Latest Carcharhinidae Stories
More than 50 percent of wide-ranging oceanic shark species are threatened with extinction as a result of overfishing, according to a new study. The research, conducted by 15 scientists from institutes around the world and organized by the IUCN Shark Specialist Group, focused on oceanic pelagic sharks and rays, including great white sharks, whale sharks, crocodile sharks, bigeye threshers, basking sharks, shortfin makos, longfin makos, salmon sharks, silky sharks, porbeagle sharks,...
An international study by specialists with the IUCN Shark Specialist Group (SSG) has found that more than half of the world's sharks are at risk of extinction.The report, the first to determine the global threat status of oceanic pelagic sharks and rays, found that 16 out of 21 species are at increased risk of extinction. The threat is primarily caused by targeted fishing for valuable meat and fins, along with indirect take in other fisheries that are typically unregulated and unsustainable....
Reducing bycatch could save millions of animals, reduce fishing costsSharks in captivity avoid metals that react with seawater to produce an electric field, a behavior that may help fishery biologists develop a strategy to reduce the bycatch of sharks in longline gear. Shark bycatch is an increasing priority worldwide given diminished populations of many shark species, and because sharks compete with target species for baited lines, reducing fishing efficiency and increasing operating...
It's hard to study a creature when you only catch fleeting glimpses of it. Up until recently, that was one of the big stumbling blocks for marine biologists and ecologists, but advances in electronic tracking technology have allowed them to peer farther across, and deeper under, the surface of the oceans than ever before. Satellite tracking systems and acoustic sensors are giving researchers insights into the behavior and lifestyles of some very elusive animals in the ocean, including the...
The scalloped hammerhead shark will be added to the "globally endangered" species list this year.  Among the reasons are over-fishing and demand for shark fins, according to discussions that took place during last week's annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Speaking at the Boston meeting, Dr Julia Baum, a marine ecologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and a member of the World Conservation Union (IUCN), said excessive fishing was...
Sharks are disappearing from the world's oceans. The numbers of many large shark species have declined by more than half due to increased demand for shark fins and meat, recreational shark fisheries, as well as tuna and swordfish fisheries, where millions of sharks are taken as bycatch each year.Now, the global status of large sharks has been assessed by the World Conservation Union (IUCN), which is widely recognized as the most comprehensive, scientific-based information source on the threat...
NORFOLK, Va. -- Veterinarian Bob George sliced open the dead shark and saw the outline of a fish.No surprise there, since sharks digest their food slowly.Then George realized he wasn't looking at the stomach of the blacktip reef shark, but at her uterus. In it was a perfectly formed, 10-inch-long shark pup that was almost ready to be born.George was dumbfounded.He had been examining the shark, Tidbit, to figure out why she reacted badly to routine sedatives during a physical and died, hours...
BEIJING - Many species of shark are facing a serious threat to their existence because of worldwide fishing trends, environmentalists said Wednesday.Fishermen "used to cut the lines and let sharks go," said Pete Kinghts, executive director of WildAid, a San Francisco-based conservation group, told a shark conservation conference. In recent years, however, fishermen have kept the sharks to sell their lucrative fins.One-third of the more than 500 shark species are threatened with...
By Jane Sutton MIAMI (Reuters) - Shark attacks dropped in 2005 because people are fighting back more often when threatened and the ranks of ocean predators are thinning, a University of Florida report said on Monday. Worldwide there were 58 shark attacks in 2005, down from 65 a year earlier, and fatalities fell to four from seven, said George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File housed at the university's Florida Museum of Natural History. Attacks have been on the...
By Jane SuttonMIAMI -- Shark attacks dropped in 2005 because people are fighting back more often when threatened and the ranks of ocean predators are thinning, a University of Florida report said on Monday.Worldwide there were 58 shark attacks in 2005, down from 65 a year earlier, and fatalities fell to four from seven, said George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File housed at the university's Florida Museum of Natural History.Attacks have been on the decline for five...
Latest Carcharhinidae Reference Libraries
The Barbeled houndshark (Leptocharias smithii) is a species of bottom dwelling shark and sole member of the Leptochariidae family. It is a fish found in the Atlantic Ocean, inhabiting coastal waters of Africa from Mauritania to Angola and found at depths up to 246 feet. It is occasionally found as far north as the Mediterranean Sea. Its habitat is typically muddy water around river mouths. This fish can grow up to 32 inches in length, and is characterized by its long, slender body,...
The Blind Shark (Brachaelurus waddi) is a species of blind shark found in the subtropical southwest pacific Ocean. It is most commonly found off the coast of Queensland and New South Wales, between latitudes 8° S to 33° S. It is sometimes spotted in shallow tide pools where it is barely submerged or sometimes deeper. It prefers rocky shoreline and coral reefs. It thrives well in aquariums and can live out of water for an extended period. The Blind Shark reaches a length of about 48...
The Kitefin shark, Seal shark, or Black shark, Dalatias licha, is a dogfish, the only species in the genus Dalatias, found in the Atlantic, western Mediterranean, western Indian Ocean, and western Pacific including Japan, Australia, Hawaii, and New Zealand, at depths of 164.04 to 5905.51 ft (50 to 1,800 meters). Its length is from 3.28 to 5.91 ft (1 to 1.8 meters). The Kitefin shark has a blunt snout and both dorsal fins are approximately equal in size. The trailing edges of all fins are...
The Bala shark, Balantiocheilos melanopterus, also known as the tricolor shark, silver shark, or shark minnow, is a schooling community fish of family Cyprinidae and the sole member of the genus Balantiocheilos. This species is not a true shark, but is commonly called a "shark" because of its torpedo-shaped body and large fins. Native Habitat The Bala shark's native habitats include streams and rivers in Southeast Asia (Sumatra, Thailand, Borneo, Malaysia, etc.) Aquarium Care...
The Lemon shark, Negaprion brevirostris, is a well studied shark belonging to the family Carcharhinidae. Distribution and habitat It is found mainly along the subtropical and tropical parts of the Atlantic coast of North and South America. Reproduction Lemon sharks are viviparous, females giving birth to between 4 and 17 young every other year in warm and shallow lagoons. The young have to fend for themselves and remain in shallow water near mangroves until they grow larger. With...
