The Yao Ming shark fin soup PSA produced by WildAid, reported on last week, is now online. Check out the English version of the commercial below.

WildAid has a reputation for creating some very effective PSA for animal conservation. I am really glad to see that they are using the “up to 70 million sharks” figure as opposed to the “100 million magic number.” The “up to 70 million” statistic is based on the high-end estimate from Shelley Clarke’s research on global estimates of shark catches, which estimated that between 26 million and 72 million sharks are killed commercially each year.

According to the Fraser Coast Chronicle, “shark hunter” Vic Hislop has been repeatedly victimized by vandals at his Hervey Bay “Shark Show.” The latest act involved five men ripping the tail off of Hislop’s fiberglass shark. According to the article, Hislop “accosted” and apprehended 3 men and a woman several years ago, whom he suspected of vandalizing his museum, and "took them to the police station where they admitted offenses." The following day Hislop was visited by police who "read out six charges" against him that were punishable by up to 6 years in jail. Hislop went on to say that local hoteliers who were tired of the vandalism rallied behind Hislop and "eventually no one was charged."

Hislop claims to have killed over 1,100 sharks, and has called for a national cull on sharks, according to a 2005 Earthdive article. Hislop’s museum features a frozen carcass of one of the great white sharks he has killed. If you’re not familiar with Mr. Hislop, check out this 2009 Edit International article for some insight into his views on sharks.

While I certainly don’t see eye to eye with Mr. Hislop, I don’t condone acts of vandalism against him and hope the local authorities will deal with the perpetrators appropriately

The Herald Sun is reporting that a South African man disappeared after being attacked by a shark off the coast of Port St. Johns. Witnesses reported seeing the man waving his hands frantically before disappearing under the water, leaving only a cloud of blood behind. The victim’s surfboard washed ashore and was retrieved, according to John Costello at the National Sea Rescue Institute. The NSRI are investigating the disappearance but no signs of the victim have turned up. The species involved can not be identified, since there are no bite marks to analyze. This is the second attack at the popular South African beach this year, according to the Herald Sun report. In January, a 26-year old lifeguard was fatally attacked by a bull shark.

I usually try to avoid repeating stories from some of the other major shark blogs out there, but this one is too good not to share, in case anybody missed it at The Best Shark Dive in the World! and Shark Diver’s Underwater Thrills: Swimming With Sharks. Video footage of a rare great white shark sighting off the coast of Florida, filmed last week about "6 to 7 miles outside of the Mayport Jetties," has been posted on YouTube. The video information posted on YouTube lists the shark as being at least 18′, although I suspect the size might be a bit overestimated, based on the apparent girth of the shark. (Then again, what do I know?) Regardless, of the shark’s size, it’s a rare find and the footage is well above “Bigfoot quality” in the respect that there is little doubt that the subject matter is clearly a white shark.

The video was posted by YouTube user surfergirl10244 who posted a couple more short clips of the white shark, in addition to the one above. Check out the links below for the other clips.

Clip #1
Clip #2

According to Adelaide Now article, Fisheries net catches ‘great white killers’, two Whyalla men were arrested for killing a great white shark and selling its body parts. The men were arrested by Whyalla police and Primary Industries and Resources SA Fisheries officers after a year-long investigation. In addition to the arrests, Fisheries officers seized over $120,000 (AUS) worth of property including fishing equipment, a commercial charter fishing boat, and white shark teeth and jaws. A third man is also expected to be summoned for “similar offenses.” The arrested men have been released on bail and are scheduled to appear in court at later date.

Great white sharks have been protected by law in South Australia since 1998, according to Rob Parkes, Primary Industries and Resources SA Fisheries strategic operations manager.

According to an AFP article, basketball player, Yao Ming has recently unveiled a new television commercial "aimed at wealthy Chinese" urging them to turn away from the consumption of shark fin soup. The commercial was produced by WildAid and features Ming pushing away a bowl of shark fin soup that is being offered to him in an upscale restaurant, accompanied by a narrator asking, “If you could see how shark fin is made, could you still eat it?”

