Climate change causes smaller and weaker shark pups
BOSTON (UK)- Climate change causes ocean temperatures to rise. This leads to shark pups being born smaller, exhausted and undernourished into already challenging environments, says a new study conducted at the New England Aquarium Ocean warming, resulting from global climate change, is already causing unprecedented changes to aquatic ecosystems worldwide. TheContinue Reading
Giant ancient sharks had enormous babies that ate their siblings in the womb
LEICESTER (UK)- Made famous by the 2018 blockbuster The Meg, the largest predatory shark ever discovered, the megalodon, is a bit of a mystery. We know it lived between 15 and 3.6 million years ago and it reached at least 14 metres in length, more than double the size ofContinue Reading
Study: High levels of toxic metals in Caribbean reef sharks
NASSAU (BAHAMAS)- Over the last hundred years, human activity has caused a large increase in metals and metalloids entering the marine environment, posing potential risks to biodiversity and food security. Beneath the Waves evaluated muscle tissues of 36 individual sharks from six species. The research team provides the first accountContinue Reading
Shark fishing bans are only partially effective, says study
EXETER (UK)- Bans on shark fishing are only partially effective in protecting sharks, new research suggests. Scientists from the University of Exeter, international conservation charity ZSL (Zoological Society of London) and Sri Lankan NGO Oceanswell examined the effects of a blanket ban on landing thresher sharks, brought in by the SriContinue Reading
Stranded blue shark released in North Sea
OUDDORP (The Netherlands)- The blue shark that was stranded on the Dutch beach at Ouddorp has been successfully released back in the North Sea. A blue shark in the North Sea is quite rare. What the shark was doing in the cold shallow waters off the Dutch coast is notContinue Reading
300 shark species under serious threat, IUCN Report states
LONDON (UK)- In total 300 shark species of sharks and rays are now threatened with extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). One shark, the Lost Shark, was only formally described last year, just to become as good as extinct now. Lost, found, and lost again.. TheContinue Reading
Basking sharks travel in extended families with their own ‘gourmet maps’ of feeding spots, genetic tagging reveals
ABERDEEN (SCOTLAND)- Picture the scene. Swimming off Scotland’s west coast during a summer holiday you notice a large dark shark nearly 10 metres long headed towards you. A prominent triangular dorsal fin cuts the surface, the powerful rhythmically beating tail driving it silently through the cloudy green depths. You’re transfixedContinue Reading