• Animals

$1M In Illegal Shark Fins Seized in Miami

• #30x30
• CITES
• extinction
• shark fin soup
• sharks

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in January seized 1,400 pounds of shark fins worth nearly $1M that were hidden in 18 boxes in Miami Airport.  Federal officials believe the shipment originated in South America and was likely headed to Asia, where shark fins are in great demand for use in soup and traditional medicine, but they are still investigating.

Why This Matters:  Shark finning is banned in the U.S., but it is not illegal to buy and sell their fins here or even to sell the soup in restaurants in some states (it is banned in others).

• Animals

Acidifying Oceans Could Dissolve Shark Scales

• biodiversity
• conservation
• sharks

South African researchers published a new study showing that increasing concentrations of CO2 in the ocean are damaging shark scales, known as denticles.

Why This Matters: These scales protect sharks and allow them their unique ability to move through the water.

• 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

More Sharks Coming to the Jersey Shore (what a Situation!)

• #sharkweek
• climate change
• New Jersey
• sharks

Historically beachgoers in the Northeast didn’t have to worry about sharks in the water but climate change may soon change this. As NJ.com explained, “while sharks off the Jersey Shore are nothing new, experts who study the ocean predators say New Jersey’s waters are becoming an increasingly popular destination for unlikely species of sharks. Ocean-warming […]

• Animals

Sharks on the High Seas Need Protection Too

• commercial fishing
• overfishing
• shark conservation
• sharks

Sharks often end up as bycatch in commercial fishing lines (it’s one of the biggest issues facing sharks) but new research is showing that even highly migratory species of sharks have little refuge in the open ocean from fishing fleets. As Phys recently reported, regional declines in abundance of some shark populations such as shortfin […]

• 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 […]

• Animals

Shark Week Starts Sunday, but Its Been Shark and Now Tornado Summer on Cape Cod

• Cape Cod
• great white shark
• severe weather
• sharks
• tornado

Sharks are have frequented the Cape in the past, but this year, according to the local TV station KSBW8, there has been a marked increase in sightings and they are coming closer to humans.  Interestingly, the Boston Globe reported yesterday that those same sharks are rarely sighted in Rhode Island.  

• Ocean

Ocean News to Note This 4th of July Holiday

• beaches
• bivalves
• California
• Cape Cod
• jellyfish
• mussels
• oceans
• sharks
• South Carolina

As Weather.com reported, unusually warm temperatures combined with seasonal low tides have literally roasted California mussels in their shells in a mass die-off that could have larger implications on the local marine ecosystem. At the same time, this July 4th weekend a record number of sharks have been spotted off the coast of Cape Cod […]

• Animals

Deep Blue shark doo doo doo doo doo doo

• China
• shark fin soup
• shark finning
• sharks

While in the U.S. 12 states have so far banned the sale of shark fins (while 5 federal bills have died in the House and Senate in the past 2 years), according to the Animal Welfare Institute, a Washington, D.C.–based nonprofit that updates its list of restaurants that serve shark fin soup and notifies the relevant state enforcement agencies– the bans haven’t stopped restaurants in at least 10 of the 12 states. Then in a bit of happy shark news, USA Today reported that a strikingly massive great white shark, one of the largest ever documented, was spotted by divers in Hawaii on Sunday as the apex predator feasted on a sperm whale carcass. The sighting of “Deep Blue” off Oahu was remarkable because the handful of previous sightings were documented 2,600 miles away at Guadalupe Island off Mexico’s Baja California peninsula.