HARPER (LIBERIA)- The Environmental Justice Foundation’s community science programme in Liberia has identified a megamouth shark, one of the most elusive shark species in the world. It is only the 103rd time a Megamouth Shark has been recorded globally, and the second time in West Africa. Most recordings are of the deadContinue Reading
Large, predatory sharks occupy the top of ocean food chains, where they play important roles in maintaining diverse and healthy ecosystems. The loss of these predators can therefore have significant impacts on ecosystems. Morne Hardenberg/Shark Explorers By Alison Kock, South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity and Tamlyn Engelbrecht, University ofContinue Reading
ANTANANARIVO (MADAGASCAR)-The isolated island continent of Madagascar is a hotspot for whale sharks. This was confirmed by a new study published in the journal Endangered Species Research this summer. It revealed that juvenile whale sharks swim to Madagascar to feed. 85 individual sharks were identified in a single season usingContinue Reading
SOUTHAMPTON (UK)- The climate is changing – and so are our seas. Warming sea temperatures have resulted in British cod moving north, benefiting Iceland. The English Channel has warmed during the last half century and the grey Atlantic triggerfish is now a year-round, rather than just a summer, resident inContinue Reading
SARASOTA (USA)- Researchers from the Florida Institute of Technology, Oceana and Florida State University have discovered a new species of shark: Squalus clarkae or Genie’s Dogfish. They named the new species of dogfish after the famous shark researcher Eugenie Clark. She was a pioneer in shark biology, known around the world for her illuminatingContinue Reading
AUCKLAND (New Zealand)- The New Zealand government has listed two species of shark in its waters as ‘near threatened’: great whites and basking sharks. This is a negative shift from their previous “at risk” status in the last conservation report published in 2005. The report, called The New Zealand ThreatContinue Reading
MALLORCA (SPAIN)- Exciting news from the Mediterranean. Marine biologists have photographed a great white shark in Spanish waters off Cabrera, an uninhabited island and nature reserve 11 miles south of Mallorca. The team of scientists spotted the great white (Carcharodon carcharias), a very rare species in the Mediterranean, for what they say to beContinue Reading