All Fins On LLC recently shared this inspiring video on Vimeo. The video features wounded U.S. Army veteran, Preston Kaplan, diving among a score of sand tiger sharks along with other members of the Soldiers Undertaking Disabled Scuba (SUDS) program.

According to the video description, Kaplan spent four years recovering from his combat injuries prior to participating in the dive. The SUDS program helps the recovery and rehabilitation of wounded veterans through SCUBA diving activities.

The video was shot off of the coast of Morehead City, NC on August 18, 2012. The are known as the “Graveyard of the Atlantic” is well-known for its sand tiger sharks (Carcharias taurus), which congregate around some of the wrecks.

For more information about the program, check out the Soldiers Undertaking Disabled Scuba (SUDS) website.

NECN reports that east-facing beaches in Chatham, Massachusetts have been closed to swimming due to shark sightings and “increased activity.” A large number of grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) are currently in the waters of the beaches affected by the closures. The grey seal is a natural prey item for great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias), which migrate to the waters of Cape Cod in the summer months.

The beach closures were announced just before the Labor Day holiday weekend, which is one of last big beach weekends of the summer for vacationers in the area.

YouTube user NewportWhales captured some footage of what appears to be a juvenile white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) off of Newport Beach, California. According to the video description, the shark was spotted around 3:30pm on August 28. The relatively small shark was described as being between 5-6′ in length.

YouTube user honuaconsulting has posted a video documenting numerous tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) feeding on the carcass of a sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus).

According to KHON-2, the footage was shot last week off of Pahoa, Hawaii. The carcass was approximately 50′ in length and was expected to be removed by government agencies working in conjunction with a private contractor, according to the report.

YouTube user GreenFinsTuna filmed this footage of a great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) feeding on a grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) on August 22, 2012. The feeding event took place off of the southern tip of Monomoy Island (Chatham, MA), according to the video description. The videographer describes the shark as being “easily 15-feet long” and had been tagged with a satellite tracking tag.

DANAPOINTWHALEWATCH caught this blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) on film doing its best “shark impersonation” off of Dana Point, California…Alright, so the blue whale is really just swimming on its side near the surface, which results in its fluke rising out of the water like a colossal dorsal fin, but “shark impersonation” sounds much more catchy. One of the whale watchers can even be heard in the video saying that the blue whale was doing “his ‘Jaws’ impersonation.”

The blue whale is the largest known living animal on the Earth. Despite its size, blue whales are filter feeders and are generally considered harmless to humans.

YouTube user cctuna91 captured some video footage of what appears to be a great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) in Cape Cod Bay. According the video description, the shark was spotted 2-3 miles off of Barnstable, MA.

According to a WCVB.com report, Jeffrey Richardson was fishing for tuna when he encountered the shark, which he estimated to be about 12′ (3.5m) in length. Greg Skomal of Massachusetts’ Division of Marine Fisheries told WCVB that he was “pretty confident” that it was a white shark but wanted to see more photos and video to confirm the species.

Tonight on Discovery’s Shark Week, “Great White Highway” follows a team of researchers who hope to learn more about where California’s great white shark populations travel throughout the year. Using tagging and tracking technologies scientist will hope to learn where the sharks go when they’re not in California waters and what the sharks do while they’re gone. One of the primary questions that the researchers hope to answer is where white sharks mate and give birth.

“Great White Highway” premieres tonight on Discovery’s Shark Week at 9PM.

Tonight on Discovery’s Shark Week, “Shark Fight” will focus on a group of shark attack survivors who have taken up the cause of shark conservation. “Shark Fight” will focus on these survivors and their stories of recovery, as well as their current efforts to raise awareness about shark conservation issues, including long-line fishing, shark finning, and by-catch.

“Shark Fight” premieres tonight on Discovery’s Shark Week at 9PM.

Environmental groups are asking the U.S. government to name great white sharks as endangered species.

The L.A. Times is reporting that some environmental groups are seeking federal protection for great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias). The groups have petitioned for the government to list California’s white shark population as an endangered species. The petition, filed last Friday, was prepared by Oceana in conjunction with Sea Stewards, and the Center for Biological Diversity.

The biggest concern of those behind the petition is the threat of juvenile white shark being killed as a result of by-catch in gill nets off the coast of Southern California and Mexico, according to Oceana’s Geoff Shester. It’s unclear from the report how U.S. federal protection status would help to reduce by-catch of the species. White sharks are already a protected species in California and Mexico and cannot legally be targeted for harvest in either locales.

For more information, you can check out the full-article at the L.A. Times.

If you’re interested in signing the petition, Oceana has made the petition for federal protection of great white sharks available online.