Study: High levels of toxic metals in Caribbean reef sharks
NASSAU (BAHAMAS)- Over the last hundred years, human activity has caused a large increase in metals and metalloids entering the marine environment, posing potential risks to biodiversity and food security. Beneath the Waves evaluated muscle tissues of 36 individual sharks from six species. The research team provides the first accountContinue Reading
Shark fishing bans are only partially effective, says study
EXETER (UK)- Bans on shark fishing are only partially effective in protecting sharks, new research suggests. Scientists from the University of Exeter, international conservation charity ZSL (Zoological Society of London) and Sri Lankan NGO Oceanswell examined the effects of a blanket ban on landing thresher sharks, brought in by the SriContinue Reading
Stranded blue shark released in North Sea
OUDDORP (The Netherlands)- The blue shark that was stranded on the Dutch beach at Ouddorp has been successfully released back in the North Sea. A blue shark in the North Sea is quite rare. What the shark was doing in the cold shallow waters off the Dutch coast is notContinue Reading
300 shark species under serious threat, IUCN Report states
LONDON (UK)- In total 300 shark species of sharks and rays are now threatened with extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). One shark, the Lost Shark, was only formally described last year, just to become as good as extinct now. Lost, found, and lost again.. TheContinue Reading
Basking sharks travel in extended families with their own ‘gourmet maps’ of feeding spots, genetic tagging reveals
ABERDEEN (SCOTLAND)- Picture the scene. Swimming off Scotland’s west coast during a summer holiday you notice a large dark shark nearly 10 metres long headed towards you. A prominent triangular dorsal fin cuts the surface, the powerful rhythmically beating tail driving it silently through the cloudy green depths. You’re transfixedContinue Reading
New hotspots found for whale sharks off Madagascar
NOSY BE (MADAGASCAR)- Could the island of Nosy Be, off western Madagascar be a new global hotspot for endangered whale sharks? Recent satellite tag-data from research suggests this as possibility. That the whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) live in these waters is no secret. They are routinely sighted off the northwest coastContinue Reading
How will sharks respond to climate change? It might depend on where they grew up
They may have been around for hundreds of millions of years — long before trees — but today sharks and rays are are among the most threatened animals in the world, largely because of overfishing and habitat loss. By Culum Brown, Macquarie University and Connor Gervais Climate change adds anotherContinue Reading