Timbers of Fame? Timbers thought to belong to a 17th Century merchant ship have been found on Studland Bay in the wake of Storm Chandra. Maritime archaeologists from Bournemouth University believe they are from the Swash Channel wreck, first discovered in the 1990s, in a shipping approach to Poole Harbour. A prime candidate for the wreck is the Fame of Hoorn, an armed Dutch merchant ship that ran aground in 1631. The section of timbers, thought to be from the hull, measures 6m long and 2m wide. A missing layer of planking indicates the remains could well date back to the 1630s, according to the National Trust. The Fame of Hoorn was thought to be around 40m long with a beam of 10m; it may have carried up to 40 guns to defend itself against pirates on its journeys to the Caribbean. Records show that all 45 crew abandoned the ship safely, but it was soon after looted by locals.
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PHOTO: NATIONAL TRUST |
Some months I sit here wondering what to write about for this article [ I just wonder if you’ re going to file it on time! – Editor ]. There’ s not always something happening in shark world and, to be honest, my job is mostly not as glamorous as many people seem to think. Much of the time it’ s trying to find funding, managing budgets and taking care of the team. But this month there’ s so much going on that I’ m not sure where to start. In May, the world’ s shark science and conservation community will be convening in Sri Lanka for the fouryearly Sharks International conference. If I was a cynical person I’ d suggest that the flurry of scientific papers making an appearance this month was in some way related. One notable publication,‘ Bending back the curve of shark and ray biodiversity loss’ appearing in Nature Reviews, is as good as it gets for a summary of the state of shark conservation.
Without getting into the details( although I’ d recommend setting aside a couple of hours if you’ re interested), the paper clearly lays out the challenges and the raft of solutions that are available. The key message for me is that there is no silver bullet. The big picture is a jigsaw – there are many pieces that need to be put together in the right order. Each piece, each solution, has value and those dedicated
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to shark conservation need to work collaboratively if we are to succeed.
Also this month, tragically, we had a horrible weekend in Australia where four people suffered bites from sharks in a 48-hour period. While heavy rains have been identified as a factor that created the conditions for bull sharks to move inshore, the incidents have once again sparked debate about nets, culls and shark management.
On that very weekend, I was on a diving trip to South Africa and I took the opportunity to meet up with representatives of Shark Spotters in Cape Town and the KZN Sharks Board in Durban. Again, it’ s a complicated picture. What works in one place doesn’ t work in another. And the multitude of considerations and tradeoffs involved in shark management are enough to make your head spin. But there is a determination and a huge amount of dedication in the sector and it’ s given me a huge amount of insight going into a session on‘ Living with Sharks’ that we’ re hosting at Sharks International.
Amid all of that, I got to spend several wonderful hours in the seas off South Africa with sharks. An amazing diving experience, Aliwal Shoal in particular was incredible diving with bulls, blacktips and a cave full of raggies. So, while some months might be fallow, some months are all about sharks! www. sharktrust. org
Paul Cox with a bull shark in South Africa
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DoE said in a statement that the 2m-long shark mistakenly bit Mr White amid the activity at the spawning site.“ DoE and partner researchers have been conducting annual surveys in Little Cayman for 25 years, logging thousands of dives without any such occurrence,” a spokesman said.“ The team includes both fish and shark scientists who are trained professionals... [ they ] managed the situation efficiently and safely.” |
PHOTO: CAROLINE ROBERTSON-BROWN |
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