The Atlantic Shark Institute announced Tuesday that their charity Shark Plate has now surpassed 5,000 orders, and the desire for the new plate has shown no signs of slowing down.
Orders for Passenger and Combination plates are well beyond state minimums, so the Rhode Island DMV has announced that distribution for those plates will begin later this summer.
“Remarkable, ecstatic, grateful…” are just some of the ways that Jon Dodd, Executive Director of the Atlantic Shark Institute, is describing the popularity of the plate. “We’ve been astounded since day one when the site went live and orders started to pour in.”
According to ASI, many species of sharks are in trouble, and some populations that were considered healthy only 20-30 years ago are now endangered. “Over 100 million sharks are killed annually, and that’s simply not sustainable,” warned Dodd. “Shark health is ocean health, and ocean health is our planet’s health, they are all interconnected.”
“With a staff made up entirely of volunteers, every dollar from our supporters and from these license plates will go toward vital research aimed at answering critical questions about shark health, ocean health, and our health,” continued Dodd.
While the plate has broken records for fastest to production, along with earning the distinction of being the first Combination plate to reach required minimums, there is one goal that remains, according to Dodd. “We’d really like to get the Commercial plate on the road as well. We need 600 orders to get that one to production and right now we sit at 242, with 358 plates to go.” “Having all three plate types on the road would be amazing,” Dodd concluded.
To get in on the frenzy, you can order your plate on the Atlantic Shark Institute website by visiting www.atlanticsharkinstitute.org. Plates are $42.50 for a set, with $20 of your purchase going to fund ASI and their shark research. There is also a link on the RI DMV Charity Plate page that will connect interested buyers to the ASI Shark Plate ordering form.
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