Sharks

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Netted in illegal wildlife trade: Sharks of India

TRAFFIC and WWF-India have released a new factsheet – it represents findings on the illegal trade of sharks in India spanning from January 2010 to December 2022. “The demand for shark fins and meat is a major driver of the global shark fishery. Shark fins are the most sought-after shark product used to make ‘shark-fin soup,’ a delicacy” Dr Merwyn Fernandes, Associate Director of TRAFFIC’s India Office “Netted in illegal wildlife trade: Sharks of India”, a new factsheet recently released,...

Water Wednesday | Shark finning

Sharks – the ocean’s apex predator- are under attack! As hard as it is to look at, we must. Because only when we have the courage to confront the truth can we be compelled to act. Beyond the abhorrent cruelty of finning, it’s destroying our oceans—the life support system of our planet—because without the oceanic ecosystem’s apex predator the food chain will collapse. Shark finning is widespread, and largely unmanaged and unmonitored. The practice has increased over the past decade...

Nature and people | Swimmers and sharks get closer

  Sharks – an ‘apex’ predator are found ‘in just about every kind of ocean habitat, including the deep sea, open ocean, coral reefs, and under the Arctic ice ( according to Smithsonian ). With summer in full swing, with more families enjoying the beach and sea, unsurprisingly more likely contact between people and sharks…. Only yesterday, the Department of Conservation in New Zealand issued this warning – “Please be extra vigilant. There are always sharks around our coastline and...

Sharks ‘functionally extinct’ !

Worldwide study finds Australia among nations with highest shark numbers, but 34 out of 58 nations have half what was expected ( according to The Guardian) More at https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/23/sharks-functionally-extinct-at-20-of-worlds-coral-reefs-as-fishing-drives-global-decline Sharks are missing from 19% of the world’s coral reefs, the greatest decline of reef sharks ever recorded, according to a new analysis. The study suggests overfishing, driven largely by dense human populations and poor governance, has made the ocean’s top predators “functionally extinct” in the waters of eight countries. But...

Why we need sharks

Why did dolphins get Flipper while sharks got Jaws? These majestic, diverse animals bring balance to the ocean ecosystem – and they’re in grave danger ( source : The Guardian) But if all you knew about sharks you learned from Hollywood, you’d think they were aquatic horrors. Sharks have a film genre all their own: there are movies about ghost sharks and zombie sharks, sharks that squirt acid, killer sharks that swim through sand or snow, and a staggering six...

Shark finning

Following my post about shark groups, and world oceans day yesterday, here is what happens to many sharks…… What is shark finning? Wasteful and horrible practice, and totally unnecessary! It is the gruesome practice of cutting off a live shark’s fins and throwing the rest of the animal back into the sea, where it dies a slow and painful death. The fins are used in China and Hong Kong, and by Chinese communities elsewhere in the world, as the key...

Sharks….

Sharks often have a bad reputation – so the attack by a suspected great white off the New South Wales , Australian beach did not help! Here are a selection of Shark charities ( in no particular order) working hard to change the ‘JAWS’ mentality to show they are actually amazing creatures who happen to be top predators…. almost all of which have very good / excellent education resources. The Shark Trust UK undertakes research, a range of shark /...