FORT LAUDERDALE (USA)- The ocean’s fastest shark is being threatened by overfishing. A new study using satellite tracking by researchers from Nova Southeastern University’s Guy Harvey Research Institute (GHRI), the University of Rhode Island and other colleagues shows that the fishing mortality rate of the shortfin mako in the western North AtlanticContinue Reading
LONDON (UK)- The Manta Trust, Project AWARE®, and WWF have released the Responsible Shark and Ray Tourism: A Guide to Best Practice, the world’s first-ever guidelines for shark and ray tourism operators. The Guide aims to provide practical, science-based guidance to help tourism operators, NGOs and local communities develop and maintainContinue Reading
NABIRE (PAPUA)- The whale sharks of Cenderawasih Bay National Park, Papua, also known as ‘The Galápagos of the East’, have become a main tourist attraction. In 2012, the park listed 1,764 foreign and local tourists and in 2016 this was over 4000 foreign and local visitors. The chance of meeting one of theContinue Reading
HILVERSUM (THE NETHERLANDS)- This weekend over 10.000 Dutch children came to the TV studios in the city of Hilversum to donate money for the protection of sharks worldwide in an 10 hour long TV-marathon. They raised a total of 621.780 euro. In the past months the kids have been raisingContinue Reading
JACKSONVILLE (USA)- The shark populations of the Atlantic waters of the US coast are rebounding, so say scientists of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In the early 1990s, shark populations had declined to dangerously low levels due to overfishing and lack of a management plan. To respond, theContinue Reading
MIAMI (USA)- An important first step was taken towards the regional protection of sharks throughout the Caribbean. At the request of the Netherlands, regional governments last week recommended eight species of sharks and rays for protection under the Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW) Protocol. Delegates from 14 Caribbean countriesContinue Reading
Good news for thresher sharks (Alopias spp), silky sharks (Carcharhinus falciformis), and mobula rays (Mobula spp)! The Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) voted in favor of listing them in Appendix II. Species listed in Appendix II are to be closely monitored to ensureContinue Reading