and the people of Palau.

Please sign it now by clicking below: