Futile attempt to bring in killer great white begins Fisheries officials have issued a kill order and laid baited hooks in the hope of capturing what is believed to be a 3m (10ft) Great White. Western Australia Premier Colin Barnett has said he would consider a shark cull, and his government is looking into the possibility of increasing aerial shark patrols. But scientists have warned against over-reacting. Barbara Weuringer, marine zoologist and shark researcher at the University of Western Australia, urged against a shark hunt, saying the only way to know which shark attacked is to kill one and open up its stomach. “It sounds a little bit like taking revenge,” she was quoted by AP as saying. “And we’re talking about an endangered species.” Sharks are a common feature of Australian waters but, according to the Australian Shark Attack File, attacks are rare with only 53 fatalities in the last half-century.

Futile attempt to bring in killer great white begins

Fisheries officials have issued a kill order and laid baited hooks in the hope of capturing what is believed to be a 3m (10ft) Great White.

Western Australia Premier Colin Barnett has said he would consider a shark cull, and his government is looking into the possibility of increasing aerial shark patrols.

But scientists have warned against over-reacting.

Barbara Weuringer, marine zoologist and shark researcher at the University of Western Australia, urged against a shark hunt, saying the only way to know which shark attacked is to kill one and open up its stomach.

“It sounds a little bit like taking revenge,” she was quoted by AP as saying. “And we’re talking about an endangered species.”

Sharks are a common feature of Australian waters but, according to the Australian Shark Attack File, attacks are rare with only 53 fatalities in the last half-century.

1 year ago
49 notes
Source
# conservation
# sharks
# marine
# attacks
# cull
# australia
# scuba
# diving
Shark massacre reported in Colombian waters   Environmental authorities say up to 2,000 hammerhead, Galápagos and whale sharks were slaughtered for their fins Colombian environmental authorities have reported a huge shark massacre in the Malpelo wildlife sanctuary in Colombia’s Pacific waters, where as many as 2,000 hammerhead, Galápagos and silky sharks may have been slaughtered for their fins. Sandra Bessudo, the Colombian president’s top adviser on environmental issues, said a team of divers who were studying sharks in the region reported the mass killing in the waters surrounding the rock-island known as Malpelo, some 500 kilometres from the mainland. “I received a report, which is really unbelievable, from one of the divers who came from Russia to observe the large concentrations of sharks in Malpelo. They saw a large number of fishing trawlers entering the zone illegally,” Bessudo said. The divers counted a total of 10 fishing boats, which all were flying the Costa Rican flag. “When the divers dove, they started finding a large number of animalswithout their fins. They didn’t see any alive,” she said. One of the divers provided a video that shows the finless bodies of dead sharks on the ocean floor.

Shark massacre reported in Colombian waters

 

Environmental authorities say up to 2,000 hammerhead, Galápagos and whale sharks were slaughtered for their fins

Colombian environmental authorities have reported a huge shark massacre in the Malpelo wildlife sanctuary in Colombia’s Pacific waters, where as many as 2,000 hammerhead, Galápagos and silky sharks may have been slaughtered for their fins.

Sandra Bessudo, the Colombian president’s top adviser on environmental issues, said a team of divers who were studying sharks in the region reported the mass killing in the waters surrounding the rock-island known as Malpelo, some 500 kilometres from the mainland.

“I received a report, which is really unbelievable, from one of the divers who came from Russia to observe the large concentrations of sharks in Malpelo. They saw a large number of fishing trawlers entering the zone illegally,” Bessudo said. The divers counted a total of 10 fishing boats, which all were flying the Costa Rican flag.

“When the divers dove, they started finding a large number of animalswithout their fins. They didn’t see any alive,” she said. One of the divers provided a video that shows the finless bodies of dead sharks on the ocean floor.

1 year ago
80 notes
Source
# conservation
# marine
# sharks
# hammerhead
# sharkfin
# galapagos
WWF is supporting a new project to track narwhals, Arctic whales best known for the long tusk that projects forward from their faces. The project partners fitted the little-researched whales with satellite tracking devices. WWF is also launching a web page to showcase the partners’ fieldwork and research, with maps and information about the latest movements of the narwhals as they move around Baffin Bay in Canada’s Nunavut territory.Pete Ewins, Arctic species specialist for WWF-Canada, said that it is expected the project will contribute fascinating information about the habits of narwhals.“We’re supporting this project because it is a chance to better understand these animals while their world changes around them. We know Narwhals are often associated with sea ice, and we know the sea ice is shrinking. WWF is trying to understand how narwhals, as well as all other ice associated animals in the arctic can adapt to a changing environment. We can put this knowledge together with existing Inuit knowledge, and we can work with Inuit and other stakeholders to help the animals survive the coming changes.”

WWF is supporting a new project to track narwhals, Arctic whales best known for the long tusk that projects forward from their faces. 

The project partners fitted the little-researched whales with satellite tracking devices. WWF is also launching a web page to showcase the partners’ fieldwork and research, with maps and information about the latest movements of the narwhals as they move around Baffin Bay in Canada’s Nunavut territory.

Pete Ewins, Arctic species specialist for WWF-Canada, said that it is expected the project will contribute fascinating information about the habits of narwhals.

“We’re supporting this project because it is a chance to better understand these animals while their world changes around them. We know Narwhals are often associated with sea ice, and we know the sea ice is shrinking. WWF is trying to understand how narwhals, as well as all other ice associated animals in the arctic can adapt to a changing environment. We can put this knowledge together with existing Inuit knowledge, and we can work with Inuit and other stakeholders to help the animals survive the coming changes.”

1 year ago
182 notes
Source
# conservation
# wwf
# narwhals
# marine
# whales
The challenge is on to do something more awesome than this

The challenge is on to do something more awesome than this

1 year ago
10 notes
# cool
# funny
# iphone
# whales
# clever
# marine
# mammals
# baby whale
# baby
127 areas to be proposed as English marine conservation zones Much of the sea around the Isle of Wight and the Isles of Scilly , major estuaries and islets off the east coast, as well as reefs, trenches, sandbars and remote places seldom seen by humans, are included in a list of 127 sea areas that have been proposed as new nature reserves. The zones range from a giant 5,800 sq km (2,240 sq mile) patch on the edge of British territorial waters in the western Channel to a minute 0.09 sq km speck of rock off Dorset, from the sea floor below some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world in the Channel to the muddy waters off the northern Irish coast where Dublin Bay prawn thrives. The total area expected to be named as new nationally important marine conservation zones (MCZs) is more than 37,000 sq km – about twice the size of Wales. Nearly half the sites are off the south-west coast and in the Channel. Wales and Scotland are expected to designate other marineconservation areas later this year.

127 areas to be proposed as English marine conservation zones

Much of the sea around the Isle of Wight and the Isles of Scilly , major estuaries and islets off the east coast, as well as reefs, trenches, sandbars and remote places seldom seen by humans, are included in a list of 127 sea areas that have been proposed as new nature reserves.

The zones range from a giant 5,800 sq km (2,240 sq mile) patch on the edge of British territorial waters in the western Channel to a minute 0.09 sq km speck of rock off Dorset, from the sea floor below some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world in the Channel to the muddy waters off the northern Irish coast where Dublin Bay prawn thrives.

The total area expected to be named as new nationally important marine conservation zones (MCZs) is more than 37,000 sq km – about twice the size of Wales. Nearly half the sites are off the south-west coast and in the Channel. Wales and Scotland are expected to designate other marineconservation areas later this year.

1 year ago
17 notes
Source
# conservation
# marine
# oceans
# britain
# marine conservation zones