Sammy, a young whale shark (Rhincodon typus) like the one in this photo, was reportedly released from captivity last week by the Atlantis hotel in Dubai.

A report form Dubai newspaper 7Days is questioning the release of “Sammy” the whale shark from Dubai’s Atlantis hotel. The article states that 7Days had been informed by a representative from the Atlantis that the whale shark was in “good health.” However, the Atlantis has refused to comment or answer questions regarding the lack of photos or video footage of the animal’s release to the wild. In addition, 7Days reports that the Atlantis also removed all posts on its Facebook page regarding the whale shark, including a series of questions posted there by 7Days.

The whale shark was reportedly tagged with a satellite tracking tag, which is expected to begin transmitting data in 3 months.

NOTE: The video below was produced prior to the defeat of the proposal to protect hammerhead sharks. WARNING: Video contains footage of shark finning.

A proposal introduced by the U.S. and Palau to protect hammerhead sharks (including the endangered scalloped hammerhead, great hammerhead, and the threatened smooth hammerhead) was defeated yesterday in Doha, Qatar at the CITES conference, according to an AP report. U.S. Assistant Interior Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks Tom Strickland said, “The greatest threat to the hammerhead is from harvest for the international fin trade and the fin of the species is among highly valued of the trade,” and that regional fisheries bodies have done nothing to regulate the trade of this species.

Opposition to the proposal, led by Japan and supported by countries dependent on the shark fin trade, argued, “it would be difficult to differentiate the hammerheads from other species and would deprive poor fishing nations of much needed income.”

The notion that it would be difficult to differentiate any of the three species of hammerheads from other species is laughable, at best. Hammerhead sharks have a very distinct appearance, hence the name “hammerhead.” The latter half of the argument seems like a valid one from a financial standpoint, but it is also a flawed argument when it comes to establishing regulations to keep hammerhead shark populations at sustainable levels. If “poor fishing nations” rely on income from harvesting these species, it would only make sense that regulating the trade of the species would be beneficial to those nations. If these species become extinct or reach near-extinction levels due to over-harvesting, where will that leave the fishermen and those whose livelihood depends on this particular trade?

As was the case with last week’s multiple marine species protection proposal defeats, at the end of the day money talks. The wealthier markets that import these shark fins sell them at a huge mark-up, while the fishermen of the “poor fishing nations” only end up with a tiny fraction of what the shark fins are ultimately sold to the consumer for. I wonder if the countries with the major markets for shark fins would be open to the idea of paying the “poor fishing nations” a much higher percentage of the fins’ market value, since they are clearly concerned with the livelihood of these poorer nations.

Come dive with me at Isla de Guadalupe. It's safe...assuming you keep your hands off my nose and out of my mouth.

While there is an inherent level of risk associated with being in the water with large predatory animals, I think white shark diving at Guadalupe is relatively safe, provided that sensible guidelines are followed. A recent Nautilus Explorer blog post doesn’t entirely reflect the same sentiment, which seems a bit odd, considering that the Nautilus Explorer charters white shark diving trips to Guadalupe.

The post begins with the question of whether diving with white sharks at Guadalupe is safe or not and is followed by the response, “HECK NO!!!” The author goes on to say that there is “NOTHING” safe about white sharks.

In all fairness to the Nautilus Explorer, the main focus of the blog post is the safety of their cages. So, while the author states that diving with white sharks at Guadalupe is not safe, their cages are built with the safety of both sharks and divers in mind. It might just be a matter of poor wording, for all I know.

Interestingly enough, the blog post includes a photo from the series of images that hit the media earlier this month, one of which features a “shark wrangler” pushing on the nose of a white shark in close proximity of a cage, while a diver takes advantage of the photo opportunity. In another photo from the series, the “shark wrangler’s” hand appears to actually be in the mouth of the shark.

So, I guess if you have divers in the cages reaching out and pushing on the noses of white sharks, it would be fair to label that type of activity as being unsafe, regardless of the safety of the cages the divers are in.

And now, for some positive media featuring living hammerhead sharks…

YouTube user DiveDownBelow posted this video, which was filmed at Sipadan, Malaysia. It’s refreshing to see a healthy school of hammerhead sharks in their natural habitat. Kudos!

