CITES - done!

Source.

Victory!

Congratulations to everybody involved.
But not to the POB in Jersey who don't even know what the FAO is, contributed nothing as always but still have the audacity to claim credit for the success!

I really got nothing else to say about the Sharks - but lemme say something about the Mobulas.

Because the proposal to list them came from Fiji.

The parties to CITES are not those NGOs but nation states, and it is only they who can make proposals and cast votes. In brief, had it not been for Fiji, there would have been zero pamphlets, PSAs, press releases, articles, posts and interviews and above all, zero lavish junkets essential trips and conferences, meetings and committees by all those terribly important conservation professionals (yes that's only the provisional list!) that are now busy clapping themselves on the back whilst making terribly profound statements in the media!

And did anybody thank let alone praise Fiji?

So here's to the Fijian Delegation.

• Here's to you Bati who together with Eleni from Environment obtained Government approval and ensured that the powers that be kept on signing all the relevant paperwork. As always, you rock!


• And here's to you Ian who greatly, and quietly assisted in keeping the ball rolling!


• And to you Art who I hear gave a rousing speech that did sway several delegates!

Vinaka vakalevu and very well done!

And since we're at it.

Here's to you DaMary - you know why, and so do they!

And the dreaded Mobula lovers?

I hear that having been led to their senses, they did in fact assist - so here's just a hint of a slow hand clap for those who will always believe that they know better! :)

Accolades for DaMary!

DaMary in Fiji - everything the bikini bimbettes are not!

Finally!

Mary O'Malley is the March 2014 Sea Hero.

Yes I know, I've totally missed it when it happened - but now that I know, I really must congratulate Oris for having chosen the very best possible candidate. DaMary is of course my Most impressive individual Shark Conservation Advocate for both 2012 and 2013, and this public acknowledgment of her tremendous contribution to conservation could not have been more deserved.

Attagirl - I'm proud of 'ya!

Indonesia - Manta Ray Sanctuary!

Source.

Huge belated congratulations!

Watch this.

I'm sure that many have contributed.

But for me, this is once again the very personal success of the tireless efforts of the indefatigable DaMary and Shawn, and their Manta Ray of Hope project.

Details here.

Bravo - I'm fucking proud of 'ya!

The global Value of Manta Ecotourism - Paper!

Source

This is how you do it!

This paper is immaculate - read it!.

Yes I'm obviously biased.as the lead author is none other than my friend Mary - but I really cannot fault it and on the contrary, I very much believe it to be one of the best such papers I've read in a long, long time.

Bravo, bravo, bravo!

Shark Photographers - behold!

Just how good is this - click for detail!

And talking of DaMary and Bull Shark action.

This is how you do it.

I told you that she's an accomplished Shark photographer!

There's more Bull Sharks than ever, and we've developed now procedures that allow you to capture images just like this one right from the wall and whilst being perfectly safe.

The peak season is right now!

So, what are you waiting for! 

DaMary!

DaMary, Lupodiver and the predators!

We've just said goodbye to Mary and Lupo.

We're honored, really.

Mary is of course none other than the same Mary O'Malley who pretty much single-handedly developed the Manta Ray of Hope project (of course, h/t to Shawn and to Paul Hilton!) and doggedly stayed the course  all the way to the epic decision of CITES to list them on Appendix 2 - and this also very much in the face of all that petty bickering by those Mobula fans, or whatever! And btw, now that she has shown everybody how to do it: have those EXPERTS learned the lessons, and will they come up with anything substantive for 2016?

We shall be watching!

Anyway.

Mary is my current Shark Conservationist of the Year and one of the very few people in Shark conservation I respect unreservedly and whose advice I will often seek and mostly heed.

This has really been rather epic.

Mary and Lupo are both accomplished and highly experienced Shark divers and also photographers, the Bull Shark action was off the charts, and we managed to stage some memorable (...!) encounters - not to mention the conversations on and off the boat!

And the bikini?

Yes she wears one!

Because she can, in spades - but under the wetsuit!

In fact, whilst being equally pretty, she is everything those bikini bimbettes are not: smart, determined, result-oriented, diplomatic - but above all, frustratingly humble all the way to outright self-effacing. 

In fact, where everything the bimbos do is geared towards shameless self promotion (yes Julie Andersen, I'm looking at you!), Mary would rather totally fade into the background, and her many accomplishments would go completely unnoticed were it not for the accolades by her friends and admirers - as it should be!

But I'm digressing as always.

