Monthly Archives: September 2010

Shark warning issued around beached humpback whale

Posted on: by George Probst

File this one under “that just seems like common sense.” According to Australia’s ABC News, swimmers and surfers are being warned to keep a safe distance from a juvenile beached humpback whale that washed up at Sandon Point, New South Wales.

Wendy McFarlane of Organisation Cetacea (ORCA) said that it is likely that scavenging sharks (she mentions tiger sharks, in particular) will be attracted to the carcass and the general surrounding area. She warned swimmers and surfers to keep a safe distance after there were reports of surfers swimming “quite near” the whale carcass.

Large bull shark sighted in Brisbane’s Norman Creek

Posted on: by George Probst

Schoolteacher Michael Maguire spotted what is believed to be a 3m bull shark in Norman Creek in Brisbane, Australia, according to a Courier Mail report. Maguire estimated the bull shark at 3-4m in length. However, according to the Ten News report above “marine experts” doubt the estimation in the shark’s size.

While Maguire said that bull sharks were common in the Brisbane River, he was quite surprised at the sight of the shark in Norman Creek. While Maguire expressed concern over children playing in and around the creek, he said he would return to kayaking in the water within a few days.

Trevor Long of SeaWorld points out that sharks are not out there looking for humans, rather bull sharks and other marine species often travel upstream to give birth.

BBC clip: Shark repellent field test

Posted on: by George Probst

BBC Earth recently added the above video to their YouTube channel that features a “field test” of sorts of a shark repellent derived from dead shark tissue. The logic behind the repellent is that the scent of rotting shark meat will drive sharks away from an area, according to the video’s narrator. Based on what you see in the video, releasing the repellent certainly seems to result in the Caribbean reef sharks and blacktip sharks leaving the area.

Unfortunately, there is little mention of any of the controls involved in this “experiment.” While the repellent seemingly appears to work on these particular species of sharks, at least based on what we are shown the video, it is unclear how effective it might be on other species.

While the video features some nice imagery, the extent to which Philippe Cousteau Jr and Tooni Mahto play up the event for the cameras seems a little bit overdone.

Great white shark attacks on sea otters hit record numbers

Posted on: by George Probst

White shark attacks on sea otters along the central coast of California hit record numbers for the month of August, this year, according to a 760KFBM.com report. The average number of shark attacks on sea otters for the month of August over a ten-year period is seven. In August of this year, scientists recovered 19 otters with apparent shark bite wounds.

Typically, when a white shark attack does occur on a sea otter, the shark will bite and then release the sea otter upon realizing that it a preferred prey item, according to Mike Harris of the California Department of Fish and Game. Harris goes on to note that unfortunately most of these attacks still prove fatal. Due to the nature of the severity of the bites and the anatomy of the sea otters, even an exploratory bite or a bite of “mistaken identity” can result in injuries that the sea otters cannot recover from.

The 760KFMB article notes that some researchers are speculating that unusually mild summer temperatures in the area might explain the increase in the incidences involving white sharks attacking sea otters, as the cooler ocean temperatures make area waters preferable to white sharks.

In addition to the shark attacks on sea otters, a New York Times article is reporting that a University of California, Santa Cruz report has linked sea otter deaths in California to a freshwater toxin. The toxin microcystin is produced by blue-green algae, and the report suggests that the toxin has leaked into the Pacific. Researchers involved in the study say that least 21 sea otter deaths were linked to the toxin.

Both sea otters and white sharks are listed as threatened species on the IUCN red list. Sea otters are classified as “endangered,” while great white sharks are currently classified as “vulnerable.”

Great white sharks making news in the Bay Area

Posted on: by George Probst

NBC Bay Area recently ran a feature about the increased presence of great white sharks in the region during this time of year. Included in the article is the video above, which recounts the events of August 28, 2007 when Todd Endris was attacked by a great white shark off of Monterey. Endris’ story of being rescued by a pod of dolphins made headlines back in 2007.

The article goes on to discuss white shark sightings in the area and makes the statement that while other species in the ocean are on the decline, “great white populations appear to be on the rise.” The justification in the article for this claim is a quote from Dr. John McCosker stating, “There certainly have been more sightings.”

McCosker’s quote was taken from a San Francisco Chronicle article about white sharks, in which McCosker also stated that while it seemed that there were more sharks in the area, there currently wasn’t enough evidence to support the claim.

