After two fatalities believed to be the results of shark attacks off of Seychelles, experts are being called in to identify the shark responsible for the attacks and to help “catch” the shark, according to an ITN News report. Police spokesman Jean Toussaint said that there is a “big effort” being made to catch the shark responsible for the attack. Alain St Ange, Director of Tourism, said that if a “rogue shark” is responsible, authorities will try to catch it.

A British tourist died as the result of apparent shark bites earlier this week. The victim was swimming off Anse Lazio beach located on the Seychelles island of Praslin. Earlier this month a French tourist died as the result of injuries that “looked like a shark bite” while diving off the same beach, according to Toussaint.

NECN reports that a ban on swimming between 5pm and 9:30am has been put into effect along east-facing beaches in Chatham, Massachusetts. The ban began Wednesday (August 10) after a white shark was spotted “a little too close to shore,” according to the report.

While the report notes that the feeding time for white sharks is “from dusk ’til dawn,” white sharks have been documented to feed during daylight hours. The ban coincides with times when officials are not able to patrol those areas for sharks, which is likely a more reasonable explanation for the time-frame of the ban, which was also pointed out in the report.

According to various media outlets, including North Carolina’s WITN-7, a 54-year-old South Carolina man, was bitten by a shark about 13 miles of the coast of Morehead City, NC. Donnie White was on a fishing boat and had entered the water to cool off when he was bitten on the lower leg, according to reports. He was taken to Carteret General Hospital. While White’s injuries do not appear to be life-threatening, his condition has not been released.

The world-famous Headington Shark.
(Photo courtesy of James Turnbull under Creative Commons license.)

The world-famous and often photographed Headington Shark celebrated its 25th anniversary on Tuesday, according to the Oxford Mail. The fiberglass shark was created by artist John Buckley and placed on the roof of Bill Heine in 1986. The shark celebrated its 25th birthday with a street party featuring a book-signing by Heine who recently wrote a book about the story behind the fiberglass shark.

Heine had originally placed the shark on his roof to mark the 41st anniversary of the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan in World War II. The appearance of the shark almost immediately drew criticism along with a threat from the Oxford City Council to remove the shark by force, according to the Oxford Mail. However, Heine took the issue to a public inquiry and was eventually granted permission to keep the shark in place, where it has remained for the past 25 years.

The Cayman Islands Brewery has recently released a new beer named “White Tip Lager” in conjunction with the Cayman Islands Department of Environment and Marine Conservation International. The beer is being marketed as the “world’s first conservation lager.”

For each can of White Tip sold, 5 cents will be donated to support the Department of Environment’s “Sharks, Whales and Dolphins” program. The program is geared toward the assessment and preservation of the Cayman’s wild shark and cetacean populations.

Underwater cinematographer and professional speaker Annie Crawley recently talked with President Johnson Toribiong about declaring Palau’s waters as a shark sanctuary. President Toribiong discusses how he went about making Palau the world’s first national shark sanctuary. Toribiong also discusses the importance of ocean conservation and the sustainability of marine life. Toribiong also stresses the importance of teaching children to respect the oceans and the environment.

TSVBulletin has posted a video report filmed at Palm Island’s Onion Bay (near Townsville, Queensland, Australia) which documents numerous tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) feeding on the carcass of a young male humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae). The tiger sharks can be seen reaching their heads well above the surface to feed on the whale’s carcass.

According to Townsville Bulletin reporter Liam Butterworth, the sharks ranged from 3m to 6m in length. It is estimated that the whale had been dead for approximately a week, and that it had been washed in by the tide.

Thanks to Pete Thomas’ Outdoors, Action and Adventure for the heads-up on this video.

Boston’s WHDH reports that swimmers have been warned to stay at least 300′ away from seal colonies. The large seal population in the area is believed to be responsible for the increase in white shark sightings over recent years, as the seals are a natural prey item for the shark.

The warning comes after multiple credible white shark sightings were reported in the area over the past week, as well as reports of seal carcass sightings.

YouTube user SeabearVideo has posted a video which opens with the sub-title “Possible Great White Shark Tries to Attack Surfer” and then goes on to feature some surf footage during which a dark shape can be seen swimming alongside one surfer catching a wave and then underneath another surfer paddling in the opposite direction.

The footage was shot near San Diego, according to the video description, so the presence of a white shark in that area this time of year certainly wouldn’t be unheard of. However, the shadowy shape is fairly indiscernible in the video. So, is this just a shark or other marine animal out for a swim or could it possibly be a white shark attempting to attack one of the surfers? If you’ve got an opinion on it, sound off in the comments.

DuckworthBooks recently released this promotional video for Juliet Eilperin’s new shark book “Demon Fish: Travels Through the Hidden World of Sharks.”

“Demon Fish,” which was released in June, chronicles Eilperin’s travels around the world as she focuses on how various cultures and individuals relate to sharks. Eilperin investigates topics such as shark fishing for sport, the shark fin market, and shark related ecotourism.

“Demon Fish: Travels Through the Hidden World of Sharks” is available for purchase at Amazon.