A great white shark tagged off of New Zealand was recorded to have reached a depth of 1,200m.

According to New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, a 4.8m great white shark nicknamed “Shack” has set the deepest dive ever recorded by a great white shark at 1,200m. NIWA scientist, Malcolm Franics, said the shark made several other dives between the 1,000m and 1,200m mark. The previous depth record for a great white shark was 1,000m. “Shack” is one of 25 great white sharks tagged by NIWA over a five-year period. Data from the tagging program has also revealed information about migration patterns and white shark populations in New Zealand and Australian waters. For more information, check out the NIWA news release.

Shark Diver’s Underwater Thrills blog recently posted the following videos of some potential Darwin Award winners harassing captive nurse sharks.

According to the video information, these videos were shot at the Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas.
Continue reading →

Hein Mevissen, founder of John Doe Amsterdam, recently posted the “Killing a great white shark with your bare hands” video to his YouTube channel. Much like the somewhat infamous Shark Surfer video, Mevissen’s video was also commercially produced (created for MTV Networks Europe). While the average person would know better than to assume this is anything but a piece of fictional entertainment, it’s probably only a matter of time before YouTube viewers start claiming it’s real.

Regardless, TheDorsalFin.com does not condone the barehanded killing of great white sharks (or any other killing of white sharks), the severing of human arms, or dancing upon dead shark carcasses, unless, of course, it is all done fictionally for mindless amusement and attention.

If I hear from my neighbor’s friend’s cousin’s classmate who was actually there when this really happened, I’ll be sure to let everybody know.

SharkTruth's Happy Hearts Love Sharks contest encourages participants to skip shark fin soup on their wedding day in hopes of winning a trip to dive with whale sharks. (Image courtesy of SharkTruth.com)

Shark fin soup has traditionally been viewed as a sign of wealth in Chinese culture, and a lack of it at a wedding banquet can have negative implications. Shark Truth founders, Claudia Li and Vivian Kwong, created the non-profit group with the idea of educating people of Asian cultures about the practice of finning to harvest shark fins used in the traditional delicacy. Their “Stop the Soup” pledge offers couples a valid reason to forgo shark fin soup on their wedding day, and their “Happy Hearts Love Sharks” contest provides even more incentive to make that pledge.
Continue reading →

UPDATE: The quick overview that I refer to below was replaced by a transcript of the actual 60 Minutes segment, which is a total about-face of the quick overview and is an excellent pro-media example of how news outlets can cover shark stories without fear-mongering. I have since posted a follow-up on “The Sharkman” segment from 60 Minutes.

According to CBSnews.com, Sunday’s episode of 60 Minutes will include a feature on great white shark diving with Michael Rutzen, who is well-known for his cage-less interactions with white sharks in South Africa.

The quick overview at the CBS website can’t seem to distinguish reality from fiction as best detailed by the following excerpt…

How do you swim with the star of “Jaws?” With a paramedic on board and an ambulance on the shore…

Unless, the article is referring to swimming with Richard Dreyfuss, or the ghost of either Roy Scheider or Robert Shaw, one can only assume that the “star” they are referring to is the giant rubber-skinned mechanical shark prop that “starred” as the serial killer shark from the 1975 film. The video preview seems to indicate none of the above, rather Anderson Cooper and Mike Rutzen appear to be swimming with actual great white sharks, which, contrary to over-the-top sensational media outlets, are not the same as gigantic fictional sharks portrayed by a problematic movie prop.

Keep up that top-notch journalistic integrity CBS!

While the above AP report essentially echoes my previous post about the CITES conference, there was one small bit of good news that came at of Doha, Qatar. According to USA Today, the porbeagle shark (Lamna nasus) was added to the CITES Appendix II, which regulates exportation of the species for international trade.

Sammy, a young whale shark (Rhincodon typus) like the one in this photo, was reportedly released from captivity last week by the Atlantis hotel in Dubai.

