Press Release
Received from: Caroline Robertson‑Brown | Marketing Manager | Shark Trust

The Shark Trust Great Shark Snapshot is back!

Shark Trust Great Shark Snapshot
Shark Trust

July will see the return of the Shark Trust’s citizen science initiative: The Great Shark Snapshot. It encourages divers and snorkellers, all around the world, to record the sharks and rays that they see during a 1-week period. This year it takes place between the 18th and 26th July. And the Shark Trust are asking you to dive in! 

The event is back for its 5th year, and it is happening in “Shark Month”, more commonly known as July! To coincide with a series of events that celebrate all things shark and ray.

Egypt Moves to Protect Red Sea Sharks

A major victory for shark conservation has been won for the Red Sea. After years of pressure from environmental groups and marine conservationists, Egypt has prohibited shark fishing in the Red Sea, which is one of the most important marine ecosystems on Earth.

White tip reef shark
Ecology & Science

The decision follows years of campaigning by the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA), whose efforts helped bring international attention to the destruction caused by the shark-fin trade. The organisation’s work culminated in a decree that finally gave legal force to protections that had existed largely on paper.

Ghost-Net Divers Film Rare Great White Shark

Technical divers removing ghost nets from an offshore wreck between Sicily and Tunisia captured what may be the first diver-filmed underwater footage of an adult great white shark in the Mediterranean.

Great Wite Shark in the Mediterranean
Ecology & Science

A ghost-net removal mission in the Strait of Sicily has produced what may be the first underwater footage captured by divers of an adult great white shark in the Mediterranean Sea.

The encounter came about during a conservation expedition organised by Healthy Seas in partnership with Ghost Diving and SDSS (The Society for Documentation of Submerged Sites). The team was working on an offshore shipwreck between Sicily and Tunisia, removing abandoned fishing nets that continue to trap and kill marine life.

X-RAY MAGAZINE FEATURE

Medicating Meadowes: An Effort to Save a Shark With Formidable Interference

During her study of blacktip reef shark behaviour in Tahiti, ethologist Ila France Porcher came across a sick male shark, steadily growing thinner. As she brought extra food and medicine to him, she noticed other sharks showing a remarkable awareness of the situation not normally expected of sharks.

Words:
Ila France Porcher
Images:
Ila France Porcher
Meadowes’ silhouette before and after his illness
➥ Download the full article as pdf ⬅︎
Ecology & Science

During my study of blacktip reef shark behaviour, a male became ill. As he became increasingly emaciated, I tried to get extra food to him, and later to medicate him with antibiotics, which had to be given daily. The other blacktips in the community received little or no food, though they were aware of its scent in the water. Repeatedly, they encountered a situation in which food was present but not available to them. It was clear from their behaviour that they understood this, and the variety of strategies they used to try to obtain it was striking.

Press Release
Received from: Caroline Robertson‑Brown | Marketing Manager | Shark Trust

UK Premiere of Shark Town to be hosted by Shark Trust in Bristol

Shark Town poster
Shark Trust

The film screening will be part of “Shark Month”, where the Shark Trust host a number of events in Plymouth and, this year, Bristol too. Visitors will be invited to celebrate and support the vital work of the Shark Trust while enjoying a month-long extravaganza of shark and ray science, entertainment and advocacy.

Venue: Bristol Megascreen

Date: Friday 10th July, 2026

Time: 7-9pm

Tickets: £15 (£12.50 for Shark Trust members)

Shark Town is a real-life JAWS flipover.

UK Premiere of Shark Town to be hosted by Shark Trust in Bristol

The UK Premiere of Shark Town, a new documentary film by Richard Peirce, will be hosted by the Shark Trust at the Megascreen in Bristol in July. Attendees will also get the chance to chat to the writer, Richard, at a special live Q&A after the film. 

Ecology & Science
Shark Trust

The film screening will be part of “Shark Month”, where the Shark Trust host a number of events in Plymouth and, this year, Bristol too. Visitors will be invited to celebrate and support the vital work of the Shark Trust while enjoying a month-long extravaganza of shark and ray science, entertainment and advocacy.

Venue: Bristol Megascreen

Date: Friday 10th July, 2026

Time: 7-9pm

Tickets: £15 (£12.50 for Shark Trust members)

Shark Town is a real-life JAWS flipover.

Press Release
Received from: Caroline Robertson‑Brown | Marketing Manager

Double Your Impact for the Shark Conservation

Shark Trust

If you donate £10, the Shark Trust will receive £20 for the Great Eggcase Hunt. Give £100 and it instantly becomes £200, and so on. So, you can double your impact for one of the most popular marine citizen science projects! 

This match funding is made possible thanks to the Big Give Earth Raise campaign: the UK’s largest collaborative environmental fundraising campaign.

 

Campaign Dates: 22nd – 29th April 2026

Double your impact by donating via this link: 

Major Seizure of Illegal Shark Fins

The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has announced the seizure of approximately 50,000 shark fins in a major, coordinated enforcement effort targeting the global wildlife trade.

Shark fin soup
Ecology & Science

Top banner image: Sebastián Losada, CC BY-SA 2.0

The operation, conducted in October 2025 under the international initiative Operation Thunder, began when inspectors in Anchorage, Alaska, uncovered a suspicious shipment of shark fins. This discovery led to a broader investigation, revealing a trafficking route that extended through Anchorage, Alaska; Louisville, Kentucky; and Cincinnati, Ohio. The shipments had originated in Mexico and were destined for Hong Kong. 

Too Hot to Hunt: Warm Waters Turn Against the Ocean’s Elite

To encounter a great white shark in the water is to witness evolutionary perfection in motion—power, precision and unquestioned authority. For millions of years, these animals have ruled the seas. But today, that same evolutionary advantage may be placing them in danger.

Basking shark
Ecology & Science

A growing body of research, including a recent study, points to an unexpected vulnerability: Some of the ocean’s fastest and most capable predators may be at risk of overheating as the seas warm.

Built for speed

Unlike most fish, species such as the great white shark, basking shark and Atlantic bluefin tuna are mesothermic. That means that their bodies run warmer than the surrounding water, due to specialised adaptations that trap metabolic heat.

Global Shark Bites Return to Average Levels

New data shows shark bite incidents stabilised in 2025, with fewer cases reported in the United States and no indication of long-term increase.

Global shark bites
Ecology & Science

Global shark bite incidents returned to typical levels in 2025, according to new figures from the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File (ISAF). The data suggests that, following fluctuations in recent years, the number of recorded incidents aligns with long-term averages.

Researchers report that while shark bites continue to occur worldwide, the proportion of incidents in the United States has declined compared to previous years. This shift highlights the variability in where incidents occur rather than any overall increase in risk.

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