New Resident at Aquarium!

The Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center gained a new family member last month!

Mena & a diver in her new home

Mena Zebra

A little zebra shark named Mena was captured from the Red Sea off of the Thousand Islands in Idonesia (yes, like the salad dressing!) and brought back to assist the conservation of her species. The staff plan to nurse her until she is mature and is better equipped to further her race.

Mena is quite petite: 5 feet long and not quite 40 lbs

Included are a few photos from the website!

http://hamptonroads.com

Some Timely Shark Info

Just a few items of shark news!

Shortfin Mako sharks are at this time already heading south! With a preferred temperature range of 60-70* F, the shortfins are departing for warmer waters as October unfolds and November approaches. These sharks remain along our area of the coast (writing from Norfolk/Va Beach) for the summer and early fall but turn their tails to the Gulf of Mexico when the water cools down.

Sandbar Sharks' migration coincides with their mating season. These sharks too remain in our general area for the summer, but come colder months the males depart, often in a group. The females follow soon after, but individually and alone. The reason for this is unknown; Sandbars are known for more than a few unusual quirks. After migrating south to Florida or the Gulf, the males once again return home sooner than the females. Presumably leaving them to give birth, it is thought that perhaps the males would turn to the newborn pups as a cannibalistic source of food if they remained.

Stay Sharp!

More Soup?

Chinese NBA star Yao Ming returns to his homeland and admirably commits himself to fighting the explosive craze of shark-fin soup.

The article featured here:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/22/501364/main20110217.shtml

has more information.

Check it out!

WWF'in Great

The WWF Seafood Sustainable Group has made recruits of a large supermarket chain in Singapore. This business move effectively halts all sale of shark fins or any other part of the poor creatures. This is a great victory for sharks, whose extremities will no longer be peddled in 42 establishments of Cold Storage.

http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?201825/Leading-Singaporean-supermarket-chain-says-no-to-shark-fin

Andy Brandy gets Friendly

An interesting fellow I accidentally found on Facebook, "A.B.C. 4" seems to be a very talented photographer. Here I have posted his "Great White Shark Song." 

Give it a listen! 

Here is the link to his website, definitely worth checking out:

http://abc4explore.com/

Andy Brandy Casagrande IV & Tiger Shark

Andy Samberg shows his love for our undersea friends!

Marshall Islands, Sanctuary for Sharks

Australia's Marshall Islands has just become the largest legal shark sanctuary in the world!

Sharks must be thrown back when accidentally ensnared by commercial ships and large fines will be imposed upon those possessing any part one.

The Island of Palau (upper left hand corner of right image) is also a shark refuge!

I'm a nice shark...really!

Fish are Friends & Sharks are Fish!

Just one of my favorite characters from a great movie!

Bruce exemplifies a true great white. Far from the vicious brutes most people picture, sharks are regular animals. Wild, yes; and not to be tampered with.

The "Feeding Frenzy" into which Bruce is unwillingly catapulted is an accurate depiction of a shark's instinctive attraction to blood in the water. Blood generally means food for them, and they are Opportunistic Eaters (meaning they eat when the opportunity presents itself, and not often else).

Just a reminder that Fish & Sharks are Friends!

OBX Trip

Some photos from a recent trip down to Avon, NC:

If you look closely, you can see the black tips on all of his fins

This little guy was just above the legal 45 cm limit...

I was thrilled to see such a beautiful little Black-Tip Reef shark on my family vacation to Avon this summer but worried he might end up on somebody's grill.

But he was released without injury!

Luckily the salty old fisherman in the pictures decided to throw him back and he lives to swim another day!

Ride the Wave

Sharkwatchers:
I found a couple interesting causes set up in the interest of protecting sharks and thought I'd provide the links for those more financially free than I:
Oceana Conservation 2011
PEW Charitable Trusts
Bite-Back

Thanks for reading!

Ancient Shark Pups

Xenacanthid

The latest Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology reported the discovery this month of the existence of an ancient shark nursery in Kyrgyzstan. Egg case fragments along with several small baby teeth litter the scene, evidence of a sort of birthing ground for pregnant sharks. The presence of the teeth indicates that not only were many shark pups hatched there but that they remained in the area after birth as well.
"It allows the direct correlation between those eggs and the young and the interpretation of the area as a shark nursery," explained Jan Fischer in an interview with Discovery News.

Hybodontid

Generally, shark pups hatch into an open ocean. They do not remain with their mothers or form bonds between themselves. The sharks from which these specimens orignated are long extinct, both Hybodontids as well as Xenacanthids. However, a few adult teeth were found as well; proving there is still much to learn about our neighbors in the sea.

A Great Day for Cali Sharks

September 8, 2011 was a great day for Californian sharks!

As many shark enthusiasts will know, the practice of poaching sharks for their fins only has become a huge problem. Many cultures consider "shark fin soup" to be an extravagant delicacy, well worth the lives of millions of sharks annually. The apathetic rate at which sharks reproduce, when coupled with the ferocity of the finning business is slowly killing off these amazing creatures.

The introduction of a new bill would make it illegal for any to to possess, sell or trade the fins of a shark. If no suppressive action is taken, the bill will automatically take effect January 1, 2012.

Some of you may want to see sharks go. Unfortunately, sharks have been misrepresented for years by the media (movies such as Jaws, which I admittedly do love!) The reality is that more people are killed every year by lightning than by sharks...yet we kill 73 million of them in as much time. Most sharks are not only too small to ingest a human, they are also not particularly interested in us. We are not their natural prey and have as much to fear from them as any wild animal into whose territory we may have stumbled.
 

Assembly Bill 376: 

"This bill, except as specified, would make it unlawful for any person to possess, sell, offer for sale, trade, or distribute a shark fin, as defined. 

The bill, by creating a new crime, would impose a state-mandated local program."

All this fuss over this?

This is my 1st blog post, I hope everyone enjoys. 

Below I have included an excerpt from the bill, as well as a link to the bill in its entirety.

Thanks for reading!