WARNING Video features multiple scenes of finning of shark carcasses

Al-Jazeera recently featured a story on the shark fin trade and its effects on shark populations in Arabian seas. According to the report, the waters of the Arabian Peninsula supply 10% of the world market of shark fins, most of which are sent to Asian markets, as demands for shark fin soup rise. The report notes that the shark fin market is indiscriminate, with pregnant females and juvenile sharks are being harvested for their fins.

Saoud Al-Habsi, of the Oman Fisheries Ministry, says that international action is needed quickly to protect species that are on the verge of becoming endangered in Arabian waters. However, many fishermen view harvesting sharks as a “gift from God” that should not be controlled by the government.

While the report essentially offers the same story we’ve unfortunately grown accustomed to on the subject of shark finning, most of the anti-shark finning features I’ve come across tend to be from Western media outlets. I found it interesting to get a Middle Eastern perspective on the topic. The “gift from God” argument is one that I had not really come across before. The report also addresses the issue that shark fishing provides for the livelihood of some of these fishermen, which certainly would present some opposition against regulating the industry. The problem that seems to escape some of these fishermen is that the indiscriminate killing of these species could ultimately lead to an end to the livelihood that these markets provide, if the species are fished to extinction.

The AP is reporting that “Sammy,” a 4.2m (13.8′) female whale shark, has been released back into the wild by the Atlantis hotel. The whale shark had been living in the Dubai hotel’s aquarium since being “rescued” from the wild in September of 2008.

Al Bawaba is reporting that Sammy will be tracked by the Atlantis hotel’s Marine and Science Engineering department using a tagging program co-developed by the Mote Marine Laboratory.

Sammy’s presence at the aquarium had drawn criticism from environmentalists and activists, both locally and internationally, since her capture in 2008. The whale shark (Rhincodon typus) is a migratory species and is classified as “vulnerable” by the IUCN.

Hopefully, Sammy will be able to adjust appropriately to being returned to her natural habitat.

After watching the video purportedly of a surfer being towed by a great white shark, you might be thinking, “Is it even worth asking whether this is real or not?” However, a quick glance through some of the comments from YouTubers would tend to indicate there is much debate over the authenticity of this footage…

To get to the point, it’s not any more “real” than the last movie you saw at the theater. However, it’s not really a “hoax,” either, or at least, it wasn’t really intended to be. The hoax aspect has come into play more as a result of the responses of YouTube viewers, than as a result of the actual video content.
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Good Morning America Weekend ran the above feature yesterday (March 13, 2010) on great white shark diving at Isla de Guadalupe. The feature manages to cover white sharks objectively without heaping on the sensationalism that seems so common in the mainstream media. Guadalupe veterans will probably notice a couple of familiar faces (or fins) in the video footage, most notably my all-time favorite white shark, Cal Ripfin (aka Shredder).

The footage appears to have been shot last fall on the same trip where Andy Brandy Casagrande‘s most recent Great White Shark Song video was shot, which involved some controversial cage-less diving.

Kudos to Good Morning America for keeping the report objective and presenting some positive exposure for white sharks in the media.

Some photos of and by underwater photographer Don Carpenter got blown out of proportion earlier this week by multiple excuses for news outlets, including:

• Pictured: The moment a diver puts his hand inside a Great White Shark’s mouth – The Daily Mirror
• Great white shark gets a little too close for comfort – The Herald Sun
• Divers stare into jaws of killer shark – Gold Coast News Bulletin
• Smile for the camera… but don’t eat it (or me)! Great white shark gets a little too close for comfort – The Daily Mail
• Face-to-face with Great White – The Sun

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SyFy Channel will be unleashing what is sure to be a top-contender for Best Picture at next year’s Academy Awards. That’s right, DINOSHARK debuts tonight at 9pm on SyFy. Based on the preview, it looks like it could possibly hang with both Shark Attack 3: Megalodon and Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus in terms of cheesy effects and horrible acting.

Apparently, Dinoshark has been frozen in a glacier in Antarctica. However, it comes back to life after a piece of the glacier breaks off, allowing Dinoshark to thaw out and swim to a sunny beach in Mexico for Spring Break (consider me jealous of Dinoshark). So basically, you’ve got a cross between a shark and a dinosaur on Spring Break in Mexico. How could this movie possibly go wrong?

Oh, and did I mention that Dinoshark can apparently fly? Admittedly, it looks like Dinoshark doesn’t have quite the hang time that Mega Shark possesses, though.

According to the Honolulu Advertiser, the search for a missing California man who disappeared while surfing at Laniakea Beach, HI has been called off. Fire Captain Terry Seelig said, “We feel we’ve done everything we can,” after having searched for the man by air, land, and sea.
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FastCompany magazine has posted a well-written article on shark conservation and protection efforts (to be addressed at the 2010 CITES conference) for the following species:

• oceanic whitetip sharks
• scalloped hammerhead sharks
• smooth hammerhead sharks
• giant hammerhead sharks
• sandbar sharks
• porbeagle sharks
• spiny dogfish

While the article doesn’t really feature anything new or groundbreaking as far as shark conservation news goes, it is fairly well-written (aside from a lame Jaws theme reference) and does a good job of detailing some of the commercial practices that threaten shark populations, which the general public and regular readers of FastCompany might not have been aware of. More articles like this in mainstream (and other non-shark focused) media can only help to promote awareness about the need for responsible shark conservation efforts. Kudos to FastCompany and author Lydia Dishman.

Are great white sharks and giant squid doing battle in the depths of the Pacific?
If so, there isn't any solid evidence to substantiate it, at this point.

A recent article that appeared online at the LA Times website suggests that great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) and giant squid (species from the Architeuthis genus) might “battle” it out in the depths of the Pacific. The theory, which other media outlets are running with as if it were scientifically proven, seems entirely based on research of migratory patterns of white sharks being conducted by Michael Domeier.
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According to The Boston Globe, data from a third great white shark tagged last September in Massachusetts waters is now being transmitted. Data from two other great white sharks tagged in the same area revealed that the sharks traveled 1,000 miles south over a two-month span and are currently in Florida waters.

Greg Skomal of the Massachusetts’ Division of Marine Wildlife said the sharks “hugged the coast” during their travels, unlike similarly tracked great white sharks in the Pacific, who often journey far offshore. Skomal also noted that the sharks reached depths of 1,500′ during the migration.