According to local news reports, the Maldives Minister for Fisheries, Zaha Waheed, has said that discussions are underway to legalize shark fishing in the Maldives. With more than 300 species of sharks and rays now threatened with extinction, this latest move to consider legalising shark fishing has surprised marine conservation organisations around the globe.
Read More“I was living in South Africa during 2015 and working as a great white shark dive guide for Apex Shark Expeditions when I suffered a relatively significant back injury during the peak season. I was missing the sharks and my beloved ocean, and was very upset to be unable to use my voice for shark conservation anymore. Before dawn one morning, I lay there thinking of what to do and came up with an epic plan!”
Read More“A Western Australia shark cull is being proposed in response to fishers concerns about loss of catches to sharks in the state….
Read MoreMako sharks have fascinated divers and shark fans for many years. But having recently been listed as endangered, will we still be able to dive with them in years to come? And more importantly, what will happen if we lost these vital apex predators for good?
The Shark Specialist Group of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has recently announced that both the Shortfin and Longfin Mako shark are now classified as Endangered.
Previously listed as Vulnerable, they have been downgraded to Endangered and are now officially at risk of going extinct.
As an apex predator, mako sharks play a vital role in sustaining the health of ocean ecosystems.
They are one of the most efficient hunters of all shark species and eat mostly bony fish such as tuna, mackerel, swordfish, plus cephalopods, other sharks, porpoises, sea turtles and sea birds.
They control the populations of those species they feed on – ensuring ocean food webs remain in balance and no single population gets out of control.
Apex predators also feed on vulnerable prey, such as old, injured and sick animals; which leaves more food for the healthy prey animals to survive on.
Prey populations explode in numbers when you remove apex predators such as mako sharks. As those prey populations increase unchecked, the prey animals they feed upon then decrease and eventually collapse.
What happens then? The prey populations that boomed in the first place have nothing to feed on and also eventually collapse.
In short, oceanic food webs collapse and ocean biodiversity is lost.
Apex predators prevent that cycle from occurring by keeping prey numbers balanced and under control at all times. They improve the health of ocean ecosystems and ensure marine biodiversity is sustained for all.
shark diving
If we act now, it is not too late to save mako sharks. The latest news on mako shark conservation is cause for hope:
The EU is facing pressure to announce catch quotas for mako sharks in its waters.
Numerous sharks and rays, including makos, are being proposed for listing at the next meeting of the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in late May 2019.
Don’t purchase products made from sharks.
Use sustainable seafood guides online to ensure the fish you eat doesn’t have bycatch*
*Bycatch commonly includes sharks and marine mammals.
Featured on Dive In:
A study in the Marine Policy journal (May 2018) has demonstrated how important human attitudes towards sharks are for effective shark conservation. The study assessed attitudes towards sharks in the Galapagos Marine Reserve and showed that an understanding of the environmental role of sharks and how dangerous (or not) they appeared to be, had the greatest influence on peoples’ attitudes towards conserving them. Having knowledge of, or experience with, sharks also influenced attitudes. It was clear that shark conservation initiatives need to focus on creating positive attitudes towards sharks in order to gain peoples’ support to conserve them. As Baba Dioum put it: "In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we are taught." Education and positive experiences with sharks are key tools in successful shark conservation and the Galapagos Islands are an ideal destination to undertake both. https://www.divein.com/blog/galapagos-diving/
I was interviewed recently by BBC Wildlife Magazine , alongside Steve Backshall and Bite Back, for a feature on shark conservation. I had a great time discussing why we still fear sharks, the role of the media, and how to reduce fear effectively in adults and chidren with interactive conservation events. You can enjoy the full article here:
Featured on Scuba Diver Life:Scientists, marine conservationists, and government officials from countries in the Americas have proposed a protected ocean corridor between Ecuador and Costa Rica to protect endangered species from extinction.The proposed ocean corridor, or swim-way, would run along the Cocos Ridge. This 435-mile (700 km) underwater mountain range connects the Galapagos Islands Marine Reserve in Ecuador and the Cocos Islands Marine Reserve in Costa Rica. At-risk marine species use the biologically diverse ridge for mating and migration between Ecuador and Costa Rica. The swim-way aims to protect such species from fishing pressure in the surrounding waters.https://scubadiverlife.com/proposed-ocean-corridor-protect-migrating-species/
Featured in the International Business Times:I really enjoyed this interview and article with the International Business Times and Liveaboard.com. It was a great opportunity to gain some positive media coverage for sharks, explore the International Shark Attack File data, and share some of my knowledge from working with sharks.'Thank Jaws for a generation of people genuinely terrified of entering a body of water. Ask anyone, even if they've never seen the film before, and they'll tell you it's a story of a bloodthirsty shark who seeks out human prey - that's how impactful it's been in popular culture and, more importantly, establishing how we see sharks today.Our reliance on film portrayals of them has meant that as a whole, we do not actually know very much about sharks. As a result, our connotations of violence could be completely unfair.
Kathryn Curzon is a diver and writer for Liveaboard.com, a website to book cruises, and a trained scuba diving instructor and great white shark safari guide. She spoke to IBTimes UK and set the record straight...'http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/shark-attacks-how-protect-yourself-1652582
