The Guardian is reporting that an order to hunt down bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) around Réunion Island has been revoked, due to the fact that the order could be in violation of French conservation laws.

St Leu mayor, Thierry Robert MP, had issued the shark hunting order earlier in the week after a surfer was killed by what was believed to be a bull shark. The order called on fishermen to hunt bull sharks “by any means.” The ordered offered a bounty €2/kg of live weight for each of the first 30 sharks brought in.

After meeting with France’s minister of overseas territories, Mayor Robert revoked the order due to legal concerns. French law does not allow for hunting or fishing “by any means” in protected marine areas.

You can check out the full article at The Guardian.

A man was injured yesterday as the result of a shark bite, according the victim and eyewitnesses, while swimming off of Ballston Beach in Truro, Massachusetts. According to a WVCB.com report, Chris Myers was body-boarding with his son around 3:30PM when he was bitten on both legs below the knees. Myers injuries were not life-threatening but will require surgery due to a severed tendon.

A video report from the Cape Cod Times YouTube channel features eyewitness accounts that describe seeing a large dorsal fin prior to the attack. One witness even described seeing a shark breach from the water near the victim.

Great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) are known to migrate to Cape Cod waters during the summer months and have been spotted in the general area over recent months. However, the species responsible for Myers’ injuries has yet to be identified. WCVB.com reports that Myers’ injuries will be examined to determine the species involved.

CNN has a light-hearted report on Emma, Tiger Beach’s famous tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier), “stealing” an underwater camera rig. Emma eventually dropped the goods and the rig was recovered. The video also featured some other underwater camera antics caught on film over the past few years.

The DiscoveryNetworks YouTube channel has begun posting promotional videos for The 25th Anniversary of Shark Week. Shark Week 2012 programming begins on Sunday, August 12 at 9PM on the Discovery Channel with “Air Jaws Apocalypse.”

Gameloft’s Shark Dash has teamed up with Discovery and WildAid to offer “exclusive content” for the Shark Dash video game. The collaboration is taking on a shark conservation theme with an anti-finning campaign in celebration of Discovery’s upcoming Shark Week, which encourages viewers to “say no to shark fin soup.”

Shark Dash is available for free from Gameloft on iPad, iPod, and iPhone devices at the iTunes App Store and for Android devices at Google Play.

YouTube user feedinggiants recently shared another episode of “Feeding Giants: The Tuki Chronicles,” which focuses on research team looking at the effects of humans feeding whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) off of Oslob, Cebu, Philippines. Some observations reported by the team included the sharks apparently becoming less concerned with the presence of humans, sharks remaining in the area for extended periods of time, sharks competing at boats for handouts, and sharks remaining at boats after feeding stopped.

The researchers raised concerns about a reduction in the variety of the whale sharks’ diet as a result of being fed a single food source (“uyap”), as well as concerns over a potential decrease in natural migration of the sharks, due to the sharks remaining in the area for an “unnatural” amount of time. The issue of poaching and sharks being less afraid of boats was also mentioned as a potentially negative effect of feeding the whale sharks.

Perth Now has reported that a 24-year old surfer was killed by a great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) near Wedge Island, Western Australia on July 14. The tragic event marks the fifth fatal shark attack in Western Australia over the last 10 months. The victim was remembered by friends in tributes online that described him as “amazing, good-natured, and genuine.”

Surfers in the area said a large shark had been spotted in the area for four days prior to Saturday’s attack. The Perth Now report goes on to say that an order was given by WA Fisheries Minister Norman Moore to kill the shark, in the event of its capture. The shark has not been seen in the area since the attack.

Concern among state government has been raised, as a result of the series of fatal attacks in WA, regarding the federal protected status of the great white shark, with some officials calling for the protection laws to be reevaluated. BBC Science editor, Paul Rincon, provided an in-depth look at the prospect of culling and whether it is an effective measure at preventing future attacks.

TEDTalentSearch recently posted a video from TED@Sydney2012 which features PhD candidate Chris Neff discussing the origins of the term “shark attacks” and the “myth of the rogue shark.” Neff, a Government and International Relations student at the University of Sydney, is working on a dissertation on the politics surrounding shark attacks. Neff’s position is that “trying to govern ungovernable events distracts us from real shark bite prevention.”
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WARNING: Video features language that might be offensive to some.

YouTube user Sarah Brame recently uploaded this nice little fishing video. As we’ve seen with similar videos in the past, when fishermen/fisherwomen get into duel with sharks over a hooked fish, the victory usually goes to the shark. This case is no exception.

Sarah’s catch, a red drum, was snapped up in one fell swoop but what looked like a bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) just as one of her fishing companions was about to net the fish. According to comments on YouTube the video was shot near Cherry Grove, SC. Needless to say the event seem to provide plenty of excitement for Sarah and her fishing buddies.

Australia’s 7News YouTube channel shared this video of two spearfishermen having an unexpected encounter with a great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias). According to the report, the white shark (also known as a white pointer in Australia) circled David Richards and Nathan Podmore multiple times, while they were approximately 50m from their boat at the surface. Podmore filmed the encounter which occurred off the coast of Geraldton, Western Australia.

Fortunately, Podmore and Richards kept there cool and remained calm while the shark circled. When the shark came in for a closer look, they prodded it in the side with the tip of a speargun, which sent the shark off on its way, allowing the two men to return to their boat. Both fishermen and the shark came away unscathed, save for probably a temporary sharp increase in heart rate.

Thanks to the SharkDiver blog for the video find!