The official National Geographic YouTube Channel posted a video today documenting a rescue effort to help an injured sand tiger shark. The approximately 10′ (3m) female sand tiger had a fishing gaff embedded in her throat.

While the video itself plays on the drama and danger of the situation, it still manages to do a fairly good job of avoiding portraying the shark in a negative manner. Unfortunately, it seems that whoever wrote the description of this (otherwise shark-conscious) video simply could not resist the urge to add some negative hype. The video description currently reads…

A rescue team performs emergency surgery on a MAN-EATING Sand Tiger Shark – but they have to catch it first.

Is it really necessary (or even accurate) to refer to a sand tiger shark as “man-eating?” Sand tigers are generally regarded as being non-aggressive around humans and simply do not have a history of being “man-eaters.” While this kind of over-the-top hype seems commonplace among The Discovery Channel’s recent shark-related programming, I still expect better from National Geographic.

UPDATE 10/12 National Geographic has recently uploaded a video preview of their documentary on this study. Thanks to the Shark Diver blog for the video find.

Maybe it’s just me, but I was somewhat taken aback when I saw the photo gallery accompanying the article, Great White! at OutdoorLife.com. According to the article, researchers used "rod-and-reel fishing techniques, modified to accommodate the hefty 4,000-pound great whites, to get the fish into the boat". The article features a photo album with various shots of "landed" white sharks, which appear to have been taken at Isla de Guadalupe. According to the article the sharks were baited with tuna. Once the sharks were hauled on to the boat, blood was drawn for testing and satellite tracking tags were attached to the sharks’ dorsal fins. The gallery ends with the following, "While it’s fishing in every sense of the word, it’s imperative that the sharks are released into the sea unharmed and unstressed."

This is how great white sharks at Isla de Guadlupe look when not pulled out of the water.

While I don’t doubt the good intentions of the researchers, based on the pictures, it clearly doesn’t appear as if the sharks were "unstressed" throughout the experience. Being hooked, landed, and tied down seems like it would be a fairly stressful situation, although I’m not a "shark expert," so don’t quote me on that.

Don’t get me wrong. I understand that the knowledge gained from the research could potentially benefit the species as a whole, but I have to wonder if this approach is really the ideal technique for gathering information about the white sharks at Guadalupe. Having been in the water with some of the sharks in the photos, looking at images of them tied down and out of the water just doesn’t sit right with me.

A documentary on this study will premiere on November 16 on The National Geographic Channel.

YouTube user SharkTrustUK posted a series of shark conservation videos today from Simon Spear. Among the videos is the one below featuring some fantastic tiger shark footage from Aliwal Shoal, South Africa. According to the video information, 8 tiger sharks were illegally poached from the marine reserve where this footage was shot just days afterward.

In what may be some good news to the ears of shark tour operators, the Honolulu Advertiser is reporting that a proposal to ban shark diving operations on O’ahu has been abandoned. The decision was made yesterday (October 7) by the Executive Matters and Legal Affairs Committee following a 7-1 vote against the bill, which was preceded by close to three hours of testimony from those both for and against the ban.

Opponents of shark diving operations suggest that the tours can create a hazard to the safety of the general public. However, there is no scientific evidence to support this claim. According to the article, the committee was advised by attorneys that concrete evidence needed to be provided which supported the safety hazard claim. As of now, only anecdotal evidence exists, according to Todd Apo, council chairman.

The bill was proposed by Charles Djou, the chairman of the Executive Matters Committee. Djou stated that he believed enough evidence was presented in yesterday’s testimony to support the idea that shark tours can pose a threat to the public. Based on the 7-1 vote, it would seem the rest of the council disagreed.

YouTube user Jero Prieto recently posted 91 seconds of some excellent shark footage. According to the YouTube info, it was shot last month in the Galapagos. The footage features schooling hammerheads being closely followed by a whale shark. The camera angle as the whale shark passes by really makes for some fantastic footage. Take note that at no point in the video do the divers decide to hitch a ride on, stand on, or have a party with 14 of their closest friends on the whale shark.

KTLA is reporting that a 8-10′ white shark was photographed in a full-breach at Sunset Beach over the weekend. According to the report, the photos were taken by Randy Wright while he was kayaking about 300m from the shore. For more information, check out KTLA’s video report which features the photos and an interview with the photographer.

To counterbalance the stupid whale shark video posted earlier, I thought I’d re-visit one of WildAid‘s excellent shark conservation public service announcements. The video features 7-time Olympic medalist (2-time gold medalist) Amanda Beard and addresses the impact of finning and over-fishing on the world’s shark populations. While the video has been around for over a year, I figured it was worth re-visiting to hopefully give it some more exposure (it only has about 3,500 views on YouTube versus the 137,000 views of the guy riding the whale shark, as I write this). I think the people who put this one together did an awesome job.

According to OregonLive.com, the fisherman who hauled in a 12′ (3.6m) great white shark at Depoe Bay, back on August 8, 2009, has been cited with unlawful possession by by Oregon State Police Fish & Wildlife division. Jason W. Robinson found the shark entangled in a crab pot and hauled it into port. An on-duty trooper arrived on the scene after the shark had already been gutted inland in an effort to “prepare it for eating.” According to the director of the Fish & Wildlife division, Capt. Walt Markee, their investigation “indicated there was no obvious self-initiated attempt by Mr. Robinson to contact any authorities after he caught the shark before bringing it to port.” Markee added that had the on-duty trooper not have arrived that the Fish & Wildlife division believes that Robinson would have kept the shark for his own personal interests. Robinson is scheduled to appear in Lincoln County Circuit Court on October 8th.

A video (see below; WARNING: graphic footage of a shark being butchered) of the Depoe Bay incident has been making the rounds on YouTube and stirring up the usual (and often times, unproductive) pro-shark vs. anti-shark sentiment that plagues most online stories involving man vs. shark scenarios. My guess is that this video footage probably isn’t going to help Mr. Robinson’s defense, if it shows up in the courtroom.

The Save Our Seas Foundation recently posted another shark conservation video on their blog. While the human fatality statistic is a bit outdated using the 2007 global statistic of just one fatal shark attack on humans, the main point still remains true even for the years that have seen a handful of fatal attacks. Shark populations are being decimated at an alarming rate. If this trend continues, irreversible damage will be done to marine ecosystems of the world. Save Our Seas have been doing an excellent job with their awareness campaigns. Keep up the awesome work!

NBC-2.com is reporting that nine bonnethead and two blacktip sharks were found dead along Tigertail Beach in Florida. A stingray and catfish were also found in the area. According to the report, officials said it was unusual for multiple sharks to wash ashore, although no cause has been identified, yet. Water samples and tissue samples have been sent off for testing.

Warning: video contains images of dead sharks.