Sharks

January, 2009

• 6 January

  Opposition urges tough, urgent shark slaughter laws

  

  (From thewest.com.au) Perth, Western Australia – The opposition has called for Parliament to resume early and pass through tough penalties over the shark slaughter on the north-west coast. The call comes after Fisheries Minister Norman Moore today revealed charges had been laid over the discovery of mutilated shark remains found …
• 5 January

  The predators’ predators

  

  Shark finning is the barbaric practice of removing the pec­toral and dorsal fins of a shark. Often still alive, the shark is then thrown back into the water, caus­ing the finless (and therefore immobile) animal to either suf­focate or, horrifically, be eaten alive by other sea creatures. None of the …
• 3 January

  Injured whale shark dies on Malaysia shore

  

  (From iht.com) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – A rare 23-foot-long (7-meter-long) whale shark got entangled in a fishing net off Malaysia”s northwest coast and was towed to shore but died due to injuries, local media reported Saturday. Fisherman Key Chai Yang told the New Straits Times newspaper that it took two …

December, 2008

• 14 December

  Shark fin soup alters an ecosystem

  

  There is no animal on earth more vilified than the shark. Pop culture references and annual, over-hyped reports of attacks on swimmers or surfers have put sharks on the top of the list of the world”s most feared living things. There is however, a creature far more predacious than the …

November, 2008

• 10 November

  Quarter of Atlantic sharks and rays face extinction

  

  (From guardian.co.uk)- More than a quarter of sharks and rays in the north-east Atlantic face extinction from overfishing, conservationists warned today. A “red list” report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) found that 26% of all sharks, rays and related species in the regional waters are threatened …
• 6 November

  Surfers launch Save Our Sharks campaign

  

  (From dispatch.co.za)- South African surfers have teamed up with marine scientists to launch a campaign for the conservation of sharks. The Wavescapes Surf Film Festival and Save Our Seas Foundation (SOSF) hope to educate about the global plight of sharks, which are being killed at the rate of 100million a …
• 3 November

  DNA fingerprinting method may thwart false labelling of shark meat

  

  (From sciencecentric.com)- Researchers in Spain are reporting that a new DNA identification method could thwart false labelling of shark species used in various seafood products, including the expensive Chinese delicacy known as shark fin soup. Their study is scheduled for the 26 November issue of ACS” Journal of Agricultural and …
• 1 November

  Shark fins seized on fishing boat

  

  (From kgmb9.com)- The U.S. Coast Guard has seized shark fins from a fishing vessel about 2,200 miles south of Hawaii. A team from the Cutter Walnut, was conducting a fishing vessel inspection. They found shark fins on the 71-foot fishing vessel, Pacific Horizon, which is homeported in San Diego, CA. …

October, 2008

• 28 October

  Scientists urge ban on catching Atlantic sharks

  

  (From reuters.com) Washington- An international team of scientists wants to ban the catching of eight species of Atlantic Ocean sharks and put a strict limit on the catch of two others to try to prevent population crashes. Sharks are particularly vulnerable to overfishing because they reproduce and grow slowly, but …
• 26 October

  Great White shark decapitated

  

  (From www.iol.co.za) Mozambique- An investigation has been launched into the mutilation of a Great White shark which had its head sawn off at Macassar beach on Saturday. Alison Kock, the researcher at the Save Our Seas Shark Centre, said jaws and teeth were valuable on the black market and fetched …
• 25 October

  Save Our Sharks

  

  (From radionetherlands.nl) – Sharks have roamed the seas for more than 400 million years, making them older than the dinosaurs. Over millions of years they have worked their way to the top of the food chain, leaving only one real predator: humans. It seems we are slightly too efficient as …
• 10 October

  Activists seek freedom for Dubai whale shark

  

  (From iht.com) Dubai- Environmentalists on Thursday called on the managers of a massive new marine-themed resort in this Gulf boomtown to release a whale shark they are holding inside a giant fish tank. A week later, representatives of the recently opened $1.5 billion Atlantis hotel announced that the resort”s marine …