Shark attacks in South Africa and Australia
CAPE TOWN/SYDNEY- Last weekend saw two new shark attacks on people enjoying the ocean. A tour operator from Cape Town is recovering in hospital after he was bitten by a shark at Port St. Johns at the weekend. He was mauled by great white shark while he was testing newContinue Reading
Shark cage diving vs. paua diving
STEWART ISLAND (NEW ZEALAND)- ‘Stewart Island will become just like Amity Island, the fictive island in the movie Jaws, if the shark cage diving practices are not stopped soon.’ It’s a statement of the Kiwi political party New Zealand First. The diving tourism around the island is attracting more sharks to the waters and pauaContinue Reading
9-meter whale shark washed up in Ecuador
SANTA MARIANITA (ECUADOR)- Over 100 volunteers did their best in saving a 9 meter long whale shark that washed up on a beach off the town of Santa Marianita. Their effort unfortunately was too late. The female whale shark became stranded on the beach after being caught in the shallowContinue Reading
Another fatal attack at Reunion Island
REUNION ISLAND (FRANCE)- The French tropical island of Reunion is one of the hotspots for shark attacks. Last sunday a young surfer was killed. It is the 16th shark attack since 2011, and the 7th death. Authorities immediately put in place a “post-attack procedure” in a bid to capture theContinue Reading
Costa Rica exports fins from endangered hammerheads
SAN JOSE (COSTA RICA)- Conservation groups Turtle Island Restoration Network and PRETOMA have found evidence that Costa Rica is exporting hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna lewini) to plates in Hong Kong by way of stop-overs on U.S. soil. Eastern Pacific Scalloped hammerhead sharks are listed as “endangered” under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). The exportContinue Reading
US: Porbeagle may be endangered species
PORTLAND (USA)- US federal regulators are reviewing the status of the porbeagle shark to determine if listing the species under the Endangered Species Act is warranted. The regulators say the porbeagle sharks are threatened by the shark fin trade and bycatch from other fisheries. They are popular as meat and with gameContinue Reading
Famous sea-otter killed by shark
SUNSET STATE BEACH (USA)- A California sea otter killed by a great white shark. That’s hardly news. But this sea otter wasn’t your usual one. She was very famous. They called her Olive the Oiled Otter and she was a symbol for oil pollution and the value of washing and rehabilitatingContinue Reading