The Dorsal Fin

South Africa’s The Mercury reports that swimming has been banned indefinitely after 14 tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) were found in shark nets off Scottburgh on the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal, yesterday. The nets have been temporarily removed, which prompted the swimming ban.

Nine of the netted sharks were tagged and released alive. Dissection of the dead sharks revealed large amounts of whale blubber in the sharks’ stomach. It is believed the sharks were attracted to the area by a whale carcass. An apparent “slick” is also present in the area, as a result of the presence of the whale carcass.

The swimming ban is expected to remain in place until the slick dissipates, and the shark nets are replaced.

South Africa’s News 24 is reporting that research permits issued to the crew of National Geographic’s Shark Men have been cancelled after a tragic fatal shark attack in Cape Town’s Kogel Bay today. A National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) represented said the victim was bodyboarding with his brother when the attack occurred.

Alan Boyd, the director of Biodiversity and Coastal Research who issued the research permits to Chris Fischer and his crew, told News 24 that he cancelled the permits for the Shark Men team when he learned of the attack. Concerns that the chumming practices used by the research team could potentially draw more sharks in to beach areas had been raised with some calling for high shark alert to be issued, according to the report.

For more information, check out the full story at News 24

If you want to see pictures of a dead shark, follow the links below. If not, here's a live one.

Images of large great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) carcass hauled in by fishermen in the Sea of Cortez have been floating on Facebook since early this week. The shark was reportedly found dead in the net of some local fishermen off “El Choyudo.” The fishermen towed the already dead carcass to shore from about two miles out.

It should be noted that reports indicated the fishermen did not target the shark and were surprised to find it in their nets. White sharks are listed as a protected species in Mexican waters.

Pete Thomas notes on his “Outdoors, action and adventure” that one local report had the shark measured at 19.8′ in length and has the shark being caught “near Guaymas.” For more information and photos, check out
Pete Thomas’ blog as well as his Grind TV article.

The Shreveport Times is reporting that two men from Texas have been arrested for violating shark fishing regulations in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana.

The bodies of 11 whole sharks along with over 2,000 shark fins were found aboard the "Lady Lyanna." The men were booked on the charges and jailed. The fins were determined to represent over 500 sharks. The men were fine to be 496 sharks over the Louisiana daily limit of 33 sharks per vessel. The men were charged with exceeding the limit, as well as violating shark finning laws, and intentional concealment of illegal catch.

For the full story, check out the Shreveport Times.

Some photos of a whale shark (Rhincodon typus) being tied up and “surfed” upon have been drumming up quite a bit of controversy on Facebook for over a week, now. Some major media outlets including the BBC recently picked up the story, as calls for better protection of the species have arisen due to the controversy.

According to the Cebu Daily News, the events took place in the waters of the barangay of North Granada, Cebu, Philippines. The whale shark had apparently become tangled in the nets of some local fishermen, who dragged the animal close to shore to untangle it. Before the shark was released several people posed with shark for photos, while it had a rope tied to its tail. An 18-year-old woman was photographed posing on top of the shark. The photographs were then posted to Facebook, where the online controversy ensued.

According to the Cebu Daily News article, those involved in posing with the shark did not know that they were doing anything wrong and did not think they were doing anything that could harm the shark. Those involved could face a penalty of 3 to 6 months in jail along with fines for mistreating an endangered species under Republic Act 9147.