The Dorsal Fin

Scott MacNichol of Perry, Maine captured the footage above on Saturday while diving off of Eastport, Maine. The footage shows MacNichol’s camera being bitten by what WMTW-Portland is reporting as an 8′ porbeagle shark (Lamna nasus). The porbeagle shark can be seen swimming earlier in the video before it charges the camera. MacNichol was unharmed and returned to the same spot for another dive earlier this week, according to WMTW.

Porbeagle sharks belong to the family Lamnidae and typically feeds on bony fish and squid. According to the Florida Museum of Natural History, the porbeagle shark can grow up to 12′ and weigh up to 500 lbs. It is typically not known for attacks on humans.

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.

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.