The Dorsal Fin

XOOC, a non-profit marine conservation group based in Mexico, produced the video above, which focuses on the bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) of Mexico’s Playa del Carmen.

Last fall, dozens of Playa’s bull sharks were killed by a local fisherman, who was paid 118,000 pesos (roughly $10,000 USD) for the sharks, according the video. The video also goes on to note that living sharks can bring in up to $300,000 USD dollars in tourism revenue per season. However, the fisherman who caught the sharks, argued that it was more profitable for him to catch and sell the sharks, since it was less dangerous and only required 4 hours of work.

Playa del Carmen had become a popular dive site in recent years and was known as one of the hot spots for diving with bull sharks.

(Note: This video showed up on YouTube yesterday, but was originally posted on Vimeo several months ago.)

Florida’s ABC-7 reports that Fort Myers Beach shrimpers saying they’re seeing more sharks than usual this season. Roger Schmall says that he’s never seen anything like what he’s experiencing this season throughout his 30 year career in the shrimp business. Schmall says that blacktip sharks (Carcharhinus limbatus) and bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) are feeding on his catches and causing damage to his shrimp nets.

Dr. Darren Rumbold says that no research is being conducted to determine whether the shark populations in the area are changing. Rumbold went on to say that it would be worthwhile to study due to the impacts of apex predators on the marine ecosystems.

West Palm Beach’s News Channel 5 is reporting that a spear-fisherman was on the calf by a shark off of Riviera Beach. Anthony Segrich had speared a fish and was in the process of bringing it to the surface when the shark bit him. According to his friends, they believe the shark bit Segrich while trying to grab the speared fish. Sengrich friends helped get him out of the water and applied a tourniquet to his leg before he was taken via ambulance to a nearby hospital.

At the time of the News Channel 5 report, Segrich was listed and stable condition. Doctors expect him to retain full-use of his leg after he recovers.

The Miami Herald is reporting that the shark involved was a 12′ bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas).

Grant Johnson recently uploaded this video, documenting the tagging of a large female bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas), to his YouTube channel. The shark, which was tagged off of Bimini, was measured at 2.65m in length and was safely released unharmed after being measured and tagged, according to the video description.

It should go without saying that Johnson and the team involved in this tagging effort have a great deal of experience in field research involving sharks, so kids, don’t try this at home (or on your boat).

The Toronto Star recently reported that Nicole Moore, the Canadian woman who, in January, was involved in a bull shark attack in Cancun, is sharing the story of her recovery via her new blog mooretolife.ca.

In addition to chronicling Moore’s recovery process, the blog also has a page that gives Moore’s first-hand account of her shark encounter. Various accounts of Moore’s attack appeared in the news media, which Moore describes on her blog as having “made a debacle of the entire incident.”

Best wishes to Mrs. Moore as she continues her journey down the road to recovery.