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 lead researcher, Kye Adams, a PhD student at the University of Wollongong, said that shark fishermen should be made aware of the danger of inducing abortions in pregnant sharks, rays, or skates. So far, the loss of the young aborted by fished sharks has been ignored by both science and fishermen.
Adams said, "It's quite prevalent across a lot of species and also seems to be not well known by both researchers and recreational fishers. "They don't realise these events are abortions, they think they are witnessing a natural birth."
The initial purpose of the bill, called The Access for Sportfishing Act of 2016, was to prevent national parks from trying to protect fish in waters within state jurisdiction, and in June, Senator Bill Nelson, from Florida, added the ban on shark feeding diving in federal waters. The bill specifies that it is all right to feed sharks for the purpose of killing them, but not if you want to watch the shark. Thus it is the motive for the act of shark feeding, rather than the act itself, that is at issue.
The Twelfth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention of the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS CoP12) was held in Manila, Philippines, between October 23 and 28. It resulted in added international protection for sharks and rays and several other migratory species, and the decisions were endorsed by the 90 governments attending.
A study has revealed that shark dive tourism in Australia contributes at least AUD$25.5 million annually to the country’s economy. These findings highlight the importance of proper management of shark species to support a sustainable dive tourism industry.
Focusing on four main shark viewing industries in Australia, the study was a collaboration between Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), Flinders University, University of Western Australia, and Southern Cross University. It surveyed 711 tourist divers from May 2013 to June 2014.
Like a fashion model up on the catwalk, great hammerhead sharks sashay into one’s field of vision, and, if they were human, you would probably say they have just “made an entrance”. Their strange mallet-like head, robust body girth and tall sickle-shaped dorsal fin make them well-nigh instantly recognisable, and most other sharks in the immediate area spot that too and give them a wide berth.
The research team from University of Western Australia arrived at this conclusion after a study involving two coral reefs. At one of the reefs (Scott Reef), shark hunters had been legally permitted to hunt sharks while the other reef (Rowley Shoals) was situated in a marine protected area.
This video shows a different type of agonistic behaviour, found in the blacktip reef shark. It was created to go with the article entitled Posturing Sharks, published in X-Ray Magazine #76
While many sharks are solitary predators, some are known to live in groups and are suspected of engaging in complex social behaviors. Meanwhile others simply aggregate due to similar habitat, food, or mating requirements.
Using a novel tagging procedure, scientists in the United States, have discovered that some shark species like to spend their time mixing and chilling out together.
It was not until eight years later, in November, 1984, that another one was found, in a deep-sea net off California. It too, was a male 4.5 metres in length. The third, also male, was a metre longer, and washed up on the shore of Australia, on August 18, 1988. In the following years, megamouth sharks appeared more frequently in a variety of places around the globe.
So shark dive clubs usually bring some fishy scraps—in most cases the remains left over after big fish have been cut up for sale. The scent attracts the sharks into view and provides a bit of excitement as the animals investigate and try to get a piece. But little actual food or nourishment is given. The sharks circle far and wide through the vast volume of the visible ocean, in a memorable and dramatic display, as they look over the scene, zoom in for a closer look, try for a scrap, and socialize.