This has been a really memorable, productive and highly rewarding week, and good things will come from it. There are great developments within Shark Savers where Mary sits on the board, and our already proven cooperation is about to be expanded to new projects.

Keep watching this space!

Manta Ray of Hope - Global Threat to Manta and Mobula Rays!

All aboard the Manta Train! by Christian Loader, from this astonishing compilation.

Excellent job by Shawn - again!

This is his grisly travelogue.

This is urgent and important.

I've been a huge fan of the Manta Ray of Hope project since its inception, and urge you to inform yourself about the status of Mantas by visiting the link but especially, by consulting the 2011 report and the 2012 paper. The two Mantas are proposed for listing under CITES II at the next CoP in Thailand.

Now the project team are asking for your help.

Any donation will be matched and used to educate the CITES delegates.

These are brilliant, passionate, intelligent and above all, 100% honest people and I cannot recommend them highly enough. Accomplishments here - of note: just facts, no fanfare whatsoever.

And here are the next steps, basically a how-to guide for excellent, targeted marine conservation.

Kudos!

Please, if you can, give generously.

This is money well invested.

2011 - two more Recaps!

Plausible!

Just a quick one.
You need to read this post by David and this one by Shawn.

It should be painfully obvious why I like the former.
Yes, it indeed mentions ME (!!!) and has done wonders for my ego - what else? Plus, it is polite, as in the weeping sore on the anus of lowest common denominator shark programming that was "How Sharks Hunt"!
Wow - looks like I've still got a lot to learn!

And Shawn's?
I like it because it opens a window into the soul of a good man - but above all, because it mentions one of my very favorite Shark people. Let me cite.

Mary O’Malley and her husband Lupo
One of the greatest unsung heroes in shark conservation, Mary is a force to be reckoned with. Tireless and uncompromising, she has played a decisive role in just about every piece of shark fin legislation and shark sanctuary to date. In Florida, sharks are finally gaining much needed protection largely due to her efforts.
Mary, you are awesome!

Could not agree more!
Mary is one of the Shark people I like and respect the most and the only reason I didn't mention her in Part One is that she would have felt embarrassed & given me an earful if I had. She's intelligent, knowledgeable, determined, passionate and goal oriented, and just simply a beautiful person with a big heart to boot - and, she knows how to handle crazy Taureans! For all of those reasons, she is one of the very few people who has earned the right to berate me about my opines - and rest assured that she regularly does!
In fact, I've only dared to post Part Two knowing that she has absconded and will be incomunicado in Indo - and by the time she's back, it'll be too late!

Thank you Shawn, this was long overdue!

Anyway I'm digressing as always - Enjoy!

Killing for Conservation?

Excellent stuff from Florida - again!

ABSTRACT

Top oceanic predators, especially large predatory sharks (TOPS), appear to be experiencing varying degrees of population declines. Life history data (e.g. diet, reproductive status, age and growth, mortality) are critical for developing effective conservation strategies for TOPS. Presently, lethal sampling remains the most effective and accurate means of gathering these data. To meet such challenges, many scientists have utilized specimens obtained from recreational and commercial fisheries, but have needed to supplement those data with fishery-independent sampling.

However, there is growing public and scientific debate as to whether lethal sampling of TOPS is justified for obtaining conservation data.
Here we describe the development and use of non-lethal alternatives for collecting data on (1) trophodynamics; (2) maturity state and fecundity; and (3) growth and mortality rates necessary to enact conservation measures for threatened or even data-deficient TOPS.

CONCLUSION

In the case of TOPS which are highly protected, lethal sampling is not an option.
As such, scientists have generated innovative non-lethal alternatives for obtaining data on trophodynamics, age-growth, maturity, and reproductive status. This is best exemplified in the white shark Carcharodon carcharias, which is designated as Vulnerable to Extinction by The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; Fergusson et al. 2005), listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), and fully protected in South Africa, Namibia, the USA, Australia, Israel, Italy, and Malta (Fergusson et al. 2005).

For example, white shark diet and feeding habits have been determined from gut content analysis of specimens obtained from fisheries (Cliff et al. 1989, Bruce 1992, Cortés 1999, Hussey et al. in press, Smale & Cliff in press). Sulikowski et al. (in press) recently developed non-lethal techniques to assess the reproductive biology of white sharks. Moreover, electronic tagging (Domeier & Nasby-Lucas 2008, Weng et al. 2007, Jorgensen et al. 2010), mark-recapture (Anderson et al. 2011), photo identification (Domeier & Nasby-Lucas 2007, Chapple et al. 2011), and application of molecular genetics (Gubili et al. 2009, Jorgensen et al. 2010) have been used to determine population size and structure of white sharks in a variety of locations.

