According to the Honolulu Advertiser, the search for a missing California man who disappeared while surfing at Laniakea Beach, HI has been called off. Fire Captain Terry Seelig said, “We feel we’ve done everything we can,” after having searched for the man by air, land, and sea.
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FastCompany magazine has posted a well-written article on shark conservation and protection efforts (to be addressed at the 2010 CITES conference) for the following species:

• oceanic whitetip sharks
• scalloped hammerhead sharks
• smooth hammerhead sharks
• giant hammerhead sharks
• sandbar sharks
• porbeagle sharks
• spiny dogfish

While the article doesn’t really feature anything new or groundbreaking as far as shark conservation news goes, it is fairly well-written (aside from a lame Jaws theme reference) and does a good job of detailing some of the commercial practices that threaten shark populations, which the general public and regular readers of FastCompany might not have been aware of. More articles like this in mainstream (and other non-shark focused) media can only help to promote awareness about the need for responsible shark conservation efforts. Kudos to FastCompany and author Lydia Dishman.

Are great white sharks and giant squid doing battle in the depths of the Pacific?
If so, there isn't any solid evidence to substantiate it, at this point.

A recent article that appeared online at the LA Times website suggests that great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) and giant squid (species from the Architeuthis genus) might “battle” it out in the depths of the Pacific. The theory, which other media outlets are running with as if it were scientifically proven, seems entirely based on research of migratory patterns of white sharks being conducted by Michael Domeier.
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According to The Boston Globe, data from a third great white shark tagged last September in Massachusetts waters is now being transmitted. Data from two other great white sharks tagged in the same area revealed that the sharks traveled 1,000 miles south over a two-month span and are currently in Florida waters.

Greg Skomal of the Massachusetts’ Division of Marine Wildlife said the sharks “hugged the coast” during their travels, unlike similarly tracked great white sharks in the Pacific, who often journey far offshore. Skomal also noted that the sharks reached depths of 1,500′ during the migration.

YouTube user Ptsearch recently added the video below featuring a diver removing what appears to be an Aerobie flying ring from a nurse shark.

While nurse shark’s are bottom-feeders and are generally harmless toward humans, I still feel the need to give a “Kids, don’t try this at home,” warning, as the species has been known to occasionally latch on to divers when harassed or handled. Kudos to the diver in this video for clearing the shark of its unwanted accessory.

They really aren't the same year. I promise.

ABC News’, Shark Attacks Rise Worldwide But Drop In the U.S., wouldn’t exactly serve as a benchmark for statistical analysis on annual shark attack incidents. The article attributes a “rise” in global attacks to comparisons of reported attacks from 2008 (60) and 2009 (61). It also seems that the report can’t even distinguish between the 2009 and 2010 incidents, as evidence by the follow excerpt…

“In 2009, there were 61 total shark attacks, five of them fatal, including a 38 year old kiteboarder killed off the Florida coast last month.” – ABC News

Admittedly, I’ve been known to lose track of what day it is. However, I’m fairly certain that 2009 attacks would not include incidents from “last month,” which was February, 2010.

The article also goes on to mention a drop in U.S. attacks. This observation is also based solely on comparisons between overall incident reports between 2008 and 2009. George Burgess offers up a theory on reasons for this “drop,” although the article is polite enough to note that Burgess’ theory (much like the rest of the article) is “based on little scientific evidence.”

The aquarium with the “World’s Largest Acrylic Panel” sprung a leak today. The Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo began leaking water today. According to the Khaleej Times, the leak was quickly brought under control and “did not cause any environmental effect or harm to the species.” Apparently, no injuries to mall patrons were reported either, thankfully. The aquarium, which holds over 2 million gallons of water, is home to over 33,000 specimens of marine life, including over 400 sharks and rays.

And yes, multiple “news” sources have tried to play up the danger of this event due to the aquarium being “shark-filled.” In reality, a leakage at an aquarium filled with over 2 million gallons of water and over 400 sharks does have catastrophic potential, but the danger is due to the 2 million gallons of water, not the sharks in it.

WPTV.com is reporting that Martin Memorial Health Systems has released a report on the incident involving employees taking photographs of a shark attack victim. According to the report, the hospital investigation involved interviews with over 50 people. As a result of the findings, “some employees received warnings, suspensions, demotions and loss of position,” for taking photos of the victim and emailing them. However, according to a TCPalm.com article reports that “no one was fired,” according to a written statement from Martin Memorial chief marketing communications officer, Miguel Coty.

The details seem fairly limited from Martin Memorial public response to this incident, due to a policy that prohibits discussing personnel issues. Coty was quoted as saying, “We have determined that these inappropriate actions were taken by good people who exercised poor judgment.”

The TCPalm.com article also had the following tribute video for the victim.

Numerous media outlets are reporting that a female Sea World Orlando employee was fatally attacked by an orca today. Orlando’s Local 6 identifies the orca involved as Tillikum, a 12,300 lbs. male. Park manager, Dan Brown, identified the victim as being one of the park’s “most experienced trainers.” According to the Local 6 report, the victim slipped and fell into the orca’s tank and was subsequently attacked by the orca.

Unfortunately, it seems that orcas have become just as susceptible to media sensationalism as sharks. This ABC clip is a prime example…

The clip plays out more like a guy announcing a pro-wrestling match than it does a news story. This is an incredibly tragic story, as such, it needs to be handled objectively with journalistic integrity, instead of being covered like it was a monster truck rally.

UK’s The Sun has managed to run a shark-related news story without going over the top with the sensationalism. The article, Shark Angel, briefly describes the efforts of Julie Andersen of Shark Angels. Unfortunately, it seems that somebody dropped the ball on writing the captions for the photos that were included in the story.

This photo (click the link, as I don’t have the rights to display it here) is accompanied by the caption, “Saved … Shark Angel frees creature from net.” Sadly, the “creature” in the photo, a sand tiger shark, appears well past the point of saving and looks to be quite dead. In fact, what appears to be the same shark can be seen in the Shark Angels video below.

Photo caption blunders aside, I have to give credit to The Sun for taking a step in the right direction, when it comes to steering away from the fear angle and featuring a story about conservation.