Saturday, September 28, 2019

Are we ready for more Sharks?

Good question!

Read this.
It pretty much completely summarizes this timely little scientific article, so no need to write synopses etc. In brief, those Shark conservation successes may turn out to be be fleeting - especially in those highly populated and/or highly tourism-dependent areas where Shark-human conflicts may increase as a consequence, see e.g. the situation in Cape Cod where IMO we're already only a few Shark bites away from the next Shark/Seal cull.

The authors write,
While widespread success in recovering elasmobranch populations is some time away, scientists, advocates and managers need to be prepared for societal conflicts that may arise when and where it does occur. In particular, implications for current and future conservation management need to be considered as part of conservation strategies in the context of how humans will interact and potentially compete with recovering species.

This will require, from the outset, increased public education and outreach regarding the potential future implications of conservation success and strategies to reduce conflict in order to avoid negative responses to successful conservation outcomes or the thwarting of future conservation endeavours.
That is certainly correct. 
But education and outreach can only go so far, and methinks that akin to what is happening in the highly intractable and complex issue of terrestrial human-wildlife coexistence and human-wildlife conflict mitigation, all will have to be highly species-, location- and context-specific.
And in some cases = where and when other less invasive approaches fail, we may well have to accept that some individual animals may have to be sacrificed so that their populations can continue to survive - see the paper's example of the Galapagos Sharks vs the Hawaiian Monk Seals that is highly reminiscent of Eric's Shark profiling proposal.

As always we shall see shall we not.
And anyway, I say, wouldn't that be a nice problem to have = so first and foremost, let's please make sure that Shark populations recover!

But back to more pleasant matters. 
Let's go Shark diving - sustainably!

PS - Michael Domeier here.
Like him I abhor the illegal out-of-cage diving with GWS and especially, the Shark riding and molesting. But unlike him I really do not believe that any resulting bites would have any implications whatsoever on Shark conservation - rather, nowadays the victim would be rightly berated for having been a fool and the news cycle would quickly move on.
 

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Surfer and GWS!

Please click for detail.

Wow - stories here and here.

Human Impact on the World’s Ocean - Paper!

Click for detail - you can download a list of the stressors here!

Check this out.

Prima vista, it sure doesn't look good.
But if you explore the graph at the top, there are also a few success stories where some countries like e.g. South Korea appear to have substantially reduced domestic commercial fishing (Really? Maybe only to fish more abroad...?) and also pollution.
Stories here.

The graph also clearly shows the principal threat
We can try and continue tinkering at the edges and reduce, recycle, innovate and manage, etc etc etc - but unless we successfully tackle Global Warming we're all going to be fucked. And yes little Swedish girls and global strikes, or whatever, are nice - but let there be no doubt that ultimately, the only way to achieve positive change is at the ballot box = and who needs to vote is not them but YOU.

Anyway.
Please do your due diligence, and go and kick vote the wrong people out of office, and vote the right people in!
And no I'm not particularly hopeful.
 

Saturday, September 21, 2019

GWS in Indonesia!

Awesome - and thank you Serena for the heads-up!

This happened today in Nusa Penida.
I hear it was in 22m and that there was a  13 degree thermocline - but who knows whether that is relevant.
But the cold water sure brings in the Mola Molas, see at top.

Anyway - enjoy!



Tuesday, September 10, 2019

GWS vs Spearo!


Behold!

This is scary shit.
Then again, the dude appears to be hanging on to some Fish, see 00:32 in the video here?



Anyway, glad he got away unscathed!
Enjoy!
 

Monday, September 02, 2019

Bloody Pumice!


Oh for crying out loud!

They've discovered a bloody pumice raft.
This is how it looks up close and apparently, it's quite huge.



No, it ain't gonna be saving bloody anything, sorry.
Instead, it may well bloody drift over here like last time - and if so, we're in for weeks upon weeks of bloody nuisance as the bloody pumice pebbles fall to bloody buoyant sand and then dust, and keep on clogging the bloody water intakes of our engines in the process.

Oh, and read this.
Now you know!

Anyway.
Let's go Shark diving - hopefully, sans pumice!

PS - and here it bloody comes... :(
PPS - bingo - and here!

Sunday, September 01, 2019