The Dorsal Fin

Underwater cinematographer and professional speaker Annie Crawley recently talked with President Johnson Toribiong about declaring Palau’s waters as a shark sanctuary. President Toribiong discusses how he went about making Palau the world’s first national shark sanctuary. Toribiong also discusses the importance of ocean conservation and the sustainability of marine life. Toribiong also stresses the importance of teaching children to respect the oceans and the environment.

According to an MSNBC report, long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad will attempt to swim 103 miles through “shark-infested” waters from Cuba to Key West, Florida at the age of 61.

CNN is reporting that Nyad wants to make it “crystal clear” that no sharks will be harmed by her team during her upcoming swim. She told CNN that she will have a team of professional divers with many years of experience in using “cutting-edge” non-lethal shark deterrents. She went on to that the team will act to protect her, while respecting the animals she might encounter.

Nyad is expected to begin the swim sometime in the very near future when the weather and ocean conditions are most ideal for the 103 mile journey. It is expected that the swim will take around 60 hours to complete.

Discovery Networks recently uploaded the video above to their YouTube channel which focuses on recently passed legislation in Chile, Honduras, and the Bahamas that helps to protect sharks within those countries’ waters. Honduras and the Bahamas have recently banned commercial fishing making their waters a “shark sanctuary,” while Chile has banned the practice of shark finning.

Discovery News is reporting that the Chilean National Congress voted unanimously in favor of passing a bill that would ban the practice of shark on 30 species of sharks found in Chile’s coastal waters. The law does not prohibit shark fishing, but it does require that any sharks be landed whole and requires that harvested sharks remain whole “all the way to the market,” according to Discovery News.

For more information, check out the full article on the Chilean shark finning ban at Discovery News.

A bill will be signed into law today declaring Honduran waters a sanctuary for sharks.

According to the New York Times, Honduran president Porfirio Lobo Sosa will sign a bill into law today that will establish a permanent moratorium on commercial shark fishing in Honduran waters. The new law will affect 92,665 square miles off of the Honduran coast (including both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts).

The Times reports that the bill will be signed on the island of Roatan, one of Honduras’ most popular diving destinations.