CNN reports that according to recent survey Pacific reef shark populations around islands populated by humans have dropped an estimated 90% when compared to reef areas that are not near human-populated areas. The study used data from over 1,600 surveys of Pacific islands and atolls. Julia Baum, a co-author of the study, indicated that shark fishing was likely the cause of the population decline.
You can read the entire article at CNN.com.
New Zealand’s NIWA recently added the video above to its YouTube channel. The video documents the white shark (Carcharodon carcharias)tagging efforts of a collaboration of scientists from New Zealand’s DOC, and NIWA, as well as researchers from the University of Auckland.
Tracking data gathered from the research will be used to further the understanding of migration patterns and population size of New Zealand’s white sharks.
A great white shark caught last week in the Sea of Cortez had previously been tagged off Santa Cruz.
The MercuryNews.com is reporting that a large female white shark caught in the Sea of Cortez earlier this month had been tagged by researchers off Año Nuevo Island in the late 1990s.
The identification tag was spotted by the wife of one of the fishermen who landed the shark. She contacted Sean Van Sommeran at The Pelagic Shark Research Foundation. While the tag was merely an identification tag and contained no tracking transmitter, the location where the shark was netted does provide potentially valuable research information.
For the full-story, head on over to The MercuryNews.com.
UPDATE: Pete Thomas has a fairly in-depth article about basking shark sightings on the rise off SoCal on his Outdoors, Action, and Adventure blog.
YouTube user DanaPointWhaleWatch uploaded a video of a recent chance encounter with a basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) off Southern California’s Dana Point. The sight of the large filter-feeding shark appeared to provide some excitement for the boat full of whale watchers.
Another basking shark sighting was also reported off La Jolla earlier in the week, according to a KTLA report.
It’s not really shark news, but…
Russia Today has posted a video featuring footage of an albino “killer whale” (Orcinus orca). The orca was spotted off of Kamchatka, Russia. According to reports, it is believed to be the first recorded sighting of an adult albino orca.
Gameloft recently released a new shark-themed videogame. Shark Dash follows the adventures of Sharkee and his toy shark friends. Sharkee is on a mission to rescue his girlfriend Sally after she is kidnapped by a misguided band of rubber duckies who have invaded Sharkee’s happy bathtub home.
Shark Dash is available now on iOS (iPhone and iPad) and Android devices.
For any Spanish-speaking readers, Mexico’s El Imparcial has uploaded a video to YouTube featuring an interview with one of the fisherman who hauled in a large great white shark earlier this week from the Sea of Cortez.
WARNING: Video contains graphic images of white shark carcass
You can view the video with this direct link to YouTube.
South Africa’s The Mercury reports that swimming has been banned indefinitely after 14 tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) were found in shark nets off Scottburgh on the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal, yesterday. The nets have been temporarily removed, which prompted the swimming ban.
Nine of the netted sharks were tagged and released alive. Dissection of the dead sharks revealed large amounts of whale blubber in the sharks’ stomach. It is believed the sharks were attracted to the area by a whale carcass. An apparent “slick” is also present in the area, as a result of the presence of the whale carcass.
The swimming ban is expected to remain in place until the slick dissipates, and the shark nets are replaced.
South Africa’s News 24 is reporting that research permits issued to the crew of National Geographic’s Shark Men have been cancelled after a tragic fatal shark attack in Cape Town’s Kogel Bay today. A National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) represented said the victim was bodyboarding with his brother when the attack occurred.
Alan Boyd, the director of Biodiversity and Coastal Research who issued the research permits to Chris Fischer and his crew, told News 24 that he cancelled the permits for the Shark Men team when he learned of the attack. Concerns that the chumming practices used by the research team could potentially draw more sharks in to beach areas had been raised with some calling for high shark alert to be issued, according to the report.
For more information, check out the full story at News 24
If you want to see pictures of a dead shark, follow the links below. If not, here's a live one.
Images of large great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) carcass hauled in by fishermen in the Sea of Cortez have been floating on Facebook since early this week. The shark was reportedly found dead in the net of some local fishermen off “El Choyudo.” The fishermen towed the already dead carcass to shore from about two miles out.
It should be noted that reports indicated the fishermen did not target the shark and were surprised to find it in their nets. White sharks are listed as a protected species in Mexican waters.
Pete Thomas notes on his “Outdoors, action and adventure” that one local report had the shark measured at 19.8′ in length and has the shark being caught “near Guaymas.” For more information and photos, check out
Pete Thomas’ blog as well as his Grind TV article.