In his book ‘Why big fierce animals are rare: an ecologist’s perspective,’ Colinvaux (1978) elegantly described how the second law of thermodynamics restricts the abundance and size of apex predators. He wrote: …Great white sharks or killer whales in the sea, and lions and tigers on the land…are very thinly spread. One may swim many lifetimes in the world oceans without encountering a great white shark… (p. 27) Even nearly a century ago, long before overfishing, Elton (1927) pointed out that large carnivores were rare.

Given the threatened status of many TOPS, there is a growing need to develop feasible alternatives to lethal sampling.
We recognize that this will not happen overnight; but as scientists, we need to become creative, collaborate, and challenge ourselves to do so, because this is the direction we need to be moving in, if conservation is our goal.

Finally, a voice of reason!
The above is from Killing for conservation: the need for alternatives to lethal sampling of apex predatory sharks, by Neil Hammerschlag and James Sulikowski and you can thankfully read the whole (short and clear, so do not worry) paper here.

I remain generally dead set against lethal sampling and must commend the authors for having tackled a subject that is highly controversial and for having unequivocally spoken out in favor of the animals. May I also add that it cannot be a coincidence that the first two people that are being acknowledged are DaMary and Jimmy, a clear tribute to their excellent advocacy for Sharks.
Be it as it may, kudos to everybody involved.

This is clearly the way forward and once again, you have positioned yourself very much at the forefront of Shark research and Shark conservation.
Bravo!

Excellent News from Florida!

Smooth Hammerhead - one of the more uncommonly encountered species

Please check out this excellent post.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is considering protecting Tiger Sharks and three species of Hammerheads, Great, Scalloped and Smooth.

I am sure that many good people will get involved.
Personally, I will continue following the advice of DaMary. She is not only a dear personal friend but she has a stellar track record of getting things done. It is very much her enthusiasm and level handed guidance that have been instrumental in co-ordinating the activist effort last time when Florida ended up protecting the Lemons. Since that time, Mary has graciously integrated her Shark Safe Network into the bigger umbrella of Shark Savers of which she is now a Director.

I shall continue reporting about events as they unfold.
Should you wish to get personally involved, please consult the SS Blog where Mary, a Florida resident, will undoubtedly continue to post the latest news, timely and pertinent information, recommendations and action alerts, as she always does.

Let's get this thing sorted!

New SDI Shark Blog - Welcome!

Certainly toothy - like hopefully, the blog itself!

Here comes trouble!

Just kidding - or am I?
I don't subscribe to automatic news feeds and alerts and it is thus particularly serendipitous that I literally stumbled upon the newly established The Shark Diving International Team Blog, a joint venture by a passionate and diverse group of people that is likely to quickly evolve into one of my obligated references in matters concerning Sharks.
If, that is, they continue blogging with as much toothy passion as they have thus far!

Thing is, their voices need to be heard.
Lawrence is not only a personal friend, he is also somebody bringing to the table an incredible wealth of hands-on experience as a commercial Shark diving operator. He is one, if not the founder of commercial diving with GWs first in the Farallones and then, in Guadalupe and as such, one of my principal sources of information when it comes to questions pertaining to Shark diving in those locations. Normally a genuinely lovely, very California soft spoken kind of person, I am starting to discern another side of his personality in his posts - very much in line with his choice of music! And: am I hallucinating or did I really hear the sound of a gauntlet being slapped down? Just teasing of course: I really don't want to go there!
The good news being that after having been widely criticized for being too abrasive, I may well end up being considered to be a mainstream moderate in comparison!

Mary is of course the Mary of the Shark Safe Network and its blog.
Initially, and totally unfairly decried as being an emotional Shark activist, she is in fact the exact opposite, a unifier and pragmatic organizer of effective local Shark conservation initiatives, very elder statesmanlike and temperate whilst still maintaining all of the original passion.
Case in point: this post about the disgraceful killing of 49 Sharks which I know broke her heart - especially when compared to this post by Lawrence!

And then there's Andy, and yes, that would be this guy!
As life goes, I met him shortly after my post and he's actually a very cool dude - but I still stick to my opinion about that stunt! May we be witnessing the miraculous conversion from Shark pornographer to Shark conservationist?
This sure is fascinating and as always, we shall see!

All-in-all, we've got something to look forward to!
Let the fun begin!