Shark attack survivor and surfer, Bethany Hamilton, appeared on the Today show on December 11 as part of their “Buzziest Stories of the Decade” series. Hamilton lost her left arm as a result of a tiger shark attack 6 years ago and has since become an inspirational figure to many due to her perseverance after the attack and her return to surfing.

Unlike some of the other shark-related clips that have appeared on the Today Show over the past year, this one is fairly devoid of over-sensationalizing sharks and manages to focus more on Hamilton’s story of triumph rather than emphasizing shark-related fears. While Matt Lauer does ask Hamilton if she thinks about sharks, I think it’s a fair question to ask, and he seems to respectfully take her answer at face-value. Perhaps, the Today Show is getting better at dealing with shark-related stories.

According to an article from the Miami Herald, the Florida Fisheries and Wildlife Commission adopted a new set of rules to protect shark species in Florida waters. The rules which take effect in mid-January include.

• protection of sandbar, silky, and Caribbean sharpnose sharks in state waters from harvesting
• Establishing a 54″ minimum fork length for all sharks caught, with the exception of Atlantic sharpnose, blacknose, bonnethead, finetooth, smooth dogfish and blacktip sharks
• Prohibiting the removal of a shark’s head or caudal fin at sea
• Allowing only hook-and-line gear for shark harvesting

Perth Now is featuring a special report about Leon Deschamps a “Western Australia conservationist” who can be seen in images and video petting tiger sharks while sitting on the carcass of a whale that the sharks were feeding on. The images and video were shot in Shark Bay. Deschamps said that he hopes the images will help dispel misconceptions about tiger sharks. DeSchamps was quoted as saying…

“Tiger sharks are not aggressive, and I thought the most effective way to demonstrate that would be by throwing ourselves into the middle of a feeding frenzy.

They were sedate in their movements and far from aggressive, despite it being a time when they are supposed to be at their most ferocious. I think they enjoyed the experience.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Environment and Conservation has condemned the act, citing that touching whales was illegal and that interfering with the sharks, is “highly irresponsible and dangerous behaviour.”

Despite Deschamp’s actions in the video and photos, he also warns people to leave sharks alone especially while they are feeding, according to the PerthNow article. Go figure.

While I’m all for raising awareness for RESPONSIBLE shark conservation, I’d have to say that this particular act doesn’t fall anywhere under the responsible umbrella. Attempting to physically interact with any wild animal, while it is feeding, is not a good idea and shows a lack of respect for the animal.

Acts like riding sharks, petting sharks, etc. might be a good way to draw attention to one’s self, but then again, so is robbing a liquor store (another act I strongly discourage). Often times, these kinds of stunts can end up doing more harm than good. There is plenty of footage of divers swimming in the midst of non-aggressive tiger sharks out there. Does climbing on a dead whale carcass and petting sharks really do anything to help dispel myths about the species or is it just a good way gain publicity?

PS The statement made in the video that tiger sharks are scavengers and not predators is utterly false. They are most certainly a predatory shark, in addition to being scavengers. One can’t “dispel myths” by creating new ones.

Marge Kathrein has recently published a book chronicling the ordeal that she and her son, Jonathan, went through after Jonathan was attacked by a great white shark in 1998. Kathrein’s son, Jonathan, was bitten off Stinson Beach, CA at the age of 16. He sustained wounds that required 200 stitches to close and an 8-hour surgery to save his leg, according to the Marin Independent Journal. Kathrein’s new book, Far From Shore – A Mother’s Memoir of a Shark Attack was self-published through a division of Amazon.com.

Jonathan made a full recovery from the attack and even wrote a children’s book of his own titled, “Don’t Fear the Shark” in 2006.

An estimated 26 million to 73 million sharks are killed annually for commercial markets, research shows.

It seems the magic number of 100 million sharks killed each year gets quite a bit of use in the world of shark conservation, but is there any actual data to support this number? At least one commenter on this blog has called the number into question, which led met to start looking into the basis for the 100 million “statistic.” Other shark conservation-minded bloggers including Shark Diver’s Underwater Thrills and Luke Tipple have called the 100 million number into question this year, due to a lack of a scientific basis for the number. Despite the lack of any hard data to support the number it is widely used and accepted in the media and in many conservation efforts.

Research conducted by Shelley Clarke estimated the global number of sharks killed annually at 26 million to 73 million. Clarke’s Global Estimates of Shark Catches using Trade Records from Commercial Markets journal article published in 2006 in the Ecology Papers Vol 9 Issue 10 follows a generally accepted scientific methodology and is backed up by solid research.