WARNING Video features multiple scenes of finning of shark carcasses

Al-Jazeera recently featured a story on the shark fin trade and its effects on shark populations in Arabian seas. According to the report, the waters of the Arabian Peninsula supply 10% of the world market of shark fins, most of which are sent to Asian markets, as demands for shark fin soup rise. The report notes that the shark fin market is indiscriminate, with pregnant females and juvenile sharks are being harvested for their fins.

Saoud Al-Habsi, of the Oman Fisheries Ministry, says that international action is needed quickly to protect species that are on the verge of becoming endangered in Arabian waters. However, many fishermen view harvesting sharks as a “gift from God” that should not be controlled by the government.

While the report essentially offers the same story we’ve unfortunately grown accustomed to on the subject of shark finning, most of the anti-shark finning features I’ve come across tend to be from Western media outlets. I found it interesting to get a Middle Eastern perspective on the topic. The “gift from God” argument is one that I had not really come across before. The report also addresses the issue that shark fishing provides for the livelihood of some of these fishermen, which certainly would present some opposition against regulating the industry. The problem that seems to escape some of these fishermen is that the indiscriminate killing of these species could ultimately lead to an end to the livelihood that these markets provide, if the species are fished to extinction.

The AP is reporting that “Sammy,” a 4.2m (13.8′) female whale shark, has been released back into the wild by the Atlantis hotel. The whale shark had been living in the Dubai hotel’s aquarium since being “rescued” from the wild in September of 2008.

Al Bawaba is reporting that Sammy will be tracked by the Atlantis hotel’s Marine and Science Engineering department using a tagging program co-developed by the Mote Marine Laboratory.

Sammy’s presence at the aquarium had drawn criticism from environmentalists and activists, both locally and internationally, since her capture in 2008. The whale shark (Rhincodon typus) is a migratory species and is classified as “vulnerable” by the IUCN.

Hopefully, Sammy will be able to adjust appropriately to being returned to her natural habitat.

After watching the video purportedly of a surfer being towed by a great white shark, you might be thinking, “Is it even worth asking whether this is real or not?” However, a quick glance through some of the comments from YouTubers would tend to indicate there is much debate over the authenticity of this footage…

To get to the point, it’s not any more “real” than the last movie you saw at the theater. However, it’s not really a “hoax,” either, or at least, it wasn’t really intended to be. The hoax aspect has come into play more as a result of the responses of YouTube viewers, than as a result of the actual video content.
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Good Morning America Weekend ran the above feature yesterday (March 13, 2010) on great white shark diving at Isla de Guadalupe. The feature manages to cover white sharks objectively without heaping on the sensationalism that seems so common in the mainstream media. Guadalupe veterans will probably notice a couple of familiar faces (or fins) in the video footage, most notably my all-time favorite white shark, Cal Ripfin (aka Shredder).

The footage appears to have been shot last fall on the same trip where Andy Brandy Casagrande‘s most recent Great White Shark Song video was shot, which involved some controversial cage-less diving.

Kudos to Good Morning America for keeping the report objective and presenting some positive exposure for white sharks in the media.

Some photos of and by underwater photographer Don Carpenter got blown out of proportion earlier this week by multiple excuses for news outlets, including:

• Pictured: The moment a diver puts his hand inside a Great White Shark’s mouth – The Daily Mirror
• Great white shark gets a little too close for comfort – The Herald Sun
• Divers stare into jaws of killer shark – Gold Coast News Bulletin
• Smile for the camera… but don’t eat it (or me)! Great white shark gets a little too close for comfort – The Daily Mail
• Face-to-face with Great White – The Sun

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SyFy Channel will be unleashing what is sure to be a top-contender for Best Picture at next year’s Academy Awards. That’s right, DINOSHARK debuts tonight at 9pm on SyFy. Based on the preview, it looks like it could possibly hang with both Shark Attack 3: Megalodon and Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus in terms of cheesy effects and horrible acting.

Apparently, Dinoshark has been frozen in a glacier in Antarctica. However, it comes back to life after a piece of the glacier breaks off, allowing Dinoshark to thaw out and swim to a sunny beach in Mexico for Spring Break (consider me jealous of Dinoshark). So basically, you’ve got a cross between a shark and a dinosaur on Spring Break in Mexico. How could this movie possibly go wrong?

Oh, and did I mention that Dinoshark can apparently fly? Admittedly, it looks like Dinoshark doesn’t have quite the hang time that Mega Shark possesses, though.