Conservationists Find it Hard to Dent Hong Kong’s Appetite for Shark Fin Soup
The Wrong Kind of Status Symbol In many parts of Asia, shark fin soup is considered a delicacy. It is traditionally served at weddings, but it’s also a way for the newly wealthy to show their status. The problem is, the number of people in Asia who are entering the middle-class and can now afford to eat more shark fin soup has grown exponentially in the past decades and – as Jaymi explains in her post about shark finning – there are between 73 and 100 million sharks killed every year, mostly just for their fins. Because sharks are top predators, they are crucial to oceanic ecosystems. Conservationists have long tried to either ban or at least regulate the practice, with various levels of success, and to convince people living where the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Conservation, Featured, Reference, Report, Sharks
Venice Florida Magladon Shark tooth hunt
It was Friday Nov 18 when I began the trip towards Venice, Florida. Stopping to pickup the owners of Scubaextreme and one other diver, the four of us in two vehicles begin our adventure. Along the way, we pit stop in Zepherhills to eat dinner at Outback Steak House, mmm mm mm. After dinner, I put the truck in cruise and we sleep the rest of the way there. Now, after checking in 6 of us head out to find a place to … pahtey… Finding most places close at 9AM on a Friday night we find the Pineapple Express. Two live bands that played until Midnight. At 2AM, they tell us it’s time to go. Was it because we reached our limit? No… Because they are closing. We all head back to … Read entire article »
Filed under: Open Water, Reefs, Report, Sharks, Trip Report
Florida approves shark protections
Florida wildlife managers approved a ground-breaking shark protection measure on Wednesday that will make it illegal for anglers fishing state waters to keep tiger sharks or three species of hammerheads. The measure is intended to reverse a sharp decline in populations of the four species, which use coastal waters as breeding and feeding grounds. Scientists say sharks, despite their dangerous reputations, serve important roles in maintaining the balance of marine ecosystems. “Sometimes the appropriate measures of conservation are the problems we avoid, not the problems we have to fix,” said Brian Yablonski, a member of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in a release. The new rule, which will take effect Jan. 1, prohibits the possession, sale and exchange of tiger sharks and great, scalloped and smooth hammerhead sharks harvested from state … Read entire article »
Shark Conservation Sites
Afri Oceans Bite Back C.O.A.R.E – Shark Safe Isla Guadalupe Fund Monterey Bay Aquarium Oceana Europe Sharks Oceana Sharks Oceanic Defense Pew Trusts Sharks PRETOMA S.A Shark Conservancy Save Our Seas Sharks Shark Alliance Shark Free Marinas Initiative Shark Legacy Project Honduras Shark Life Shark Protect Shark Specialist Group White Shark Trust Wildlife Conservation Society Wildlife Direct Kenya WWF Sharks … Read entire article »
Filed under: Conservation, Featured, Manta Rays, Reference, Report, Sharks, Whaleshark
Shark Research Sites
Bull Shark Tagging Program Canadian Shark Research Lab CICIMAR Isla Guadalupe ECOCEAN Fox Shark Research Foundation GEERG CA Global Shark Assesment Gulf of Mexico Whale Sharks Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme Mauricio Hoyos Guadalupe Island Monterey Bay White Sharks Mote Marine Lab Pacific Shark Research Center PRBO Shark Research Scottish Shark Tagging Program Shark Observation Network Thresher Shark Project Thresher Shark Project … Read entire article »
Filed under: Convention, Featured, Manta Rays, Report, Sharks
Up to 3,000 sharks illegally netted on Texas coast
Game wardens have discovered as many as 3,000 dead adult and juvenile sharks tangled in a long stretch of illegal fishing netting off the Texas coast, the state’s Parks and Wildlife Department said. Department spokesman Steve Lightfoot said the wardens found the net off Texas’ southern South Padre Island near the border with Mexico. “About 3 miles of gill net was removed just past the third sandbar near the mouth of the Rio Grande,” the department said in a statement. “The nets were running north to south, catching anything that attempted to get into shallow water.” No arrests have been made, Lightfoot said, according to The Associated Press. “This is by far the most sharks I have ever gotten in one load,” Texas Parks and Wildlife Sgt. James Dunks told local KGBT-TV after making … Read entire article »
