Turkey takes extra measures to protect sharks
ISTANBUL (TURKEY)- Turkey has set new measures protecting endangered sharks and rays, like angel sharks and shortfin makos. The list of prohibited species for fishing in the mediterranean country now has 14 species of sharks and rays on it. Already in 2012 the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), which includes Turkey,Continue Reading
World upside down? Complaints of too many sharks
GULF SHORES (USA)- Worldwide we are concerned about the massive killing of sharks, and endangering these apex predators more and more. At the Gulf Coast of Alabama, southern USA, they are frustrated of not being able to kill sharks. This remarkable news was shared by WKRG, quoting fishermen complaining aboutContinue Reading
How important is shark poop for coral reefs?
PALMYRA ATOLL (HAWAII)- It is not the first subject that comes to mind when you think of sharks. But yes, the apex predators also defecate. And guess what, this turns out to be very healthy for coral reefs. A recent paper published last month in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, shows howContinue Reading
Swimming with hand-fed whale sharks: a guilty pleasure
OSLOB (PHILIPPINES)- Over 250,000 tourists a year come to Oslob, Cebu, in the Philippines to experience swimming with the world’s largest sharks: whale sharks. Despite the moral and ethical issues of hand-feeding these endangered sharks for tourist purposes, tourists keep coming to Oslob. That is the conclusion of a newContinue Reading
88 Shark attacks worldwide in 2017
Scared to go back into the ocean? Not from being attacked by a shark. The chances for this are very small. In 2017 five people worldwide lost their lives while swimming or surfing after an unprovoked attack of a shark. Think of the millions of people that go swimming, surfing,Continue Reading
US and Cuban scientists work together in tagging silky sharks
JARDINES DE LA REINA (CUBA)- Silky sharks spend most of their day in the upper water column, but also dive to the depths of the ocean, as deep as over 600m. This was shown by the results of a joint US-Cuban research mission in marine park Jardines de la Reina.Continue Reading
New research will monitor southern Californian white sharks
LONG BEACH (USA)- A new bill proposes a five-year, 4 million dollar budget to fund research, education and monitoring of white sharks in southern California. With this budget researchers and marine biologists of SharkLab will have the power to know where sharks are, why they hang out in certain CaliforniaContinue Reading