The Art of the Shark Paul Cox considers the success of the Shark Trust ’ s Oceanic 31 art project , conceived to help people appreciate the wonder of shark diversity
Ocean warming – apocalypse now ?
The Art of the Shark Paul Cox considers the success of the Shark Trust ’ s Oceanic 31 art project , conceived to help people appreciate the wonder of shark diversity
Ocean warming – apocalypse now ?
Global oceans have hit their hottest ever recorded temperature as they soak up warmth from climate change . The average daily global sea surface temperature reached 20.96 ° C on August 1 , according to the EU ’ s climate change service Copernicus . “ It is sobering to see this change happening so quickly ,” said Prof Mike Burrows , who is monitoring impacts on Scottish sea shores with the Scottish Association for Marine Science . Scientists are investigating why the oceans are so hot right now but say that climate change is making the seas warmer as they absorb most of the heating from greenhouse gas emissions .
Oceans are a vital climate regulator . They soak up heat , produce half Earth ’ s oxygen and drive weather patterns .
Warmer waters have less ability to absorb carbon dioxide , meaning more of that planet-warming gas will stay in the atmosphere . And it can also accelerate the melting of glaciers that flow into the ocean , leading to more sea level rise .
The new average temperature record beats one set in 2016 when the naturally occurring climate fluctuation El Niño was in full swing and at its most powerful . Another El Niño has now started , but scientists say it is still weak - meaning ocean temperatures are expected to rise further above average in the coming months .
That ’ s summer done for another year . July , always an interesting month in the shark world , saw the usual mixed bag of good and downright awful press coverage that seem to concentrate around Shark Week . And there was a new experience for me , a visit to SharkCon in Florida . It ’ s a great event , basically a huge space rammed full of shark enthusiasts . What ’ s not to love ?
We were there to promote and rally support for our Big Shark Pledge campaign . The campaign is essentially a vehicle for us to gather support for our work to improve management of high seas shark fisheries . Some of our best loved shark and ray species are threatened by overfishing caused by poor management . It ’ s an international issue that needs international solutions , so we ’ re popping up all over the place to recruit support .
And we ’ re also trying to mix it up a bit . So , July also saw the first of many appearances of our Oceanic31 art project . Featuring 31 species by 31 artists , the exhibition brings out the diversity of sharks and rays that inhabit the high seas , seen through the eyes of each individual artist . The result is
‘ Bigeye Thresher Shark ’ by Janina Rossiter
something quite special for shark lovers .
We ’ ll be touring venues around the UK over the next 18 months , so keep your eyes out . If you want a peak , we ’ ve created a 360o virtual exhibition which can be viewed here : bit . ly / Oceanic31 Check it out .
But the exhibition isn ’ t just for shark lovers . Its intent is to reach at least a few people for whom sharks are defined by the newspaper headlines and the more sensational output of Shark Week . Reaching new audiences and , ideally , encouraging more and more people to see sharks in a different light is a massively important task for us .
Shark conservation matters , we ’ re in danger of losing species and , for those of us that value sharks , that ’ s unacceptable . So , we have to keep spreading the word and being positive about these amazing animals . And we have to find ways for people who do care to speak out and hold decision-makers to account .
If that ’ s you and you want to make a difference for sharks , please sign our pledge today at www . bigsharkpledge . org
www . sharktrust . org
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