Making Headway in the Movement to Protect the World’s Sharks
By Elizabeth Rosenthaw For sharks, life at the top of the ocean food chain is becoming safer — at least from human predators. The last 12 months have seen a flurry of laws, regulations and industry actions to end the international trade in the age-old delicacy, including bans on shark fin sales in Hawaii, Oregon, Washington and parts of Canada. Last week, the California Senate also voted to ban the sale or possession of shark fins — a billion-dollar global trade that has led to the brutal deaths of tens of millions of sharks a year and resulted in many open-ocean shark species being threatened with extinction. The Bahamas and Honduras have prohibited shark fishing in the last two years. “We’re really enthusiastic to see good things finally starting to happen for sharks,” said … Read entire article »
Filed under: Sharks
Cozumel Lionfish and Whaleshark Expeditions + More
You are invited to join a group of divers on a number of expeditions September 3-10, 2011. The adventure begins Saturday September 3rd when you arrive on the island of Cozumel Mexico. Your all expense paid package includes an all inclusive week of 8 days, 7 nights hotel with meals and drinks, plus 10 dives. Sunday we are offering an all inclusive adventure to the whaleshark migration. This is an all day event where we shuttle over to the mainland and are brought up north to the boats to be shuttled out to locate migrating whalesharks. You will have the opportunity to get into the water an film the majestic creatures and they feed and migrate. You are then brought to an island where we will enjoy a delicious lunch before heading back to Cozumel. Monday offers an opportunity … Read entire article »
Filed under: Adv. Open Water, Boats, Cavern, Diver, Drift, Events, Featured, Fish, Lionfish, Master Diver, Open Water, Photography, Promotions, Reefs, Reference, Sharks, Specialties, Travel, Trip Invitations, Videography, Whaleshark
Death of a Deity
A short by Joe Romeiro. Every year, millions of sharks are intentionally slaughtered. Humans are their own worse enemies. Become involved and reject the practice of commercial harvesting of shark, legal or illegal. Learn what you can and are willing and help spread the word. Also read the article The Day All the Sharks Died by Peter Benchley, written in 2002. An interesting perception and observation 10 years ago and how the reality of that perception is being proven true, today. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, Reference, Sharks, Uncategorized, Video, Whaleshark
Shark Fishing Banned in the Bahamas
Many beach visitors cannot get past the image of the shark as a ravenous man-eater, but not scuba divers. For divers, sharks are graceful, powerful creatures and more often viewed with a sense of awe rather than fear. Shark diving has become a major attraction for scuba divers around the world, and the shark diving capital is probably the Bahamas. In a move to secure a tourism gold mine that earns the Atlantic island chain about $80 million a year, the Bahamas have banned all shark fishing from their national waters. Shark diving is a major fixture of scuba diving in the Bahamas. Most of these shark dives are centered on attracting large numbers of relatively harmless black tip and Caribbean reef … Read entire article »
Lionfish and Whaleshark Expeditions September 3-10, 2011
September 3 – 10, 2011 I will be visiting Cozumel to create a documentary on the subject of Lionfish. Lionfish I am opening the Lionfish expedition up to individuals who have a need to experience Lionfish handling and would like to experience the consumption of any lionfish caught the day of your expedition. Your time will begin with about a 1 hour introduction to the nature of Lionfish, where they are from, what they mean to the local environment, techniques for safely handling. We will then proceed to the boat, heading to locations to begin the hunt for the lionfish. The days diving ends with the proper handing to clean and prepare the lionfish caught that day for consumption. Yes, you will be eating any lionfish caught that day. A lionfish cookbook … Read entire article »
Filed under: Adv. Open Water, Artificial Reefs, Boats, Cavern, Divemaster, Diver, Drift, Events, Featured, Fish, Instructor, Master Diver, Open Water, Photography, Promotions, Reefs, Reference, Sharks, Specialties, Training, Travel, Trip Invitations, Videography, Whaleshark, Wrecks