Latest Sharks Stories
LOS ANGELES, April 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Non-profit organization Iemanya Oceanica today announced their second shark-tagging research expedition to Baja California, set to take place from July 1st-5th, 2010. The organization is actively seeking up to 20 individuals from the general public to swim with and learn about the conservation of the world's largest fish: the giant whale shark. The team will be traveling to Bahia de Los Angeles on the Sea of Cortez in Baja where whale...
LOS ANGELES, April 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On April 6th, 2010, the Hawai'i House passed measure SB 2169, prohibiting the distribution, sale, and possession of shark fins in the State of Hawai'i. Measure SB 2169 is a victory for the protection of sharks and an important step toward ocean conservation. If/when SB 2169 becomes effective Hawai'i will be the first state in the union to ban the sale of shark fins. Currently, shark finning, the cutting off of a shark's fins and discarding the...
The UN wildlife trade body withdrew protection Thursday for the cold-water porbeagle shark, reversing the only decision made during the 13-day conference to protect high-value marine species. At the final plenary session in Doha, the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) denied Appendix II status for the porbeagle, which is fished mainly for its meat. This is a victory for Japan and China, who opposed all of seven proposals related to commercial marine species....
Thursday, the last day of the UN wildlife meeting in Doha, could be the turnaround day for the protection of elephants and two species of sharks that were earlier disregarded by delegates at the 175-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). The final plenary session of CITES validates decisions made over the previous 12 days, but a motion to reopen the debate supported by a third of the delegates could lead to a new vote, giving hope for conservationists. The...
The UN wildlife trade group shot down bids on Tuesday to regulate trade on two species of sharks threatened with extinction from overfishing, setting off backfire from angry conservation activists. Millions of hammerhead and white-tip sharks are taken from their ocean habitats every year, mainly for the growing demand for sharkfin soup, a delicacy in Chinese communities around the world. The Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) rejected the US-sponsored...
DOHA, Qatar, March 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Sharks were the big losers today at the 15th Conference of the Parties (CoP 15) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) meeting in Doha. "CITES Parties voted by the slimmest of margins to protect porbeagle sharks, but rejected all other shark proposals at this meeting," said Dr. Ralf Sonntag, Director IFAW Germany. "An Appendix II listing would have given sharks a fighting chance against...
Rejection of Scientific Data for Other Threatened Sharks Undermines Conservation Effort DOHA, Qatar, March 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Government delegates attending the meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) voted today to list porbeagle sharks in Appendix II of the treaty, but rejected protections for three other vulnerable shark species. An Appendix II listing requires exporting countries to ensure that international trade is legal and will not...
A team of Spanish researchers has studied the diet of three species of sharks living in the deep waters in the area of El Cachucho, the first Protected Marine Area in Spain, which is located in the Cantabrian Sea off the coast of Asturias. These animals feed on the resources available in their environment, according to changes taking place in the ocean depths."All the sections of the food chain are inter-related in these deep-sea ecosystems, and a small change in any one of the links in...
It might sound like a mashup of monster movies, but palaeontologists have discovered evidence of how an extinct shark attacked its prey, reconstructing a killing that took place 4 million years ago.Such fossil evidence of behavior is incredibly rare, but by careful, forensic-style analysis of bite marks on an otherwise well-preserved dolphin skeleton, the research team, based in Pisa, Italy, have reconstructed the events that led to the death of the dolphin, and determined the probably...
WASHINGTON, March 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a move lauded by the Pew Environment Group, the Maldives today declared its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), 90,000 square kilometers of the Indian Ocean, as a shark sanctuary free from all shark fishing and also banned all imports and exports of shark fins. The Maldives is home to more than 30 shark species, including the scalloped hammerhead, the most prominent shark to be considered for protection at the upcoming meeting of the Convention...
Latest Sharks Reference Libraries
The barbeled houndshark is found off the western coast of Africa from Mauritania to northern Angola, occasionally found in the Mediterranean Sea. It lives on the sea floor generally around river mouths where the bottom is muddy at depths up to 246 feet, and the water temperature is 68 - 81 °F. The barbeled houndshark is a very active swimmer having a slender body, long tail, the eyes are oval and set horizontally on the head; behind each eye there is a tiny sphere. It has a long arched...
The Nurse Shark, Ginglymostoma cirratum, is a shark in the nurse sharks family, the only member of its genus Ginglymostoma. It may reach a length of 14.1 ft (4.3 m). Taxonomy The name nurse shark is thought to be a corruption of nusse, a name which once referred to the Catsharks of the family Scyliorhinidae. The nurse shark family name, Ginglymostomatidae, derives from the Greek words for hinge and mouth. Distribution and habitat The nurse shark is a common inshore bottom-dwelling...
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 Pilot fish (Naucrates ductor) is a carnivorous fish that is a horse mackerel and belongs to the Carangidae family of fishes. It is widely distributed and lives in warm or tropical open seas. The Pilot fish is known for following large vessels and sharks, where it feeds on parasites and leftovers. Its relationship with sharks has been described as nearly symbiotic: it is extremely rare that a shark will feed on a pilot fish, and smaller pilot fish are frequently observed swimming into...
The long-tailed thresher shark, Alopias vulpinus, is a thresher shark inhabiting tropical and temperate waters worldwide. Like all thresher sharks, it has a very long upper lobe of the caudal fin, sometimes as long as the body. Its body is brown or grey with a white underside. They can grow to about 25 ft in length and 750 lb. Thresher sharks often hunt in groups or pairs, stunning their prey with their tails before feeding on it. They mostly eat other fish and squid, but have been known to...
