Recreational fishing for mako sharks to be allowed again

Recreational fishing for mako sharks is to be allowed again, after draft laws were passed by parliament recently. Short and longfin makos and porbeagle sharks became off limits from January 29 due to a listing on an international convention to protect migratory animals. Labor's legislation now overturns the ban on the recreational fishing for these sharks in commonwealth waters. Visit http://www.fishingworld.com.au/news/mako-shark-ban-finally-overturned for more details.

Sharks & rays filmed at GBR fish cleaning station

ABC TV's "Catalyst" program recently featured a report about a fish cleaning station 28m deep at Osprey Reef on the Great Barrier Reef. A large number of elasmobranchs (sharks and rays) were filmed at the cleaning station, including some huge manta rays. Sharks would repeatedly swim through, being cleaned for 5-10 seconds at a time. Over a 12-week period, the cameras observed 97 elasmobranchs attending the cleaners. Visit http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/2929830.htm for more details, including some short video footage. The footage can also be downloaded from
http://mpegmedia.abc.net.au/tv/geo/catalyst/cat_s11_ep18_CleanerFish.wmv .

A great Great White web page

Just found a great Great White web page at http://www.divearound.com.au/divelocation/26/great-white-adventure.html. The page includes some great info, great images & great video footage too.

Shark attack data

A WA surfer was recently bitten on the leg by an unidentified shark whilst surfing at Conspicuous Beach near Walpole. This incident is the latest known shark attack to occur in Australia. Coincidentally, it was announced on TV the same weekend that there have only been 63 known shark attack fatalities world-wide in the past 130 years. That is less than 2 per year throughout the world.

Courtesy of David Whysharksmatter Shiffman

New video shows how thresher sharks use their tails to catch prey: http://rtseablog.blogspot.com/2010/05/threshers-tale-tail-video-footage.html

The Great White formerly held in captivity in Monterrey Bay aquarium has been killed by fishermen: http://www.thedorsalfin.com/shark-news-stories/monterey-bay-aquarium-great-white-shark-killed/

A prehistoric megaladon nursery has been discovered off the coast of Panama: http://scienceblogs.com/laelaps/2010/05/off_the_coast_of_panama_a_preh.php?

The oil spill may impact endangered whale sharks: http://sharkdivers.blogspot.com/2010/04/oil-spill-in-gulf-whale-shark-impact.html

SHARK FINS BANNED IN HAWAII

Hawaii has now banned shark fins by the passing of a bill prohibiting the possession, sale, trade or distribution of shark fins. It is hoped that the new law will help to protect sharks from becoming extinct due to overfishing. Hawaii is the first US state to ban shark fins. (This was reported in the May 30th issue of the Sunday Mail, the newspaper which is yet to formally recognise the threat of shark finning (following its 2-page spread on April 18th about a local restaurant selling a seafood soup of which shark fin was a main ingredient. We asked the Sunday Mail to do a feature article about shark finning but the Mail news desk indicated that they are more than happy to run a follow up article, however, the article needs to be primarily based on something reportable, i.e. an event, screening, protest, etc. . I have now implored the Mail to run a feature on the threat of shark finning. Visit http://sites.google.com/site/sascubadivingsite/sharks/more-about-adelaide-s-shark-fin-soup-story for more details.)

Dismay over Sunday Mail's promotion of SA restaurant selling shark fin soup

On April 18th, Adelaide's Sunday Mail ran a 2-page spread about a local restaurant selling a seafood soup of which shark fin was a main ingredient. Residents of Adelaide responded beautifully, with the 1st response to the item on the AdelaideNow website being posted 1st thing Sunday morning. Many of SA's divers & scientists have now expressed their dismay. There had been some 150 responses within a few days, several of them coming from overseas. My own response read: - "Clearly the Sunday Mail has overstepped the mark by promoting shark fin soup in this era. I'm glad to see that Adelaide has responded en masse. But this is not the end of the matter. It will be brought to the attention of a wider audience which expected to express its dismay in a huge way." Dive Log magazine & SportDiving magazine have offered to make a stand against the Mail's thoughtlessness in promoting both the restaurant and the meal. The page 24 article can also be read at http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/lifestyle/food-wine/soup-of-the-day-for-450/story-e6fref5u-1225854379693. Be sure to study the numerous responses to the article.