• People

Hero of the Week: Hunter Filz

• conservation
• Shark Week
• sharks

Third-grader Hunter Filz may only be eight but he already understands the importance of sharks to ecosystems. For his birthday this year he has been raising money for the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy to protect the animals he cares so deeply about. Hunter developed his passion for sharks as a baby and hopes to become a […]

• Animals

New Study Finds Reef Shark Populations Declining More Globally Than Previously Known

• #30x30
• National Geographic Society
• predator
• Pristine Seas
• reef
• science
• Shark Week
• sharks

Last month, a new study published in the journal Nature showed that shark populations are decreasing in many regions throughout the world at much greater rates than previously thought. As CBS Los Angeles reported, this is the “most comprehensive study done on the world’s shark population.” The study found that 20% of the areas they studied — across 58 countries — had no sharks at all.

Why This Matters: As Philip Matich, a marine biologist at Texas A&M-Galveston says, “Sharks have important roles in marine ecosystems, but disturbance can alter this role.” This, in turn, can impact the ecosystem, since as one of the top predators in the water sharks regulate prey populations. But, as the study notes, not all hope is lost.

• Ocean

After a Shark Attack in Maine, Calls for Gray Seal Culling Grow

• Cape Cod
• gray seal
• great white shark
• Marine Mammal Protection Act
• marine mammals
• shark attack
• Shark Week

In the aftermath of a mother being killed by a great white shark on a Maine beach this summer, some are once again calling for the culling of seal populations to keep sharks away from popular beaches.  As Yahoo News reported, this latest attack was not an anomaly. Beaches across the Northeast have closed repeatedly […]

• Animals

One Shark Thing: 5 Tips for Surviving a Shark Attack

• Shark Week
• sharks

As Discovery Channel’s Shark Week draws to a close we wanted to share these 5 expert tips for surviving a shark attack should you encounter a shark during your summer vacation (or ever). While shark attacks are extremely rare, this week we’ve written about how climate change and even conservation efforts are putting humans into […]

• Animals

California’s Summer of the Great White

• California
• great white shark
• shark
• Shark Week

Great white sharks have always lived off the coast of California but this summer they’re showing up in staggering numbers, leaving beaches with “swim at your own risk” signs. Great whites have been spotted in Half Moon Bay, Monterey Bay and even for the first time in known history in the San Francisco Bay when […]

• Animals

It’s Shark Week (!!!), Congress Should Vote to Protect Sharks

• Oceana
• shark fins
• Shark Week
• sharks

Shark Week premiered last night and as the tv phenomenon enters its 31st year of killer ratings, this year there will be an emphasis on how human activities are killing sharks, most notably through shark finning. While Shark Week dazzles tv audiences, our partners at Oceana have been hard at work in Congress ensuring that […]