While “26-73 million” might not roll off the tongue quite as easily as “100 million,” there is data to support the former, while there seems to be no solid data supporting the latter. Considering that I make a point of calling attention to instances of misrepresentation and misinformation in the media with this blog, I think it’s important to point out that the use of the 100 million number is not based on any specific scientific evidence, and I would encourage shark conservationists to reference the global estimates from Clarke’s research. At the end of the day, even the low-end estimate, from Clarke’s study, of 26 million is still alarming number of sharks being plucked from the ocean.

The other lesson to be learned from the lack of scientific data to back up the claim of 100 million sharks killed per year, is that opportunistic filmmakers will use the baseless number as springboard to devalue the entire shark conservation effort, as can be seen in the video below.

The gentlemen in the video have a point when it comes to the magic “100 million” number (and the “90% of the species” statistic), but nowhere in the video do you hear mention of the estimates from Clarke’s study, which would be far less disputable.

When it comes to shark conservation efforts, I recommend sticking with data that can be backed up by science. There’s already enough conjecture and flat-out misinformation out there without shark conservationists adding to it (as a couple of the people in the video above do a fine job in displaying).

An incident which occurred at the Farallon Islands, on October 4, 1997, involving an orca attack on a white shark has somehow become “news” this weekend, at least on the ABC News website. The incident which was documented on video (and has been available on YouTube for years) is currently being featured on National Geographic Channel’s Wild series in an episode titled “The Whale That Ate Jaws.”

I have no idea why this story is back in the news this weekend (except for the fact that there’s a NatGeo show about it), although it is an interesting story, nonetheless. Also of interest was the resultant observed behavior of white sharks around the Farallon Islands after the predation occurred. According to a National Wildlife Magazine article the white sharks typically found around the Farallon Islands from September to December simply “vanished” after the orca attack on the white shark. The sharks did not return until the next fall. For a more in-depth discussion of the October 1997 event, as well as information about the “L.A. pod” of orcas and a possible second orca attack in 2000, check out the Showdown at Sea from National Wildlife Magazine.

YouTube user, BubbleheadJace recently posted some of the highest quality whale shark (Rhincodon typus) footage I’ve seen in a long time. The footage was shot in 2009 off Koh Tao, Thailand. The video encourages viewers to visit WhaleShark.org to learn more about whale sharks and how to protect them.

Dr. Michael Domeier’s “catch and release” technique for tagging sharks, which was employed last year at Guadalupe Island and featured on a new National Geographic series, has come under some criticism from other shark researchers, as of late, after the technique was used on two sharks off the Farallones Marine Sanctuary. San Francisco’s ABC-7 ran the following report yesterday on the topic.

The incident involved with the shark at the Farallones, in which a portion of the hook was left in the white shark’s throat, is sure to draw criticism from those who believe this technique is too invasive and harmful to the sharks involved. The incident also lends support Peter Klimley’s remarks that the costs might outweigh the benefits of this technique.

What jumped out at me the most, while watching this feature, was the fact that when the technique was first covered by Outdoor Magazine in the article Great White!, the article stated, “While it’s fishing in every sense of the word, it’s imperative that the sharks are released into the sea unharmed and unstressed.” Domeier’s comments in the ABC-7 report indicate that stressing the shark is an important aspect of the technique. However, the statement in the Outdoor Magazine article is not directly attributed to anybody involved in the research, so it might have been an error on the part of the author, John Burgman.

I have little doubt that Domeier has good intentions with this tagging program, and that the goal of the program is to gain more knowledge of the species, by doing multi-year tracking (which Domeier says is not possible with the harpooning method), in order to help protect white sharks. Domeier has a long-standing track record of white shark research, which can’t be ignored. However, I have a feeling that those who are critical of the technique will be put off by Domeier’s demeanor and perceived attitude displayed in the interview clips featured in the ABC-7 report (which may have been a result of clever editing, for all I know). In addition, the photo of the team apparently in a gung ho cheer after landing one of the white sharks at Guadalupe island probably won’t sit well with critics, either.

For more commentary on the subject, check out Shark Diver’s Underwater Thrills post and Pete Thomas’ post at the LA Times Blog, which features a response from Dr. Domeier in the comments section.

WECT-6 is reporting that a 16-18′ (4.9-5.5 meter) great white shark was spotted about a mile off the coast of Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina on November 8. Fisherman, Michael Ross, captured a photo of the shark with his cell phone. According to the report, Paul Barrington of the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher confirmed that the shark in the picture was a great white shark and said that the current water temperatures is “good” for white sharks.

The temptation to throw in a Jaws reference was just too great for WECT-6, as the video segment is accompanied with Jaws theme music.

The Tagging of Pacific Predators (TOPP) white shark program has been making the news quite a bit lately. Stanford University recently published an article about the program on the Stanford website along with the video below.