Female white shark caught and killed in Mozambique. (photo used with permission from Adam Baugh)

Adam Baugh encountered group of local fishermen hauling in a catch from their fishing nets on Monday (12/28/2012) in Jangamo, Mozambique (35km south of Inhambane). When Baugh, a dive instructor at the Guinjata Resort Dive Centre, saw that the fishermen had caught a large shark, he headed down to the water with his camera. As he got closer to the shark he realized that the fishermen had netted a female great white (Carcharodon carcharias), which he estimated to be approximately 3m in length. According to Baugh’s account the shark was already dead when she was pulled into the beach.
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A teaser trailer was recently published to Vimeo for David Diley’s upcoming documentary “Of Shark and Man.” Diley quit his office job to pursue a career in pro-shark media and film-making. “Of Shark and Man” will focus on the relationship between human and sharks among different cultures throughout the world.

You can learn more about Diley’s efforts at his From Office to Ocean website.

Australia’s 7News recently featured the report of an encounter that three fisherman had with a great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) off the coast of Portland in Victoria, Australia. According to the report, the white shark calmly circled the boat for around 20 minutes before bumping the boat and biting the outboard motor. The fishermen were able to capture some footage of the chance encounter with a GoPro camera.

While the News 7 video segment is dubiously titled “Great White Terror,” the fishermen certainly didn’t seem to be terrified in the interview segment. All three men touched shark and told 7 News they’d love to encounter a white shark again.

A bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas) managed to find its way into a swimming enclosure at Macleay Island off Brisbane (Queensland, Australia) according to a Ten News video report. The shark was estimated to be 5′ (1.5 m) in length. The net enclosing the swimming area is not secured to the sea bed, so the shark was able to swim underneath it.

The shark was eventually led out of the enclosure after a two-hour effort, with all parties involved unharmed.

An article from the UK-based tabloid The Sun suggests that a shark might have been responsible for killing a crocodile whose severed head washed ashore on a beach in St. Lucia, South Africa. While The Sun reports that “local experts” believe a “massive shark” killed the crocodile, the report does not give any other details supporting the claim.

According to The Sun, Neale and Brigitte Cary-Smith discovered the head while walking their dogs on the beach and believe that a shark was responsible.

The article does go on to say that other locals believe the crocodile might have been killed by poachers.

Underwater filmmaker Joe Romeiro has put together another amazing shark video, which he published to his YouTube channel, yesterday. The latest effort features some exceptional footage of the great hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran) shot off Bimini, Bahamas earlier this month.

For more about Joe Romeiro’s underwater film-making and photographry, check out his website.

Tracking data from SPOT tags reports the whereabouts of tagged white sharks.

According to the OCEARCH Global Shark Tracker, two SPOT tagged female great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) have recently reported in from the waters off of Jacksonville, FL. Pings from the sharks named “Mary Lee” and “Genie” have been transmitted from near Jacksonville within the past 48 hours. However, it is “Mary Lee” who has been making headlines, due to the fact that she entered the surf zone of Jacksonville Beach yesterday morning.

According to CNN, OCEARCH alerted Jacksonville police that the 16′ (4.8m), 3,456 lbs (1,568kg) great white shark had come within about 200m of the beach yesterday. The alert prompted police to issue a warning for potential beach goers to avoid the area.

According to the OCEARCH Global Shark Tracker data, “Mary Lee” headed back further offshore within a few hours of entering the surf zone.

It’s not shark news, but…Discovery and NHK (Japan’s national public broadcasting) have released the first video footage of the elusive live giant squid (Architeuthis species?) in its natural habitat. ABC News reports that the giant squid was first spotting using a submersible at a depth of 2,100′ (640m) in waters east of Chichi-jima. The submersible followed the squid to a depth of 2,953′ (900m). The specimen, which was missing its two longest tentacles, measured approximately 10′ (3m) in length, which is relatively small for species of the Architeuthis genus.

Footage of the encounter will air in as part of the documentary “Legends of the Deep: Giant Squid” on NHK this Sunday (January 13, 2012) and on “Monster Squid: The Giant Is Real” on the Discovery Channel on January 27.

The first specific order to catch and kill a great white shark is making headlines in Western Australia. The order was made in response to multiple sightings of a white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) reported in the waters off of Dunsborough, WA over the past several days. The kill order is part of a new set of guidelines intended to reduce shark attacks in Western Australia. The policy introduced late last year, after a series of fatal shark attacks in 2011 and 2012. This is the first instance of an order to kill a specific shark (or sharks), since the guidelines were introduced.

WA Today reports that lines were initially set on Sunday with the intent of catching the great white shark (or sharks) seen in the Dunsborough area. A white shark was spotted as recently as yesterday afternoon in the area. According to the WA Today report, two tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) were caught as part of the effort. The tiger sharks, which measured 1.8m and 2m in length, were released according to Fisheries Department spokesperson Tony Cappelluti, who said the tiger sharks weren’t considered to be the “high hazard.” The lines were removed on Tuesday night, but Cappelutti went on to say that Fisheries Department officers would continue monitoring the area throughout the week to assess whether any further attempts to set lines will be made.

Great white sharks are a protected species in Australian waters.

The ReutersTV YouTube Channel recently posted a brief “Rough Cuts” feature on recent images of a shark fins being dried on a rooftop in Hong Kong that have caused anger among both local and international conservationists.

According to a Global Regina article, the photos were taken by Hong Kong based photographer Antony Dickson in Kennedy Town, Hong Kong. Environmentalist Gary Stokes originally photographed the shark fin operation on January 1. Dickson said that the rooftop was covered with “tens of thousands” of shark fins that were in the process of being dried out. Dickson was prompted to take the photos after seeing images of the shark fin operation via social media, according to Global Regina report.

There are no laws prohibiting the harvest or sale of shark fins in Hong Kong.