So I asked leading shark ethologist and behaviourist, Professor Samuel 'doc' Gruber to elaborate. After pointing out how much pain women feel when they give birth, making the point that suffering has no effect on reproduction, he reminded me that sharks evolved their mating behaviours and the physical structures involved, separately from other animals.
Counting "band pairs," which are series of rings that alternate between translucent and opaque within the sharks' vertebrae scientists looked at band-pair data from 77 sharks that were captured between 1963 and 2010.
Using this method, the researchers found that great white sharks were considerably older than previously thought, with the oldest individual animal in the study reaching 73 years of age.
They also found that the great white sharks — at least in the Atlantic Ocean — matured more slowly than previously thought, thus making them even more vulnerable to threats.
The Madagascar government has established its first shark sanctuary in an area celebrated for marine biodiversity. According to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the new marine protections apply to Antongil Bay, located in northwestern Madagascar and renowned for its coral reefs and seasonal humpback whale population.
Many people are scared witless by sharks, but I love them. I scuba dive and freedive with them whenever I can.
First described in 1837 by the German naturalist Eduard Rüppell, the great hammerhead shark (Sphyrna mokarran) is the largest of the hammerhead shark family and can reach a length of over 6m (20ft), although some specimens have been seen to be much larger than this. However, with overfishing, the great hammerhead is usually observed to be much smaller than this.
I felt apprehensive heading out to Tiger Beach where I was supposed to enter open water in the presence of some big, wild apex predators, without any protection other than holding up my camera as a shield in case I was singled out as a snack.
As the saying goes, you are what you eat. Researchers at Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station are using this adage to better understand the life history of the salmon shark. An important apex predator and cousin of the great white, this far-ranging species roams the entire North Pacific Ocean, from Alaska to the warm sub-tropics of Hawaii and the Baja Peninsula
Chris Avila, of Canadian Marine Aquaculture, described how he was trying to collect a 3mm DNA sample from each of the fins of a new shipment of sharks, a species of bamboo shark (Hemiscyllium halmahera).
They showed no signs of distress when handled and had not reacted to having their fins pinched lightly, which is a stress test done prior to the clipping. Nevertheless, Avila had lightly sedated them for the procedure.
The present study examined shark distribution patterns, species-habitat associations, and marine reserve use with baited remote underwater video stations (BRUVS) along the entire Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP) over a ten-year period.
Overall, researchers recorded 21 different shark species. The relative abundance of sharks was significantly higher in non-fished sites in the GBR Marine Park no-fishing zones relative to fished sites.
University of Miami scientists Dr Neil Hammerschlag and Austin Gallagher, in collaboration with Chris Fallows of Apex Expeditions, South Africa, observed the feeding activity around four dead whales that appeared in the False Bay region during a period of ten years. They concluded that such bountiful sources of energy-rich blubber may be a significant food source for the great sharks.
The policy allowing for the culling of any sharks longer than 3m was introduced after seven lethal shark attacks in three years off West Australian beaches. WA’s government proposed the new program in an effort to keep beachgoers safe that involved setting out baited drum lines, which consist of a large baited hook attached to a buoy and an anchor to hold it in place, in designated zones along popular beaches with the intention of killing great white sharks, bull sharks and tiger sharks who were larger than three meters.