The article also references other white shark related events in the area that have been in the news recently including claims that an 18-25′ great white shark was spotted in Pacifica attacking a sea lion. While an 18′ white shark seems reasonable, the upper-end range of 25′ would be off the chart (Dr. McCosker would likely agree, based on the book he co-authored with Richard Ellis on great white sharks).

NBC Bay Area concludes the article with tips on avoiding shark attacks and then throws in a link about shark conservation.

Teenager bitten by bull shark off NSW north coast

Posted on: by George Probst

Australian teen surfer Jake Davies was bitten on the foot by a bull shark according to Ten News. After the shark initially bit his foot, it “attempted two more attacks” according to a news.com.au report. Despite the news.com.au story claiming that Davies “almost had his leg bitten off,” the teen did not suffer any life-threatening injuries. Davies did suffer puncture wounds requiring stitches which he hopes to have removed on Monday. After the stitches are removed, Davies said he’ll likely be “straight back out there in the water.” Kudos to Davies for the positive attitude.

Human remains found in Bahamas tiger shark tentatively identified

Posted on: by George Probst

According to CBS4 the human remains that were found in a tiger shark caught in the Bahamas on September 4 have tentatively been identified through fingerprints. Bahamian authorities are still awaiting DNA test results.

The remains have been identified as one of two boaters who went missing after attempting to swim to shore following encountering engine trouble near “Jaws Beach” on August 29. Three other people who remained on the boat were rescued. It has still not been determined whether the man was alive when the shark ate his body.

“Jaws Beach” got its name after the movie “Jaws: The Revenge” was filmed there. Despite no determination on whether the man found in the tiger shark was actually attacked while he was alive or his remain were scavenged after his death, MyFoxNewYork has gone so far as to say that the man’s death “echoes the blockbuster U.S. film series in which a deranged great white shark emerges from the depths to dine on unsuspecting swimmers.”

Regardless of the cause of this man’s death, his loss is no less profound whether he drowned or was attacked while alive. Additionally, the other boater who attempted to swim to shore has still not been found. My thoughts and prayers go out to the friends and family of both men.

Shark attack victims speak to the U.N. on behalf of sharks

Posted on: by George Probst

Shark attack survivors visited the United Nations yesterday to speak out on behalf of sharks in hopes of convincing the U.N. to adopt curbs on shark finning, according to The New York Daily News. The Pew Environment Group organized the group of shark attack victims who are also calling to an end to fishing for threatened and near-threatened shark species.

Debbie Salamone, Michael Coots, and Paul de Gelder were featured on CBS’s The Early Show and talked about their encounters and their participation in the Pew Environment Group’s rally at the U.N.

Last year, the Pew Environment Group organized a similar effort in which shark attack victims spoke with the U.S. congress about shark conservation.

Great white shark photo: Is this your photo?

Posted on: by George Probst
Great White Shark Cage Diving

The photo of above has been popping up on a lot of blogs, websites, and online news articles, due to the fact that it was posted on Flickr under a Creative Commons license that allows free copying, transmission, and distribution of the image. I have seen it appear in multiple news articles just today, under the Creative Commons link from Flickr. The problem here is that it has been brought into question whether the person who posted the image is the actual photographer/owner of the image.

The photo is part of Hermanus Backpackers’ Shark Diving photo set on Flickr, which features multiple surface shots of a great white shark cage dive in Gansbaai (South Africa). The great white shark image above is the only underwater shot in the photo set, but that’s not what really makes the presence of the photo suspicious. The color of the water in this photo certainly is not consistent with the water color of the other Gansbaai photos. The photo of above has telltale signs of being taken at Isla de Guadalupe and was previously featured on the homepage of a commercial great white shark dive operation that operates at Isla de Guadalupe, if memory serves me correctly. Additionally, this photo has been around since before the photos from the Gansbaai set were reportedly taken.

Based on some of the comments under the photo on Flickr, it seems that some of the other photographers in the Flickr community are doubting the ownership of this image. While the owner of the photo might not care that his/her photo is popping up around the web potentially with a photo credit attached to someone else, I was just curious as to whether he/she was aware that it’s listed under Creative Commons by someone who might not be the actual photographer.