Mystery wrecks of Carolina
Shark Month – the sequel The Shark Trust had a fun but busy month in July, reports Managing Director Paul Cox
Winner, British Isles
PHOTO: HECTOR CLARK
Mystery wrecks of Carolina
Four shipwrecks— including remains believed to be of a 1748 Spanish privateer ship— were recently found at a historical site in North Carolina, USA. A team of archeologists with East Carolina University’ s program in maritime studies was searching a site in Brunswick County, North Carolina when they made the discoveries. The team collected wood samples that suggest the shipbuilders incorporated raw materials from Spanish Caribbean colonies in the 18th century. While more work is needed to confirm any identification of the remains, researchers believe they may be those of La Fortuna, a Spanish privateer from Cuba that exploded near the colonial wharves during an attack on the port at the end of King George’ s War in September 1748.
The team recover a section of the possible La Fortuna shipwreck
PHOTO: EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY PHOTO: EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
Shark Month – the sequel The Shark Trust had a fun but busy month in July, reports Managing Director Paul Cox
For the second year in a row, we let ourselves escape the office – and the often-serious business of shark conservation – to reach out to the people of our hometown for some Shark Month lightness in July. It’ s a fairly simple formula – turn up in a corner of town, put some banners up and persuade the local businesses to find a sharky angle to their normal business. So, we get shark wine tasting, a shark beer( Easy Tiger), a shark pub quiz, shark movies, a shark pop-up shop, a mini shark conference and a Bahamas night. You get the picture.
And talking of pictures, we also showcased the inaugural Shark Photographer of the Year competition. From hundreds of entries, we whittled down – with the help of SCUBA’ s esteemed editor – to an exhibition of 34 photos and awarded prizes across various categories linked to our work.
The result, with very little effort on our part, is a wonderful collection of stunning photographs from across the world – seen by over 2000 people across the month and many more online. I’ m super-grateful to all involved – whether photographer, judge, sponsor or voting public for making this such a success. Will we do it again? Wait and see but, if I were you, just in case, I’ d get out there and get some shark shots into your lens.
Next month we’ ll have a look at what’ s happening in the shark conservation world in 2025. But, for now, I’ ll keep it brief so there’ s room for a couple of those images. www. sharktrust. org
Winner, Overseas
PHOTO: MARTIN BROEN
Shark Photographer of the Year
PHOTO: JULIAN HEBENSTREIT
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