News Digest - January

Volunteers are being recruited to identify sharks, skates and rays captured on underwater cameras around the Welsh coast. Data from more than 90 hours of footage needs to be logged to help build a picture of the diversity of species.

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Scientists Sequence The Genomes Of Endangered Sharks

5th January

Dr. Shivji, along with Dr. Michael Stanhope from Cornell University, and numerous other collaborators have been able to peek back in shark-history thanks to genome sequencing, a scientific method that is used to determine the entire genetic makeup of a specific organism or cell type.

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‘Extinction crisis’ of sharks and rays to have devastating effect on other species, study finds

17th January

Almost two-thirds of sharks and rays that live around the world’s coral reefs are threatened with extinction with potentially dire knock-on effects for ecosystems and coastal communities, according to new research.

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UK's Shark Fins Bill pass its 3rd reading in the House of Commons

January 20th

The UK's Shark Fins Bill pass its 3rd reading in the House of Commons! Sponsored by Christina Rees MP, and receiving convincing cross party support, the Bill proposes to commit Fins Naturally Attached (FNA) into UK law

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Endangered shark sold as flake in South Australia fish and chip shops, study finds

24th January

Calls for better food labelling as investigation claims that only around one-third of fish is flake, with served species including rare narrownose smooth-hound

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World’s biggest ocean stingray tagged in the wild

24th January

In a scientific first, researchers have tagged wild smalleye stingrays, the world’s largest and rarest marine stingray, in Mozambique. These Pacific Ocean fish, which can reach up to 10 feet long, are so rarely seen, they’re likely a critically endangered species.

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Banner image: Ralph Paprzycki