India: Ban on export of shark fins stays
Since 2015 the export of shark fins has been banned in India, thanks to the good work of Humane Society International/India and People for Animals. Petitioners sought to have the ban lifted and appealed to the Kerala High Court, claiming the ban affected “their fundamental right to trade. Last weekContinue Reading
Great whites and basking sharks New Zealand near threatened
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
Great white spotted off Spanish coast
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
Mexico creates official Caribbean refuge for whale sharks
CANCUN (MEXICO)- Every year between may and September whale sharks gather off the Caribbean coast of the peninsula of Yucatan. The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources has decided to protect these gentle giants by creating an official refuge area of 633,000 hectares. The Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources, through theContinue Reading
‘Shark Highway’ discovered in Pacific
COCOS ISLANDS (COSTA RICA)- Scientists have discovered a 500-mile-long “shark highway” right in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, leading sharks, turtles and other marine animals from the Costa Rican Cocos Islands to the Galapagos Islands. They plan to turn it into a protected wildlife corridor in the ocean. TheContinue Reading
A safe haven for the Scalloped Hammerhead
PUERTO JIMENEZ (COSTA RICA)- A new sanctuary in the Golfo Dulce in Costa Rica must give young Scalloped Hammerheads the opportunity to grow up in peace. Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solís announced earlier this month the designation of more than 10,000 acres of critical nursery habitat for this endangered shark species.Continue Reading
Why do Pacific great whites migrate to the ‘Cafe Zone’?
HONOLULU (HAWAII)- Every year great white sharks of the Pacific migrate to a remote area of the Pacific Ocean. Where this is exactly remained a mystery for long. Scientists took off from Honolulu last week on a mission to investigate just what the great whites are doing during their spring break inContinue Reading