Ocean Encounters has posted a video featuring divers Fred Buyle and William Winram freediving with great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) to their YouTube channel.

It’s not entirely clear from the video description where this was filmed other than somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. From the looks of it, there was also a healthy tuna population at the dive site.

Underwater filmmaker Joe Romeiro has released yet another awesome white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) video. “Battle Scars” focuses on my favorite shark on the planet, “Cal Ripfin” (aka “Shredder”). Cal is a regular around Isla de Guadalupe in the fall months and is easily recognizable by his distinctive dorsal fin damage (as well as his many other “battle scars”).

Kudos to Joe for putting together another great video!

Matt Garrett captured the video above of an adult white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) spotted about 25 miles southeast of Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. According to an NBC report Garrett, from Boston, was fishing with friends when the shark showed up and began circling the boat. Garrett says the shark stayed in the area for about 20 minutes.

While white shark sightings off of the coast of North Carolina are not unheard of, it is fairly rare for sightings in the area to be documented on video. Tracking data indicates that the waters off North Carolina are along Atlantic white sharks migratory routes. In the spring and summer months white sharks have been documented traveling north along the East Coast from Florida waters to the cooler waters off New England, and then returning south in the fall and winter months.

Western Australia officials have ruled out the culling of white sharks.

The Australian is reporting that Fisheries Minister Norman Moore has ruled out any cull of white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) in response to three fatal shark attacks in Western Australia. Instead a newly formed response unit will look examine the effectiveness of shark nets, correlations between weather conditions and shark attacks, and whether or not protection laws have resulted in an increase in the number of the species.

Moore said that his department is trying to balance protecting the species and providing as much information about the probability of shark attacks when they go swimming. Additionally, the response unit will assess the effectiveness of the SMS shark alert system.

Wildlife artist Frank Newmyer has added another video featuring more photos of his breaching white shark sculpture. The latest video features plenty of close-up shots that show off the level detail in the piece.

While Tarantino is expected to make a full recovery, a spokesperson for San Jose Regional Medical Center said that Tartino suffered a “potentially life-threatening injury” due to the close proximity of bite marks to the carotid artery.

The shark left bite marks on Tarantino’s surfboard that measured 19″ in width. Based on the bite marks, the shark’s estimated length was approximately 14′, according The Californian report

Wildlife artist Frank Newmyer recently shared the video above on YouTube which features his sculpture of a breaching white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) in pursuit of what appear to be sea lions. The video doesn’t really show off the level detail that went into this work, but you can check out some photos of the piece on the “Splashes” section of Newmyer’s website.

Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sea Notes reported yesterday that they released a juvenile male white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) back to the wild yesterday. The shark was the sixth of the species to be displayed at the aquarium and had been at the aquarium since August 31st. The shark was released to ocean waters south of Point Conception on October 25.

Two electronic tags were attached to the shark prior to its release. A pop-up tag which is expected remain attached to the shark for 180 days will record movement data, while a second acoustic tag with a 5-year battery life will report data any time the shark is within transmitting proximity to a coastal monitoring buoy. The monitoring buoys are part of a growing network of devices deployed throughout the southern California and Baja waters.

For the full story check out Sea Notes.

A fisherman poses with a legally protected great white shark at South Africa's Mossel Bay.
(photo courtesy of Oceans Research)

Man Illegally Catches a great white shark in Mossel Bay
Press release – 16th October, 2011: Mossel Bay

On Friday 14th October 2011, Oceans Research received a phone call from local members of the community regarding an incident that was taking place at Beacon Point in Mossel Bay. A fisherman was in the process of catching a great white shark and was hauling it onto the rocks. In South Africa, the white shark is a protected species, and if one is inadvertently hooked then it must be immediately released.

Ryan Johnson, a scientist from Oceans Research rushed down to the location to discover the fisherman still had the shark out of the water; was making no effort to return it to the water and was instead posing for photographs being taken by his two companions. Simultaneously, Oceans Research scientist, Enrico Gennari, telephoned the local fisheries inspector from the Department of Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF), who assured Gennari that he was going to make his way to the location to investigate (the DAFF offices are situated less than 1 kilometer from the fishing location).

A white shark is hauled onto the rocks at Beacon Point in South Africa's Mossel Bay.
(photo courtesy of Oceans Research)

On arrival, Ryan Johnson confronted the fisherman and informed him that he was breaking the law, that the great white is a protected species, and asked the fisherman to move away from the shark to enable Johnson to return it to the Ocean. Assisted by a member of the community, Johnson returned the shark to the water by waiting for large enough swells to arrive and take some of the shark’s weight. Following release into the water, the shark rolled onto its side, righted itself, bumped into a rock and swam out of sight. It is impossible to know whether the shark will survive this ordeal.

