Did you know that around 30 species of shark haven’ t been seen for a decade or more? Paul Cox reports
Entanglement threat persists
Tackling water pollution
Lost, or just‘ hiding’?
Did you know that around 30 species of shark haven’ t been seen for a decade or more? Paul Cox reports
Entanglement threat persists
British Divers Marine Life Rescue( BDMLR) has told of its efforts to save a sperm whale that became tangled in lost fishing gear off Scotland. The marine charity received a report of a sperm whale close to shore at Raasay Island in early March; it was almost certainly the same whale they had freed from ropes off Skye the previous week. BDMLR said a rope was found tightly wrapped around the 15m-long whale’ s mouth. It said this would have prevented it from feeding and it was likely to have been malnourished for some time.
Tackling water pollution
The Water( Special Measures) Act has received Royal Assent, meaning the bill has now become law. The new Act will give regulators the power to take tougher and faster action against water companies, including harsher penalties and preventing the paying of bonuses to executives who fall short of the standards to protect the environment. It will also ensure emergency sewage overflows are monitored. Sandy Luk, Chief Executive of the Marine Conservation Society, said:“ The Royal Assent of the Water( Special Measures) Act is a stepping stone towards a cleaner, healthier ocean … We need the upcoming [ Water Commission ] review to focus on the pollutants which are damaging our coastal environments- ensuring that they are comprehensively monitored, treated, and tackled at source.”
Protesters at last year’ s March for Clean Water
Launched in October last year, an exciting new shark science project is gathering pace. The Search for Lost Sharks, led by Re: wild and a collective of partners, is hailed as the largest ever global effort to find and protect species that have not been documented by scientists for a decade or longer. The global effort will employ innovative camera platforms, collect environmental DNA( eDNA) from seawater and use the collective eyes of recreational divers to seek out these lost sharks.
We’ re accustomed to hearing about the state of shark populations expressed in terms of IUCN Red List statuses. According to the latest Red List assessment( 2021), 391 of around 1250 shark, ray and chimera species are threatened with extinction. But the lost shark project aims to search for 428 species that have not been seen( by scientists) for 10 years or longer. You can be forgiven for wrinkling your brow at this point and reaching for your calculator. Does that mean that there are 30 odd species that are not classed
Lost Shark
Bahamas Ghost Shark
Indonesia Angelshark
Missing sharks on Re: wild’ s web page
as threatened but which no-one knows where they are? In fact, some of the species classed as‘ lost’ are considered‘ Least Concern’, at least in Red List terminology.
Well( of course, as this is science) it’ s not that straightforward. The methodology of Red Listing doesn’ t, apparently, always require actual sightings of sharks and, of course, just because they haven’ t been seen, doesn’ t mean they’ re not there. It reminds me of the“ if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” conundrum. So maybe they are lost, maybe they have disappeared altogether, or maybe they are just hiding!
Either way, it’ s shaping up to be a fascinating search and( should) give us an insight into some of the less well-known and charismatic shark species. And, in an ideal world, the re-discovery of lost species gives us a better chance to protect them and ensure they don’ t disappear when we’ re looking the other way. rewild. org / lost-species / lost-sharks
www. sharktrust. org
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