Juvenile Scalloped Hammers in the Rewa - Paper!

Behold!

I must say that I like and also hate it.

Specifically, I like seeing the confirmation of the previous hypothesis that the Rewa may be a nursery for Scalloped Hammerheads; what I hate is the likely massive post-release mortality, the fact that those Sharks are currently still being obliterated by the local fishermen, and several highly disturbing ethical aspects concerning the authors and other involved persons that need not be divulged here.

Anyway, quite nice - enjoy!

Fiji: Protection of the Shark Nurseries?

Juvenile GHH in the Ba - source.

Read this.

This is of course excellent news.

It's not done quite yet - but having the chiefs support Shark conservation is obviously a huge step in the right direction. There is increasing evidence for Fiji featuring multiple Shark nurseries, for Bulls but also Scalloped and Great Hammers and other species like e.g. Lemons in and around its major rivers; but alas, it appears equally clear that those Sharks are being subjected to massive targeted and incidental fishing pressure that is dramatically impinging on their chances for survival - the good news being that having been alerted, Fisheries are doing something about it.

So let this be a beginning.

Co-host Fiji is about to unveil its commitments at the UN Ocean Conference - so here's to there being something about Sharks!

Fingers crossed!
 

Ocearch - important Discovery?

Source.

Well well.

Read this.

Yes Fischer is at it again - and the rabid anti-Ocearch gang is frothing.

Obviously, all that noise by Fischer is nothing more than his usual breathy BS. If you remember this post, the nurseries have been known for years and in fact, that link [24] leads straight to this paper from 1985!

In brief, this is the most important significant discovery my ass!

This is either totally egregious or at best, totally ignorant - the sad part being that by now, I'm not even anymore surprised!

And then there are those tags, see at top.

This is important research, meaning that I can certainly live with inconveniencing a few juvenile GWS in order to learn more about their movements within the nursery and when they later disperse; but nowadays, modern fin-mounted SPOT tags for small Sharks feature single bolts, meaning that those 4-bolt tags are hopelessly outdated and will likely lead to the same injuries as recorded here, especially in those fast-growing juveniles. From countless observations, it is equally most likely that the Sharks will survive and the fins will heal - but it's unnecessarily invasive and really not good.

Oh well, so much for that.

Several of my researcher pals tell me that Fischer has evolved and become more palatable - but as long as he continues to sabotage himself, his sponsors and the science of the associated researchers, I remain highly unimpressed.

And Alisa “Harley” Newton?

I learn that she's WCS' Senior Veterinary Pathologist for WCS Zoological Health Program, or the like, and that she is joining Ocearch with a whole gaggle of other WCS folks.

Interesting.

So far, WCS' involvement in Shark research and Shark conservation has been patchy at best - but now that they've jumped on the bandwagon and managed to secure their share of muchos shekels by a group of very wealthy donors, they are busy hiring (and you'd be surprised at who is applying!) and obviously eager to be seen doing something. Not a good start as they're now associated with this utter PR fiasco = due diligence anybody?

Anyway.

Be it as it may, this remains an important undertaking, and I very much look forward to reading about the findings.

To be continued no doubt!

Kinderstube für Haie!

Tom with small Blacktip Shark - source.

Nice!

Check this out.
The indefatigable Tom (nice interview here) has just won the German Price for Science Photography by the prestigious Bild der Wissenschaft with his feature about the putative Shark nursery in the Ba River Estuary.

Despite of the massive challenges in the wake of cyclone Winston, he was able to complete his master thesis by documenting the presence of small subadult  Blacktips C. limbatus as well as juvenile Scalloped and Great Hammers. These preliminary findings indicate that this may be important, if not critical habitat for those latter two endangered species, warranting urgent further in-depth investigation.

Cute: juvenile Great Hammer (above) and Scalloped Hammer (below) - click for detail. Source.

Congrats buddy, very well done indeed!