A report form Dubai newspaper 7Days is questioning the release of “Sammy” the whale shark from Dubai’s Atlantis hotel. The article states that 7Days had been informed by a representative from the Atlantis that the whale shark was in “good health.” However, the Atlantis has refused to comment or answer questions regarding the lack of photos or video footage of the animal’s release to the wild. In addition, 7Days reports that the Atlantis also removed all posts on its Facebook page regarding the whale shark, including a series of questions posted there by 7Days.

The whale shark was reportedly tagged with a satellite tracking tag, which is expected to begin transmitting data in 3 months.

NOTE: The video below was produced prior to the defeat of the proposal to protect hammerhead sharks. WARNING: Video contains footage of shark finning.

A proposal introduced by the U.S. and Palau to protect hammerhead sharks (including the endangered scalloped hammerhead, great hammerhead, and the threatened smooth hammerhead) was defeated yesterday in Doha, Qatar at the CITES conference, according to an AP report. U.S. Assistant Interior Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks Tom Strickland said, “The greatest threat to the hammerhead is from harvest for the international fin trade and the fin of the species is among highly valued of the trade,” and that regional fisheries bodies have done nothing to regulate the trade of this species.

Opposition to the proposal, led by Japan and supported by countries dependent on the shark fin trade, argued, “it would be difficult to differentiate the hammerheads from other species and would deprive poor fishing nations of much needed income.”

The notion that it would be difficult to differentiate any of the three species of hammerheads from other species is laughable, at best. Hammerhead sharks have a very distinct appearance, hence the name “hammerhead.” The latter half of the argument seems like a valid one from a financial standpoint, but it is also a flawed argument when it comes to establishing regulations to keep hammerhead shark populations at sustainable levels. If “poor fishing nations” rely on income from harvesting these species, it would only make sense that regulating the trade of the species would be beneficial to those nations. If these species become extinct or reach near-extinction levels due to over-harvesting, where will that leave the fishermen and those whose livelihood depends on this particular trade?

As was the case with last week’s multiple marine species protection proposal defeats, at the end of the day money talks. The wealthier markets that import these shark fins sell them at a huge mark-up, while the fishermen of the “poor fishing nations” only end up with a tiny fraction of what the shark fins are ultimately sold to the consumer for. I wonder if the countries with the major markets for shark fins would be open to the idea of paying the “poor fishing nations” a much higher percentage of the fins’ market value, since they are clearly concerned with the livelihood of these poorer nations.

Come dive with me at Isla de Guadalupe. It's safe...assuming you keep your hands off my nose and out of my mouth.

While there is an inherent level of risk associated with being in the water with large predatory animals, I think white shark diving at Guadalupe is relatively safe, provided that sensible guidelines are followed. A recent Nautilus Explorer blog post doesn’t entirely reflect the same sentiment, which seems a bit odd, considering that the Nautilus Explorer charters white shark diving trips to Guadalupe.

The post begins with the question of whether diving with white sharks at Guadalupe is safe or not and is followed by the response, “HECK NO!!!” The author goes on to say that there is “NOTHING” safe about white sharks.

In all fairness to the Nautilus Explorer, the main focus of the blog post is the safety of their cages. So, while the author states that diving with white sharks at Guadalupe is not safe, their cages are built with the safety of both sharks and divers in mind. It might just be a matter of poor wording, for all I know.

Interestingly enough, the blog post includes a photo from the series of images that hit the media earlier this month, one of which features a “shark wrangler” pushing on the nose of a white shark in close proximity of a cage, while a diver takes advantage of the photo opportunity. In another photo from the series, the “shark wrangler’s” hand appears to actually be in the mouth of the shark.

So, I guess if you have divers in the cages reaching out and pushing on the noses of white sharks, it would be fair to label that type of activity as being unsafe, regardless of the safety of the cages the divers are in.

And now, for some positive media featuring living hammerhead sharks…

YouTube user DiveDownBelow posted this video, which was filmed at Sipadan, Malaysia. It’s refreshing to see a healthy school of hammerhead sharks in their natural habitat. Kudos!