A new law which effectively makes Bahamas waters a shark sanctuary went into effect yesterday (July 6). The law which prohibits commercial shark fishing applies to an estimated 243,000 square miles, according to the WPTV report. Shark-related eco-tourism has brought in over $80 million to the Bahamian government.

It’s worth pointing out that at the end of this feature, the reporter mentions Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is considering adding more protected species “like the great white.” The great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) is already protected in Florida waters according to the FWC and NOAA.

Discovery News is reporting that the Chilean National Congress voted unanimously in favor of passing a bill that would ban the practice of shark on 30 species of sharks found in Chile’s coastal waters. The law does not prohibit shark fishing, but it does require that any sharks be landed whole and requires that harvested sharks remain whole “all the way to the market,” according to Discovery News.

For more information, check out the full article on the Chilean shark finning ban at Discovery News.

UPDATE:According to the austinborden2 (the owner of the video and one of the divers seen in the footage), this encounter took place off of Isla San Benedicto, Mexico, and the sharks seen in the video are Galapagos sharks (Carcharhinus galapagensis). Thanks to Austin for the information!

YouTube user austinborden2 recently added the above video, which features a couple of free-diving spearfishermen encountering some seemingly hungry sharks. It’s not entirely clear what is going on in the video, but it looks like the divers are hunting wahoo (Acanthocybium solandri), when a small group of sharks come in and devours presumably one of their catch. The sharks then head toward the divers, one whom exclaims that they were “ramming” him after he gets out of the water.

The video information does provide much information about the encounter, such as where or when it took place. Fortunately, both divers appeared unscathed, albeit a little bit shaken.

WITN.com is reporting that a 10-year-old Pennsylvania girl is recovering from a shark bite which happened at North Carolina’s North Topsail Beach last Sunday. Cassidy Cartwright was bitten in 3-feet-deep when she felt a tug on her foot. Cartwright said she was bitten twice. She was air-lifted to a hospital at Chapel Hill and is expected to be released soon.

ABC News reports Carolyn Cartwright, the mother of the victim, has criticized local authorities for not informing others about the shark bite.

ABC News also reports that a shark tooth was removed from the leg of Cartwright by doctors at UNC Children’s Hospital at Chapel Hill. The species has yet to be identified in any media reports that I’ve seen or read, but with a tooth of the shark being removed from the victim’s wounds, it seems like identification should be fairly straightforward.

Here’s to a speedy and full recovery for Cassidy Cartwright.

Gillette has unveiled a new ad campaign for its Proglide series that centers around two divers shaving underwater in the Bahamas in baited shark scenario. The ad uses the old “sharks can smell a drop of blood from a quarter of a mile away” bit and portrays the sharks as becoming seemingly aggressive after one of the divers after apparently nicks himself shaving with an inferior disposable razor.

So, the next time you’re doing a shark dive and decide that you need a shave, remember to use you Gillette Proglide. If not, quick edits and ominous music are sure to follow.

You can also check out the Gillette ProGlide – Shark Teaser for more of the “scariest shave” campaign.

From NOAA Fisheries Service:

NOAA Fisheries’ Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Management Division launched a new free app for Andriod devices that allows anglers to share information about releasing North Atlantic shortfin mako sharks (Isurus oxyrinchus). Using the "Release Mako" app, anglers can now report live releases of shortfin mako sharks on the water simply by using their Android mobile devices.

For more information visit NOAA’s shortfin mako Android app page. You can download the app at Android Market’s Release Mako page.

YouTube user mrputridinnards uploaded the above video to YouTube last week, which features a chance encounter with a great white shark at a depth of 170′. The spearfisherman was hunting amberjacks when the encounter occurred. Based on the verbal response of the diver/fisherman after the shark appears, it’s probably safe to say that he wasn’t expecting to come across a white shark on his dive. It sounds like he says something that rhymes with “duck,” but I can’t be certain.

Thanks to Shark Diver’s Underwater Thrills blog for bringing this one to our attention.

From National Geographic:

The Shark Men are in the beautiful, plentiful Sea of Cortez continuing their search for Architeuthis – the giant squid. The crew is joined on this expedition with a world famous giant squid expert to hopefully be the first ones to capture footage of this elusive animal in its natural habitat.

“Shark Men – Giants of the Deep” airs Saturday (July 2) at 10pm ET/PM on the National Geographic Channel.

The L.A. Times reports that the “California shark fin ban” bill is receiving support from some high profile celebrities. Leonardo DiCaprio recently signed a letter urging the state Senate to approve the bill. Other celebrities who have shown support for the bill in writing include actress Scarlett Johansson, and NBA player Yao Ming, among others.

The bill (AB376), which would prevent the sale and distribution of shark fins in the state of California, was already approved by the California Assembly and has moved on to the state Senate. According to the L.A. Times, the bill is opposed by Asian Food Trade Association, which claims that the ban would unfairly target Asian eating habits.

The Orlando Sentinel posted the above video yesterday which shows a spinner shark (Carcharhinus brevipinna) jumping over a surfer. The video was shot by Sentinel photojournalist Jacob Langston at New Smyrna Beach. Langston’s attention was focused on another surfer and did not initially notice the spinner shark’s leap while filming. It was not until he got back to his office and was reviewing the footage that he realized he had captured the jumping shark on video.