Giving science a helping hand Debates around shark baiting are far from resolved, says Paul Cox, but we should pause to consider the benefits
Tagging trauma at Cocos Island
Maldivians oppose shark fishery
Giving science a helping hand Debates around shark baiting are far from resolved, says Paul Cox, but we should pause to consider the benefits
Galapagos shark
Tagging trauma at Cocos Island
A marine biologist was bitten on the head while attempting to tag a Galapagos shark off Costa Rica’ s remote Cocos Island. Reports suggest that Dr Mauricio Hoyos was attempting to either tag the shark or take a biopsy sample when the shark bit him defensively. It is thought that his dive mask provided an element of protection during the event, which took place at a depth of 30m. He was evacuated to a hospital in the capital, San José and is expected to make a full recovery, according to the Tico Times.
Maldivians oppose shark fishery
Conservationists in the Maldives are opposing moves to restart a deep water fishery for gulper sharks. The Maldives is one of only 17 shark sanctuaries around the world, having banned all shark fishing in 2010. Of the four gulper shark species historically targeted in the Maldives, three are listed as Endangered and one as Near Threatened according to the IUCN Red List. Organisers of a recent poll say that 77 % per cent of Maldivians oppose the new fishery and encourage the government to uphold its status as a shark sanctuary.“ The Maldives’ shark sanctuary is one of the country’ s greatest conservation achievements, recognised worldwide,” said Shaha Hashim of Maldives Resilient Reefs.“ Reopening gulper shark fishing puts our marine ecosystems, our economy and our global reputation at risk.”
Catching my eye recently, an article by one of my favourite reporters, Melissa Cristina Márquez in Forbes. Her article titled How Shark Tourism Is Unlocking Scientific Discoveries very much plays into a current theme of work within the Shark Trust team. The article reports on the recent publication on the ongoing“ should we or shouldn’ t we” debate about baited shark diving. It’ s a debate that’ s bumped along for a few years now and, it would seem, is far from resolved.
A programme of work that we’ re calling Living with Sharks aims to open up the conversation on best practices in shark eco-tourism, as well as looking in depth at other activities where sharks and humans come into contact. So, I read this latest research review with great interest, not least because I’ m quite partial to seeing sharks underwater myself and I’ d like to know that when doing so I’ m not creating problems down the line.
The review paper, snappily titled Opportunities for science in touristic shark feeding aggregations – A review takes a dive through the potential negative and positive outcomes of provisioning( baiting) sharks. The usual arguments are all in there – feeding can potentially alter the sharks’ role in the ecosystem, change feeding habits, alter spatial
A commercial shark feed at Nassau, Bahamas abundance and have a knock-on effect on other species in the community.
On the plus side, shark tourism boosts economies, can encourage the development of protected areas and, in theory, contribute to a shift from consumptive to non-consumptive values of sharks. It’ s worth noting that a quick search can bring up a handful of research papers supporting each side of the argument. So, I think we can safely say that the jury is still out. However, this review is really a focus on the benefits to science that come from shark tourism. Sharks are hard to study – it’ s a big ocean and they can be quite elusive( as we all know). But, working with shark tourism operations, where the presence of sharks is more reliable, researchers are opening up new understanding about behaviour, social interactions, wound healing, pigmentation and even – using ultrasound – what’ s happening during pregnancy.
Conservation efforts feed off an understanding of species, their interactions and their relationship to their ecosystem. While we can( and should) continue to strive to understand the impacts of our diving on the species we love, it’ s encouraging to know that there are fringe benefits for sharks. www. sharktrust. org
( International Union for the Conservation of Nature) world congress in Abu Dhabi. The green turtle has been downgraded from Endangered to Least Concern. However, despite recent gains, green turtles are still far below their historic numbers due to past exploitation and ongoing threats.
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