According to the BBC, a staff member at Scotland’s Deep Sea World was bitten on the hand by an angel shark while diving in the aquarium’s main ocean display. The staff diver sustained 15-20 lacerations measuring approximately 1cm in the length from the bite. Angel sharks are bottom dwelling flat-body sharks that prey on fish and crustaceans and can measure up to 5′ (1.5m) in length. They generally are not considered dangerous to humans and do not feed on large prey items. However, they have been known to bite humans if threatened, provoked or accidentally stepped on. The aquarium staff diver was treated for his injuries and did not require hospitalization.

The video below from YouTube user kevincho48 documents an account of an angel shark biting a diver.

The media outlets that covered this story managed to keep things objective. I was pleasantly surprised to see that none of the "usual suspects" jumped on this story and turned it into something it wasn’t by making the angel shark out to be a man-eating monster. Perhaps, things are getting better for sharks in the media world.

According to the Virginia Pilot, North Carolina’s medical examiners office has reverted back to its original conclusion in the cause of death of a Pennsylvania man who went missing while swimming off Corolla Beach, NC, last month. Earlier today, the Virginia Pilot reported the medical examiner’s office had ruled the cause of death as an accidental drowning. According to the latest Virginia Pilot article, the cause of death was reverted back to a shark attack after another marine biologist reviewed the evidence. However, Crystal Baity, a spokesperson for East Carolina University, where the autopsy occurred, said that the "continued uncertainty" will require that the case be further reviewed. Baity said she was unaware of how long the final review would take.

The flip-flopping in the ruling likely explains why the story appeared and then disappeared from WAVY-TV 10’s website yesterday. Hopefully, the medical examiner’s office can come to a solid conclusion soon.

Roberts Grove (located in Placencia, Belize) recently posted a few short videos on their YouTube Channel featuring some footage of whale sharks at Gladden Spit. While there’s nothing groundbreaking in these videos, I never get tired of seeing footage of whale sharks.

Having been out to Gladden Spit multiple times during "whale shark season", I highly recommend it. There is plenty of great reef diving in the area, as well. While the whale sharks can be hit or miss even around the full moons of the spring months, dolphins and bull sharks can be commonly seen at Gladden Spit, as well. So, even if you miss the whale sharks, you likely won’t leave disappointed.

The Shark Alliance recently released a new video in attempt to boost awareness and increase regulation of shark finning in Europe.

According to the The Shark Alliance’s petition page,

• The EU ban on ‘finning’ (slicing off a shark’s fins and discarding the body at sea) is among the world’s weakest due mainly to the strong influence of the EU’s top shark fishing nation: Spain.
• The EU finning regulation allows permitted fishermen to remove shark fins at sea and land shark parts separately, complicating enforcement. Spain grants more permits than any other EU country.
• Spain is working to further weaken the EU finning ban as the European Commission and other countries have called to strengthen it. Calls from concerned European citizens are needed to persuade Spain to change course.

If you support the cause of The Shark Alliance, you can sign the petition online.

In an update to yesterday’s post, multiple news sources are now reporting that the state medical examiner’s office has changed the cause of death from shark attack to accidental drowning, in the case of a 60-year old Pennsylvania man who went missing last month after going for a late-night swim off of Corolla Beach in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. The Virginia Pilot, is now reporting that "a spokesman for the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, where the autopsy was conducted, confirmed the change in the cause of death." In addition, East Carolina Radio News is also reporting that a report from the office of the medical examiner in Greenville, NC states that the victim had drowned prior to sustaining shark bites.

It is unclear how or why the cause of the death was apparently misdiagnosed. As one reader commented at the Virginia Pilot article, “I hope this does not add to the family’s anguish.”

WAVY-TV 10 reported earlier today that the North Carolina state Medical Examiner has now ruled the death of a 60-year old Pennsylvania man as an accidental drowning. Last month, it was reported that the Medical Examiner was seeking a second opinion on the cause of death. According to the WAVY-TV 10 article, "The Medical Examiner’s Office in Greenville, N.C. reviewed images of the body with marine biologists and came to the conclusion that [the victim] accidentally drowned. A shark did not kill him."

The WAVY-TV 10 story, which appeared in Google News listings, has since disappeared.

Interestingly enough, the article, which was published today at 1:01 EDT, has since been pulled from the WAVY-TV 10 website. The article is still appearing in Google News listings and is available for viewing through a cached Google page, although it is not clear why the story has been pulled from the website. This reported new finding by the Medical Examiner has yet to appear at any other local media sources that I have been able to track down. The fact that it was pulled from WAVY.com not long after it was published and the lack of the report showing up elsewhere draw the validity of the story into question, at this time.

Regardless of the Medical Examiner’s ultimate ruling, the loss of the victim’s life is no less tragic. My thoughts and sympathies go out to his friends and family. I have chosen not to repeat the victim’s name regarding this news (or, perhaps, falsely reported news), as I’m sure having his name appearing in the news, yet again, likely will serve only to remind those he left behind of their tragic loss.

The now infamous cage breach video shot at Guadalupe in 2007 continues to get more mileage in the media. The latest outlet that it has shown up at is Tru Tv’s World’s Dumbest series. For some reason, media outlets just love this video and making generalizations about white sharks and shark diving, in general. While there are countless hours of exceptional Guadalupe white shark video footage out there, for some reason a few seconds of this footage keeps showing up all over the place and continues to give a bad impression to viewers about what really goes on with cage diving at Guadalupe.

WildIndie posted a video today on their YouTube channel promoting the Bermuda Shark Project. Based on the video info and the actual video itself, it seems like this is a work-in-progress endeavor, as the video info currently reads, "To find out more go to …" The video features some great underwater footage of various species of marine life, as well as some video documentation of a tiger shark being hooked via rod and reel, tagged, and then released.

According to a press release at PRNewsWire.com underwater photographer Karl Jost hopes to raise awareness to protect white sharks through a new great white shark calendar. Jost believes that interest in protecting white sharks will grow, if the general public is able to view the animals with fascination, as opposed to fear. The calendar will feature images from Jost’s collection of great white shark photos, and is available for pre-order at the Karl Jost website.

The question of why the ocean (and the planet, for that matter) needs sharks is one that I see pop up quite often on message boards, blog comments, and video comments. I came across the video below from abc Green Forum, while browsing through Oceanic Defense’s website. It’s a nicely produced video that walks through the potential consequences of wiping out species, including sharks, through over-fishing.