Ming is quoted as saying, “We have species that need our attention and protection. They are endangered by excessive hunting by humans and deprived of habitats due to human greed.” Along with the television commercial, the basketball star’s image is also appearing on shark conservation billboard in China. Ming has been involved with WildAid in the past and made news in 2006 with his pledge to give up eating shark fin soup. Ming has also appeared in previous conservation PSAs for WildAid, including the one below which focuses on the hunting of elephants.

Hopefully, WildAid will post the new Yao Ming PSA online in the near future, as they generally do an exceptional job with their commercials (except that they tend to rely on the 100 million sharks a year “magic number”).

The rather whimsical video below was posted today at Jean-Michel Cousteau’s OFS YouTube Channel and features an encounter between a great white shark and an African penguin (sometimes referred to as a jackass penguin, due to the donkey-like noises they can emit). So exactly what happens when an African penguin and a white shark go toe-to-toe (or jaw to beak, as the case may be), check the video out and see for yourself!

And the winner is…The New York Daily News for the headline, Australian man fends off Great White with oar, gets two shark teeth as souvenir. The headline accompanied the story mentioned here yesterday about a white shark grabbing an oar from the hands of volunteer lifeguard, Greg Ross, while he was in a surf boat off of Hawks Nest Beach. According to Ross’ own account, he did not in any way use the oar to "fend off" the shark, rather Ross had a hold of the oar when the shark grabbed a hold of it and pulled it from his hands before he even saw the shark. The article also claims that the shark was “so intent on devouring the oar” that it left two teeth embedded in it. While the shark did, in fact, leave two teeth behind, it was also “so intent on devouring the oar” that it lost interest in it and left the oar in the water for Ross and his crew to recover.

The claim that Ross “fended off” the shark with the oar is about as accurate as saying that a pickpocket victim fended off his assailant with a wallet.

The NY Daily News also earns extra special points for using the “We’re gonna need a bigger boat,” reference in a hard news story.

Apparently, this is the year of so-called “monster sharks” as is evidenced by a Herald Sun article, Monster great white photographed in Port Phillip Bay. According to the story, Ray Theuma and Brian Bell, were fishing in Port Philip Bay (Australia) about 7km from shore, when a 4m great white shark approached their boat. According to Theuma, the shark touched the boat three times and circled it for approximately 10 minutes.

Much like another “monster shark” in the recent media, it’s unclear what the actual size of this recent “monster shark” is. The Herald Sun refers to it as a “4m monster” at one point, yet Theuma is quoted as saying the shark was the same size as his 4.6m boat. To further complicate the report, The Herald Sun lists the boat as being 4m and the shark being larger than the boat, in the text accompanying a photo gallery with images of the shark.

It is still unclear to me what criteria must be met for a shark to achieve the rank of “monster shark,” but I think it probably has something to do with trying to sell more newspapers.

In other (apparently non-monster) white shark news from the Herald Sun, a white shark snatched an oar from the hands of man in a surf boat off of Hawks Nest Beach. According to the Herald Sun, Greg Ross had a hold of the oar when he felt a “thump” and then saw the white shark “writhing” with the oar in its mouth. After a “good minute” the shark lost interest and swam away. Ross, who works as a volunteer lifeguard at the beach, said that the he and his colleagues see white sharks “all the time.” Ross went on to say that the white sharks, which he and his colleagues refer to as “pets,” do not worry them much.

According to The Northern Star, a surfer survived what is being reported to be a shark bite near Evans Head in New South Wales, Australia. According to the article, Nigel Hughes was surfing on Sunday morning when he felt a strike to his foot, as he was pushing himself up to stand on his board. He sustained an injury to his big toe but was able to catch a wave into shore where friends helped him to a car, wrapped his foot in a towel, and took him to a hospital. Hughes appeared to be in good spirits while awaiting surgery and said the injury would make his holiday a memorable one. He also said that he "definitely" plans on getting back in the water. Hughes did not see the shark and was not willing to speculate on what species it might be.

While Hughes was not willing to speculate, it did not slow the article’s author down from noting that Hughes’ injury occurred in “known Great White territory.” However, the article also includes quotes from a local fishing boat operator, Mick McGilvray, who speculated that the species responsible for Hughes’ injuries was most likely either a bull shark or a bronze whaler. McGilvray also said the offending shark would have been no bigger than 2m in length. Apparently, speculation is good filler when facts are sparse. Regardless of speculation, here’s to a speedy recovery for Mr. Hughes.