Latest Shark Stories
The mode of reproduction seen in modern sharks is nearly 400 million years old. That is the conclusion drawn by Professor Per Erik Ahlberg, Uppsala University, from his discovery of a so-called "clasper" in a primitive fossil fish earlier this year. The research results are published today in Nature.In February this year, a paper published in Nature by a team of Australian and British researchers showed that placoderms, a group of ancient fishes that died out more than 350 million...
A major conservation survey assessed 64 species of open ocean sharks and rays and found that one third of them face extinction, including the great white shark. The study by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reported that species hunted on the high seas are particularly at great risk, with over half in danger of extinction.The IUNC named tuna and swordfish fisheries as the main culprits for their accidental "by-catch" of sharks.Sharks are also being increasingly...
In the famed Sharktooth Hill Bone Bed near Bakersfield, Calif., shark teeth as big as a hand and weighing a pound each, intermixed with copious bones from extinct seals and whales, seem to tell of a 15-million-year-old killing ground.Yet, new research by a team of paleontologists from the University of California, Berkeley, the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, and the University of Utah paints a less catastrophic picture. Instead of a sudden die-off, the researchers say...
Census of Marine Life historians meeting in Vancouver, Canada, say they have reconstructed images of past sea life that boggle the imagination. The researchers said they used such sources as old ship logs, literary texts and tax records to reconstruct what life in the ocean was like prior to the early 1800s. Before oil hunters harpooned whales by the hundreds, the ocean around New Zealand teemed with about 27,000 southern right whales - roughly 30 times as many as today, the scientists...
With shark populations tumbling around the world, Chinese cooks are turning to manta and devil rays to fill their shark fin soup pots. Until recently, the rays were targeted only by subsistence fishermen, The Times of London reported Friday. Now, about 1,500 big manta rays are taken every year in the Indonesian fishing port of Lamakera. Tim Clark of the University of Hawaii said the rays could be overfished quickly. They have a long lifespan -- possibly more than 50 years -- and do not begin...
Shark Wrangler, Stuart Cove, was featured on ABC's Good Morning America Weekend Adventure segment aired 5/17/09. Stuart Cove was interviewed and spoke about his famous Shark Dive Adventure at his Nassau, Bahamas operation. NEW YORK, May 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Shark Wrangler, Stuart Cove, was featured on ABC's Good Morning America Weekend Adventure segment aired 5/17/09. Stuart Cove was interviewed and spoke about his famous Shark Dive Adventure at his Nassau, Bahamas operation. Stuart Cove's...
KEY WEST, Fla., May 13 /PRNewswire/ -- SharkDefense Technologies and HEFA Rare Earth Canada, Co. Ltd. announced today that shark-repellent metal alloys are available for sale. The metal alloys are proven to reduce the accidental capture of sharks and are anticipated to benefit many commercial fishing operations. The shark-repellent metal alloys work by generating a small voltage in seawater, which affects a shark's electric sense. Bony fish, such as tuna, do not have the organ responsible...
Overfishing deemed most likely causeSharks, barracuda and other large predatory fishes disappear on Caribbean coral reefs as human populations rise, endangering the region's marine food web and ultimately its reefs and fisheries, according to a sweeping study by researcher Chris Stallings of The Florida State University Coastal and Marine Laboratory.While other scientists working in the Caribbean have observed the declines of large predators for decades, the comprehensive work by Stallings...
Hundreds of millions of these voracious predators are impacting every fishery in the region TRENTON, N.J., May 4 /PRNewswire/ -- An unprecedented alliance of commercial, recreational and party/charter boat fishermen and associated businesses has formed Fishermen Organized for Rational Dogfish Management (FORDM) to deal with a looming crisis. FORDM has requested assistance from Dr. Jane Lubchenco, newly appointed National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration head, in dealing with an...
Wildlife campaigners are welcoming plans for new curbs on the practice of removing fins from live sharks, BBC News reported."Finning" involves cutting fins off of living sharks and dumping the low-value carcass at sea.On Thursday, a meeting in Brussels drew up an action plan on finning, which results in the deaths of the sharks "” which are often exported to China where they are used make shark-fin soup. The plans for Scottish waters went further, only giving permission in exceptional...
Latest Shark Reference Libraries
The slender bamboo shark is a bottom dweller found in shallow coastal waters where the ocean floor is sandy or muddy--around bays, inlets, and coral reefs. Found mainly in the Indo-West Pacific waters from the Arabian Sea to India; also in Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan, Philippines, and Solomon Islands. It is occasionally found in freshwater of the Perak River of Malaysia. The body of this species is brownish in color covered with dark splotches above and cream colored underneath. The mouth...
This harmless shark is native to the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Indonesia, it is also found in coastal waters from Japan to India. It lives on the ocean floor in shallow areas around coral reefs, hiding during the day and feeding at night. In Taiwan and Madagascar the whitespotted bamboo shark is used for food. Occasionally this species is kept in home aquariums as pets. The young whitespotted bamboo shark will have a black body covered with white and light blue spots and dark vertical...
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 Leopard Shark (Triakis semifasciata) is a species of hound shark found in the coastal waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean, along the coast of North America from Oregon to Baja California. Its habitat is rocky areas, rocky reefs, kelp beds, sandy areas and under piers. Tagging has revealed that stock is mostly resident in San Francisco Bay. However, about 10 percent of the population migrate further out into the ocean seasonally. They swim mainly at depths of 10 to 250 feet. They prefer...
The Horn Shark (Heterodontus francisci) is a species of bullhead shark that ranges from central California to the Gulf of California, Mexico, and possibly Ecuador and Peru. Its habitat includes rocky reefs, kelp beds, sand flats, crevices, and caverns at depths from 7 to 490 feet. It is mostly nocturnal and is rather sluggish in the daytime. The adult can reach a length of 4 feet and weigh about 22 pounds. It is brown with black spots. If harassed it may bite. It has poisonous spines on...
