Red Sea Shark Attacks in Perspective

Photo by Johanlantz at en.wikipedia [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0]

Some 5 shark attack incidents occurred at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh between 30/11 & 5/12/10. Such incidents are rare in the area, so why have so many attacks occurred in such a short space of time? James Lea puts the attacks in to perspective in Red Sea Shark Attacks in Perspective at http://saveourseas.com/blog/red_sea_shark_attacks_in_perspective?utm_source=Save+Our+Seas+Foundation+Newsletter&utm_campaign=f007e5d6db-Newsletter_December_2010_FINAL&utm_medium=email

Singing cinematographer who swims with sharks

Andy Casagrande is a National Geographic cinematographer who swims with great white sharks. But Andy also sings songs whilst playing a guitar whilst swimming with those sharks. Well, one song at least - one that he had written for the sharks, “The Great White Shark Song”. Video footage can be seen at

http://video.au.msn.com/watch/video/swimming-with-the-sharks/x9xunb9?tab=m2397&mediaid=7881298%22%20target=%22new&from=39

Global shark stocks may be lower than thought

A yardstick for estimating ocean fish stocks, including sharks, has warned that some commercial species may be closer to collapse than thought. The study, released on 17/11/10, says figures determining global stocks of some commercially valuable top predators,including sharks, may be unrealistic. Since the late 1990s, scientists and regional management organisations have used catch data to measure changes in the balance of species across so-called "trophic levels." The new study says this technique is not smart enough. Scientists not involved in the study said the findings could revolutionise the way fish populations are measured. "This study makes clear that the most common indicator, average catch trophic level, is a woefully inadequate measure of the status of marine fisheries," said Henry Gholz, an environmental biologist at the US National Science Foundation. Visit http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1416597/Global-fish-stocks-lower-than-thought for more details.

Debate re shark fishing from SA beaches

There has been much debate in the printed media in South Australia recently regarding people fishing for sharks from metropolitan beaches & jetties. Visit

both http://weekly-times-messenger.whereilive.com.au/news/story/danger-on-shore/ and

http://weekly-times-messenger.whereilive.com.au/news/story/jetty-ban-call-hooks-anglers/ for more details.

White pointer sharks end up in Mediterranean

A recent study has shown that Australian white pointer sharks have ended up in the Mediterranean Sea. Visit http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/world/8339538/aussie-white-sharks-go-walkabout/ for details.

Honduras and Palau call for countries to designate shark sanctuaries

Honduras and Palau, two countries that banned commercial shark fishing in their waters, have challenged other countries worldwide to work together to save the world's shark species. In a joint statement released in September, the presidents of the two countries called on coastal nations to designate shark sanctuaries, where no shark fishing would be allowed. They also called on fishing nations to stop the practice of shark finning and the global overfishing of sharks. A press release on the statement, along with an audio recording of the presidents' joint press conference, is at www.pewtrusts.org/news_room_detail.aspx?id=60905 .

Sharks learn to not react

According to the web page found at http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow, bait or burley used by tourist operators to attract sharks to boats for the amusement of their customers affects the sharks' behaviour. Instead of being attracted, sharks become used to the lure, remember there's really nothing on offer and, being smart, don't react.