Latest Whale shark Stories

Pew calls for action at CITES to prevent species from being traded to extinction BANGKOK, March 1, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- According to scientific findings released today in the peer-reviewed journal Marine Policy, the number of sharks killed each year in commercial fisheries is estimated at 100 million, with a range between 63 million and 273 million. The authors also warn that the rate of fishing for shark species, many of which grow slowly and reproduce late in life,...

April Flowers for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online In a new variety of crowdsourcing, a researcher from Imperial College London is using vacation snapshots to track the movement of whale sharks. This study, published in the journal Wildlife Research, is the first to show that publicly sourced photographs are suited to conservation efforts. During scuba diving and snorkeling expeditions in the Maldives, tourists frequently take underwater pictures of the whale shark – the world's...

redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports - Your Universe Online The metabolite homarine is a useful indicator of the health status of whale sharks, according to new research from experts at the Georgia Aquarium and the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). Dr. Alistair Dove, the Director of Research & Conservation at Georgia Aquarium and an adjunct professor at Georgia Tech, and colleagues, discovered that the concentration of homarine in the serum was a major difference between...

The zoology website EurekaMag.com publishes insights into specific subjects of all areas of natural science. The latest review covers the Brown Recluse which is a spider whose bite can be serious since it bears a potentially deadly hemotoxic venom, Tyrannosaur which was bipedal carnivore up to 13 meters in length and four meters in height, and Whale Shark which was a slow-moving filter feeding shark and the largest extant fish species. Mannheim, Germany (PRWEB) March 30, 2012 The zoology...

TUMON, Guam, March 30, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Fishing nations of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) today agreed to protect oceanic whitetip sharks based on a U.S. proposal, while an Australian proposal to ban intentional setting of purse seine nets on whale sharks (to catch associated aggregations of tuna) was stalled by Japan. "We are pleased that the WCPFC has heeded scientific advice and taken action to conserve seriously overfished oceanic...

The zoology website EurekaMag.com publishes insights into specific subjects of all areas of natural science. The latest review covers the Brown Recluse which is a spider whose bite can be serious since it bears a potentially deadly hemotoxic venom, Tyrannosaur which was bipedal carnivore up to 13 meters in length and four meters in height, and Whale Shark which was a slow-moving filter feeding shark and the largest extant fish species. Mannheim, Germany (PRWEB) February 15, 2012 The...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. and SHANGHAI, Sept. 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- On both sides of the world, the movement to ban the trade and sale of shark fin products has gained an impressive roster of noteworthy supporters including Leonardo DiCaprio, James Cameron, Wolfgang Puck, Gordon Ramsey, Richard Branson, Yao Ming, Mario Batali, Edward Norton, and Chinese billionaire Zhang Yue. (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110926/SF74607) In California, WildAid, NRDC, and The Humane Society of...

Scientists off South Africa's Cape were surprised as a half-ton great white shark jumped into their research boat with them, reports The Guardian. The marine researchers were caught off-guard as the 10-foot-long shark leapt into their boat, becoming trapped on deck for over an hour. The incident took place off Seal Island, near Mossel Bay, on South Africa's Cape coast. The crew used sardines to attract the sharks, which are known for bursting through the surface as they prey on seals. Dorien...

Shark populations over the last 50 years have decreased dramatically. From habitat degradation to overfishing and finning, human activities have affected their populations and made certain species all but disappear.A new article in Current Issues in Tourism by Austin J. Gallagher and Dr. Neil Hammerschlag of the R.J. Dunlap Marine Conservation Program at the University of Miami study the impact of these apex predators on coastal economies and the importance of including conservation efforts...

Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) are often thought to be solitary behemoths that live and feed in the open ocean. Scientists at the Smithsonian Institution and colleagues, however, have found that this is not necessarily the case, finding that whale sharks can be gregarious and amass in the hundreds to feed in coastal waters.Aggregations, or schools, of whale sharks have been witnessed in the past, ranging from several individual sharks to a few dozen. However this new research, which involved...