Following the incidence, Johnson and the fisherman, believed to be from George argued passionately. When asked whether he knew that fishing great whites was illegal, the fisherman responded “so what, you (Johnson) drink and drive, everyone does things illegal so what is the big deal?”

The fisherman then started to pack up his equipment and move it to his car with the aid of the two young men. This equipment included a kayak, which presumably was used to paddle out and place the massive baits and tackle, as they were too large to cast. The entire fishing set up was designed to catch very large sharks, and it was clear that the fisherman’s intent was to target and catch white sharks, a protected species.

Johnson waited at the site for 20 minutes whilst the fishers packed up and left. Unfortunately no compliance officer arrived by the time that the fishers left. When Oceans Research attempted to telephone the inspector again, his cell phone was off and as far as is known, he never arrived at the scene of the offence.

In the past four years Oceans Research has routinely identified fishermen targeting and catching white sharks in Mossel Bay. During almost every public holiday, fishermen from Cape Town and other major metros appear in the small Mossel Bay community armed with the latest shark fishing kit and place massive hooks and bait in areas known to be congregation sites for white sharks. Whilst fishing used to occur in the evenings and early morning when detection would be unlikely, in recent years the lack of any enforcement has resulted in fishing becoming increasingly brazen. According to the Mossel Bay community, people like this fisherman bring shame to the recreational angling sport as they act in a non-professional manner, and isolate themselves from the majority of the angling community which recognise the importance of these apex predators in the marine ecosystem.

South Africa has a proud history of conserving and responsibly managing white sharks. However, in recent years, the increase in sport fishing for sharks has resulted in an increase in the targeting for this protected species. Whilst many sport fishing clubs are dedicated to fishing responsibly and within the laws, rogue fisherman routinely target and catch great whites in South Africa. To date not one reported incident has ever led to a prosecution. Why is that? Ryan Johnson believes that it is related to legislation. “The difficulty in prosecuting and investigating such cases, is that fisherman officially claim that they are not targeting white sharks (when questioned) despite unofficially admitting they are targeting white sharks in social media sites such as Facebook. Despite being equipped with tackle designed to capture sharks as large as white sharks, fishing in locations that are known great white aggregation sites, the authorities claim that ‘intent’ cannot be sufficiently established to lead to a successful prosecution”. He also notes that “Despite law stating that fishermen inadvertently hooking white sharks must cut them free as soon as they are identified, the fishermen in question refuse to do this as they claim it is more responsible to land the shark, take the hook out and then release it (after taking a bunch of snap shots) – It is a very convenient loop-hole for rogue fishermen”.

What occurs in an environment where there are no consequences for breaking environmental laws? People believe they have a free reign and thus ignore legislation. So, are white sharks protected in South Africa? If protection extends only to the signing of legislation, then yes. If protection means actually keeping white sharks safe in South Africa, then the answer is no, they are not adequately protected. Without immediate action against this practise, South Africa’s reputation for responsible environmental policy is in danger of being eroded. We are the ambassadors of one of the oceans most iconic yet vulnerable species; it is time for us to seize this responsibility.

Oceans Research would like to thank the concerned members of the Mossel Bay community who reported this incident to Oceans Research and assisted in the release of the shark. White sharks are a unique natural asset that adds significant value to Mossel Bay, it is up to residents to ensure that our environmental integrity is protected. We would urge for anyone who witnesses this behaviour in the future to contact Oceans Research and local authorities immediately. Oceans Research can be reached by phoning 044 690 5799 or contacting the local DAFF inspectors.

Surgeons are crediting the quick response of bystanders with saving the life of British shark attack victim Michael Cohen. Cohen’s right leg was severed by a bite from a white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) while swimming of Fish Hoek beach in Capetown, South Africa.

The Daily Mail reports that Hugh Till and Douglas Drysdale, who were in the area trying to spot whales, witnessed the attack and entered the water to assist Cohen back to shore. Bystanders applied a tourniquet to Cohen’s leg using a wetsuit and belt quickly after he was brought to beach following the attack. Surgeon Andrew Nicol told reporters that the quick action and proper first aid applied by those on the scene helped saved Cohen’s life.

The UK’s Channel 4 News reports that lifeguards told Cohen not to enter the water, due to three white sharks being spotted over a 90 minute period. According to the report, Cohen told the lifeguards that he was going in and that they should blame him and not the sharks, in the event of an attack. As of yesterday, Cohen remains hospitalized, recovering from his injuries, according to The Daily Mail.