The Dorsal Fin

Artist, researcher, and conservationist Guy Harvey was recently featured on CNN. The video touches on the many aspects of Harvey’s work including his marine-life artwork and his conservation efforts. Harvey’s revolutionary no-kill Ultimate Shark Challenge tournament is also briefly discussed in the video feature.

Harvey has also recently launched the Save our Gulf campaign, in which proceeds from the sale of posters and t-shirts go directly to efforts to clean-up the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Check out CNN.com to read the full-article about Guy Harvey.

Live Science has an interesting read on how the movie “Jaws,” the Jersey Shore attacks of 1916, and World War II accounts of shark attacks have altered the public perception of sharks over the past century. The article quotes George Burress as saying

“At the turn of the 20th century, there was this perception that sharks had never attacked a human being. There was even a reward offered if someone could prove they were bitten by a shark — money that was never collected.”

The article goes on to note that after “Jaws” was released shark-hunting tournaments began to gain popularity on the East Coast of the U.S. According to Burress, the shark-hunting trend “dramatically reduced nearly all shark species over the following decades.”

The article also goes on to mention an “inadvertent benefit” that came about as a result of declining shark populations. Scientist became more conscious of the need learn more about sharks which resulted in an increase in funding for shark research.

Visit Live Science to see the full article, How ‘Jaws’ Forever Changed Our View of Great White Sharks.

It seems the magic number of 100 million sharks killed each year gets quite a bit of use in the world of shark conservation, but is there any actual data to support this number? At least one commenter on this blog has called the number into question, which led met to start looking into the basis for the 100 million “statistic.” Other shark conservation-minded bloggers including Shark Diver’s Underwater Thrills and Luke Tipple have called the 100 million number into question this year, due to a lack of a scientific basis for the number. Despite the lack of any hard data to support the number it is widely used and accepted in the media and in many conservation efforts.

Research conducted by Shelley Clarke estimated the global number of sharks killed annually at 26 million to 73 million. Clarke’s Global Estimates of Shark Catches using Trade Records from Commercial Markets journal article published in 2006 in the Ecology Papers Vol 9 Issue 10 follows a generally accepted scientific methodology and is backed up by solid research.

While “26-73 million” might not roll off the tongue quite as easily as “100 million,” there is data to support the former, while there seems to be no solid data supporting the latter. Considering that I make a point of calling attention to instances of misrepresentation and misinformation in the media with this blog, I think it’s important to point out that the use of the 100 million number is not based on any specific scientific evidence, and I would encourage shark conservationists to reference the global estimates from Clarke’s research. At the end of the day, even the low-end estimate, from Clarke’s study, of 26 million is still alarming number of sharks being plucked from the ocean.

The other lesson to be learned from the lack of scientific data to back up the claim of 100 million sharks killed per year, is that opportunistic filmmakers will use the baseless number as springboard to devalue the entire shark conservation effort, as can be seen in the video below.

The gentlemen in the video have a point when it comes to the magic “100 million” number (and the “90% of the species” statistic), but nowhere in the video do you hear mention of the estimates from Clarke’s study, which would be far less disputable.

When it comes to shark conservation efforts, I recommend sticking with data that can be backed up by science. There’s already enough conjecture and flat-out misinformation out there without shark conservationists adding to it (as a couple of the people in the video above do a fine job in displaying).

The Courier-Mail recently posted a story titled, Monster shark spreads fear off Queensland coast, focusing on a supposed "monster" white shark, which is so large that it was able to nearly bite a 3m (approximately 10′) white shark "in half" (with two bites on alternating sides, that is). The 3m shark was bitten after it was "snared on a baited drumline." The Courier-Mail posted this picture of the 3m white shark with the bite marks from the larger shark. The article goes on to estimate the size of this "monster" to be 5m (approximately 16.5′) or more. The article also refers to the shark as a "giant" great white, when not repeatedly referring to it as a "monster shark."

Let’s take a step back into reality, shall we? 5m is not outside of the range of what would generally be considered a normal length for an adult white shark. It is hardly a "giant," relatively speaking, when it comes to white sharks. So, who is spreading the fear about a monster off the coast of Queensland? Is it the actual shark or the over-the-top sensationalized reporting about the shark?

The article goes on to discuss the controversial topic of shark nets. Aside from the unnecessary sensationalism, one thing about the article that did strike me as interesting was that it mentioned that Vic Hislop (great white shark "hunter") does not support the use of shark nets due to the overall damage they cause to the marine environment, and that he supports methods to "scare away sharks rather than capture and kill them." This comes as a bit of surprise considering some of Hislop’s statements about sharks, which were featured in a recent Edit International article.

The Shark Alliance recently released a new video in attempt to boost awareness and increase regulation of shark finning in Europe.

According to the The Shark Alliance’s petition page,

• The EU ban on ‘finning’ (slicing off a shark’s fins and discarding the body at sea) is among the world’s weakest due mainly to the strong influence of the EU’s top shark fishing nation: Spain.
• The EU finning regulation allows permitted fishermen to remove shark fins at sea and land shark parts separately, complicating enforcement. Spain grants more permits than any other EU country.
• Spain is working to further weaken the EU finning ban as the European Commission and other countries have called to strengthen it. Calls from concerned European citizens are needed to persuade Spain to change course.

If you support the cause of The Shark Alliance, you can sign the petition online.