Category Archives: Sharks

Why we need sharks: the true nature of the ocean’s ‘monstrous villains’

Posted on by

Why did dolphins get Flipper while sharks got Jaws? These majestic, diverse animals bring balance to the ocean ecosystem – and they’re in grave danger

Each day, as the sun sets over the coral-fringed Raja Ampat Islands in Indonesia, an underwater predator stirs. As predators go, it’s not especially big or ferocious – an arm’s length from head to tail, with a snuffling, moustachioed snout.

What’s unique is that it doesn’t so much swim along the seabed as walk. Using its four fins as legs, and twisting its spine like a lizard, it can emerge from the water and hold its breath for an hour, strutting across the exposed reef and clambering between tide pools to find prey.

Continue reading...

Shark finning: why the ocean’s most barbaric practice continues to boom

Posted on by

The recent seizure of the biggest shipment of illegal fins in Hong Kong history shows the taste for shark is still going strong

In the narrow streets of Sai Ying Pun neighbourhood, the centre of Hong Kong’s dried seafood trade, most window displays give pride of place to a particular item: shark fins. Perched on shelves, stuffed in jars and stacked in bags, shark fins are offered in all shapes and sizes. Several shops even include “shark fin” in their name.

Fins are lucrative, fetching as much as HK$6,800 (£715) per catty (604.8g, or about 21oz), and the trade is big business. Hong Kong is the largest shark fin importer in the world, and responsible for about half of the global trade. The fins sold in Sai Ying Pun come from more than 100 countries and 76 different species of sharks and rays, a third of which are endangered.

Continue reading...

Cape Cod issues great white shark warning ahead of 4 July holiday

Posted on by

Sharks found in nearly every part of the cape, and are gathering there in summer in increasing numbers

Cape Cod’s beaches and towns may be quieter because of the coronavirus pandemic, but officials are reminding visitors ahead of the 4 July holiday that the famous Massachusetts destination remains a popular getaway for other summertime travellers: great white sharks.

Great whites have been coming to the Cape in greater numbers each summer to prey on the region’s large seal colonies. Most tend to favour the Atlantic ocean-facing beaches where seals tend to congregate, but researchers have found them off nearly every part of the Cape.

Continue reading...

Divers in Thailand attempt to free whale shark entangled in rope – video

Posted on by

A group of divers in Thailand tried to save a whale shark whose tail was tied by rope. Video filmed on Saturday shows the whale shark swimming with a nylon rope tied around its tail. 

But the knife was too small and could not cut through the rope. Injured and with a rope still tied to its tail, the whale shark eventually swam away


Continue reading...

Surfer dies after shark attack in northern New South Wales

Posted on by

A 50-year-old man has died after being bitten by a shark while surfing at Casuarina Beach near Kingscliff in the NSW northern rivers region

A 50-year-old man has died after being bitten by a shark while surfing near Kingscliff in northern NSW.

A Surf Life Saving NSW spokesman told Guardian Australia the man died while surfing at Salt Beach at about 10.40am on Sunday morning.

Continue reading...

‘Yeah, I’m in trouble’: man who rescued whale calf caught in Queensland nets faces $27,000 fine

Posted on by

Rescuer hailed a hero on social media but risks penalty for interfering with shark controls

A man who rescued a whale calf trapped in nets off the Gold Coast from a small boat may face a fine of almost $27,000.

The man rescued the stricken animal on Tuesday morning as officials took more than two hours to respond.

Continue reading...

Surfer killed in shark attack at northern California beach

Posted on by

Unknown shark species attacked 26-year-old man surfing on northern end of Monterey Bay, state park officials say

A surfer was killed in a shark attack off a northern California beach, state park officials said on Saturday.

The 26-year-old man was surfing off Manresa State Beach on the northern end of Monterey Bay at around 1.30pm when he was attacked by an unknown shark species, the California State Parks said in a statement.

Continue reading...

Katharine the great white shark re-emerges after evading trackers

Posted on by
  • Shark with its own Twitter account disappeared for over a year
  • 14ft predator tracked by satellite 200 miles off Virginia coast

Katharine, a 14ft great white shark with a worldwide fan base, has re-emerged on a satellite tracking system researchers used to follow her movements.

The rediscovery comes as surprise to the team, as Katharine disappeared from radar more than a year ago, causing alarm among her many followers.

Continue reading...

Swimmer dies after shark attack in Hawaii

Posted on by

65-year-old Californian man attacked off coast of Maui in first such death since 2015

A man has died in Hawaii after being attacked by a shark, local officials have said, the first such fatality in the state in four years.

The victim, a 65-year-old from California, is believed to have been swimming in clear, flat conditions about 60 yards from the shore at on the west coast of Maui on Saturday morning when the attack happened.

Continue reading...

‘Wiped out before our eyes’: Hawaii offers bold plan to stop shark killings

Posted on by

Proposal law would protects any shark or ray in state waters and be first of its kind in US

Sharks could soon become more numerous in Hawaii waters – and advocates say that’s a good thing.

Lawmakers in Honolulu advanced a proposed ban on killing sharks in state waters on Wednesday, after receiving hundreds of calls and letters of support from around the country. The law, which would provide sweeping protection for any shark, rather than select species, could be the first of its kind in the United States.

Continue reading...

Shark attacks around world fell by about one-quarter in 2018

Posted on by

Four fatalities recorded, with the US and Australia experiencing the most attacks

The number of shark attacks around the world fell by about one-quarter last year, with the US and Australia reporting the highest number of them.

There were four fatalities worldwide, in line with the long-term average of six, according to the annual release of the Florida-based International Shark Attack File.

Continue reading...

Diver filmed with huge great white: sharks must be ‘protected not feared’

Posted on by

Ocean Ramsey, a shark researcher, came face-to-face with what could be one of the largest great whites ever recorded

Two shark researchers who came face to face with what could be one of the largest great whites ever recorded are using their encounter as an opportunity to push for legislation that would protect sharks in Hawaii.

Ocean Ramsey, a shark researcher and conservationist, told the Associated Press that she encountered the 20ft (6m) shark Tuesday near a dead sperm whale off Oahu. The event was documented and shared on social media by her fiance and business partner, Juan Oliphant.

Continue reading...

Bitten by a great white shark: survivors on their near-death experience

Posted on by

Human reactions to shark attacks have fascinated Fiona Adolph for more than a decade. Here she examines a global hotspot, Western Australia

On a whisper-still January dawn, the most terrifying day of Allan Oppert’s life began unremarkably and with a feeling of deep calm.

Like most Sundays, he woke to a knock on the door from his friends Dan and Dave. At Allan’s neat house in the small seaside town of Binningup, in the south-west corner of Western Australia, the three men drank strong coffee before towing Allan’s boat to a nearby ramp where three friends were launching another vessel. The two groups were heading out on the ocean together, a familiar arrangement aimed at ensuring safety.

Continue reading...