So I asked leading shark ethologist and behaviourist, Professor Samuel 'doc' Gruber to elaborate. After pointing out how much pain women feel when they give birth, making the point that suffering has no effect on reproduction, he reminded me that sharks evolved their mating behaviours and the physical structures involved, separately from other animals.
The great hammerhead shark is categorized as “critically endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. That’s the designation just before “extinct in the wild.” The species is highly threatened with extinction.
To that end, the Center for Biological Diversity has submitted a petition urging the National Marine Fisheries Service to protect the great hammerhead shark under the Endangered Species Act.
Set sail in the oasis of Palau, now with Explorer Ventures Fleet! This May, the state-of-the-art Black Pearl Explorer joined the world-renowned liveaboard company, in partnership with Pearl Fleet.
Black Pearl Explorer offers three incredible itineraries, including Palau Classic visiting all the famous dive sites. Plus, two Spawning Special itineraries for divers to see the rare spawning aggregations of bumphead parrot fish and red snappers.
Items are up for bid here or visit auction.sharkangels.org until June 19th, featuring some unbelievable dive expeditions around the globe.
“With the world shut down for the past two years, we’ve been unable to hold our annual auction,” explains Executive Director, Jamie Pollack.
As whale sharks assemble in coastal regions to spend substantial time in surface waters, experts theorised collisions with ships could be causing substantial whale shark deaths. Previously, there was no way of monitoring this threat.
Scientists from 50 international research institutions and universities tracked both whale shark and ship movements across the globe to pinpoint areas of risk and potential collisions. Satellite-tracked data from nearly 350 whale sharks was submitted to the Global Shark Movement Project, conducted by MBA researchers.
A neonate (newly hatched) ghost shark was found in the net during a trawling survey at about 1,200 metres below sea level. The survey had been conducted by NIWA to estimate the population of blue grenadier (hoki fish) at the Chatham Rise, off New Zealand’s South Island.
Its body was translucent and gelatinous, and it had two giant eyes on its pointed head—with a belly full of egg yolk. "You can tell this ghost shark recently hatched because it has a full belly of egg yolk," said Brit Finucci, a fisheries scientist from National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA).
Florida International University (FIU) marine scientist Yannis Papastamatiou, Ph.D. candidate Sarah Luongo, and a collaborative team of researchers wanted to uncover some of the mysteries of the white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) that gather seasonally around Guadalupe Island, Mexico.
Small, antibody-like proteins known as VNARs (Variable New Antigen Receptors) are derived from the immune systems of sharks, and appear to be extremely potent in preventing Covid-19, as well as its variants, and related coronaviruses from infecting human cells.
The ban does not apply to people with permits issued by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), shark fishing for public safety, sharks captured for self-defence, or sharks taken outside of state marine waters with required documentation.
According to Act 51, the conditions of non-commercial permits for the take of sharks “shall include native Hawaiian cultural protocol, size and species restrictions, and a prohibition on species listed as endangered or threatened.”
At the annual meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) last week, North Atlantic fishing nations have pledged to ban catches of the shortfin mako shark.
The efforts to secure the ban was led by the UK, Canada and Senegal. The move means that the countries agreed to end overfishing immediately and to gradually achieve biomass levels that were enough to support maximum sustainable yield by 2070 for the species, according to an article in The Guardian.
Fish rubbing themselves against a shark's body may sound as if they have a death wish, but this is precisely what some fish have been spotted doing. And it turns out that such behaviour is more widespread and frequent than one would think.
A study led by the University of Miami (UM) Shark Research and Conservation Program at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science uncovered over 40 instances of fish rubbing themselves against a shark’s skin in over ten locations around the globe.
While chafing has been well documented between fish and inanimate objects, such as sand or rocky substrate, this shark-chaffing phenomenon appears to be the only scenario in nature where prey actively seek out and rub up against a predator.
