Bottom of South Pacific Exhibit

Here is a pretty neat shot of a Cownose Stingray hovering over a Zebra Shark in the South Pacific exhibit at Moody Gardens in Galveston, Texas.

Shark in Tennessee River

According to a WKRN News story, three juvenile sharks were found in the Tennessee River, each near a boat ramp. All three of the sharks were approximately 14 inches long and found dead upon discovery. The identity of these sharks hasn’t been confirmed, but the sharks were apparently all of the same species. Scientists speculate, by judging from pictures, that the sharks could be either Finetooth or Blacknose sharks, neither of which could survive a long trip up a freshwater river. Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agents believe that this could be a prank, although the bodies were discovered at least two weeks before April Fool’s Day. I assume it was a prank, but it’s honestly a not too bright one.

Shark in Tennessee River

Hammerhead Shark

In a recent AP news story on Yahoo!, it was revealed that proposals to protect hammerhead and oceanic whitetip sharks at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species have been defeated by Japan and China. These, among other proposals, were part of a United States-backed campaign to help protect several species and increase global conservation. Japan and China also defeated an export ban on Atlantic bluefin tuna, a proposal to regulate the coral trade, and another shark conservation plan. Japan led the charge against conservation, with China, Indonesia and other nations that benefit from shark fin trading backing them all the way. Critics accused Japan and the other countries of putting business and politics ahead of conservation efforts, but the countries fighting conservation efforts replied by saying that restrictions were not the answer and would be difficult to apply.

Delving further into the article, a very alarming figure arises.

Widespread illegal fishing and caused populations of the endangered scalloped hammerhead, great hammerhead and the threatened smooth hammerhead to plummet by as much as 85 percent. Oceanic whitetip sharks face similar threats and their numbers are down 60 percent to 70 percent.

Image courtesy of ABC News Australia.

Moody Gardens Aquarium Exhibit

My local aquarium club, MARSHReef, got to take a behind the scenes tour of the Aquarium Pyramid at Moody Gardens. The tour was nice, but nothing new for me since I worked there in college. The display tanks weren’t in the greatest shape, but we have to remember that Moody Gardens and the entire southeast Houston area was devastated by Hurricane Ike about a year and a half ago. In fact, some of the exhibits haven’t even opened back up yet. On the trip, we visited the penguin exhibit, the aquarium’s filtration systems, and pretty much every place off limits to the general public.

All in all though, the trip was fun. I go to meet fellow marine biologists, go a few places I’ve never been before (at this particular facility), and got to hang out with aquarium keeping friends.

We took a ton of pictures, but not all of them turned out that great…and some where just of people, which is boring to look at. But see our gallery below:

Here is the response made by Oceana on Senate Committee Passes Bill to End Shark Finning in U.S.:

“Shark management in the U.S. has suffered for long enough,” said Beth Lowell, federal policy director at Oceana. “It’s time to enact this shark finning bill into law.”

Landing sharks with their fins still attached allows for better enforcement and data collection for stock assessments and quota monitoring. The Act would also close a loophole that allows the transfer of fins at sea as a way to get around current law. Additionally, the bill would allow the United States to take action against countries whose shark finning restrictions are not as strenuous.

“Finning is threatening shark populations worldwide,” said Elizabeth Griffin, marine scientist at Oceana. “The U.S. should be a leader in helping to solve the problem of shark finning.”

This is something I can get quite passionate about. The finning of sharks is a terrible and cruel practice that is very popular in Asian countries. The shark is caught, its fins are cut off, and the still living shark is thrown back into the ocean since the fins are the only valuable portion. Sharks are very slow reproducers since they have low fecundity and mature later in life. Banning this horrific act will hopefully boost shark populations, which is a lot more beneficial than many people recognize.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium currently has a female great white shark in captivity. It was captured near Malibu on August 12, 2009 and introduced to the Outer Bay display on August 26. It has successfully fed on various types of food and appears to be in good health. The release date for the shark is unknown, but the aquarium does promise to release it at some point. Until that day though, aquarium biologists will continue to study the shark and its behavior as part of their ongoing great white research project in which they capture, tag and release, and track great white sharks in order to learn more about their elusive lifestyle.

We will continue to report on the shark’s health, as well as other projects that the Monterey Bay Aquarium undertakes in their efforts to study ocean life and promote conservation efforts.

For more information on this success story, visit “Our Newest Great White Shark!”

A brief history of great whites in Monterey Bay Captivity…

In 1984, the Monterey Bay Aquarium took in its first great white shark. The excitement of the new arrival quickly wore off when the shark drastically decreased in health, eventually dying only 10 days after being added to the aquarium.

Twenty years later, the aquarium acquired another great white. This time, the shark actually fed in captivity (first time in history). After more than a year in captivity, the great white became the first to be on long-term exhibit. In 2005, the great white shark was successfully released back into the wild, the goal of the Monterey Bay Aquarium from the beginning since it was originally caught in a fishing net.

Since the 2004 acquisition of the great white, the aquarium has brought in four more sharks, of which only one is still in captivity (the others were released back into the wild).

My my father, brother, and I went deep sea fishing on a chartered boat with at least 40 other people. The boat left out of Freeport, Texas and it took approximately 4-5 hours just to arrive at our destination. I found me a nice spot near the back of the boat. The deck hands gave everyone a rod and reel, as well as a bucket full of dead squid, fish, and some other indistinguishable items. We dropped lines, hooked a few snapper, or perhaps something else, and would stand elbow to elbow with other “anglers” and enjoy the day. The trip was going well until I hooked a shark. I don’t recall what species it was, but I do recall the horrifying incident that unraveled shortly after landing the gorgeous predator.

Being only a kid at the time and not having any personal fishing gear on the boat, I didn’t want to mess with the shark or risk damaging the fishing rig provided by the boat crew. So, I called a deck hand over to help me get the shark off the hook. He grabbed the four foot long shark with hook attached to a long pole and hauled it on board. I watched in amazement as this beautiful creature glistened in the sunlight. The deck hand grabbed some pliers, removed the hook, and told me I was “good to go”. Assuming the deck hand was going to throw the shark back, I thought nothing of it and proceeded to bait my hook.

Then, as I’m bending over to get new bait I hear a very loud thud. I turn around to see the deck hand slinging the shark around by its tail, and slamming its head on the deck of the boat. I immediately dropped my equipment and shouted, “what the heck are you doing?”. He told me that the sharks were a nuisance and ate everyone’s fish as they were reeling them in. I told him that I didn’t care and to stop, but it was too late. Blood was already coming out of the shark, though I couldn’t see from where, and the deck hand through the shark back into the ocean. Completely horrified, I set my equipment down and made my way back up to the upper deck where all of my belongings were located. I couldn’t believe what had just happened. My dad and brother quickly followed me up to the upper deck and we all proceeded to question how anyone could do such a terrible thing.

Fortunately, the trip was almost over. The captain announced for everyone to bring in their lines and we picked up anchor and made the 4+ hour trip back to Freeport. This was the first and last time I even went on a chartered deep sea fishing trip. What started out as a promising bonding experience between a father and his two sons, turned into a horrifying experience that has stuck with me for years. I’m sure this activity still goes on during every trip a shark is caught, and that’s what scariest of all.