Our selection of top shark stories, highlighting the latest news and discoveries from around the world...

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November holds much promise for sharks with two high profile international meetings running simultaneously! We’re determined to see the overfishing of Atlantic Shortfin Mako brought to a halt, and sustainable limits implemented for Blue Sharks through the annual meeting of the Atlantic high seas management body -ICCAT - who’re meeting in Portugal. Meanwhile, across the Atlantic in Panama, the CITES Conference of Parties (CoP19) will tackle the trade in endangered species – with 4 proposals addressing over 60 species of shark and ray on the table.  Keep an eye on our social platforms for updates and calls to action!

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Tiger Sharks Help Scientists Uncover World’s Largest Seagrass Ecosystem

1st November

While reviewing footage from camera-equipped tiger sharks throughout the Bahamas, Dr. Austin Gallagher, founder of the non-profit ocean research organization Beneath the Waves (BTW), learned that these sharks were spending significant time in seagrass habitats.

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Citizen scientists invited to ‘plunge’ into Welsh waters to help research rare aquatic species

8th November

Ocean lovers of all ages are being invited to dive into marine conservation and watch life under the
waves in Wales – to help marine scientists understand the aquatic species that call the country’s
coastline home.

The call to action is the latest from Project SIARC (Sharks Inspiring Action and Research with
Communities) a collaboration led by ZSL (Zoological Society of London) and Natural Resources Wales
(NRW) designed to further understand the rare sharks, skates and rays living in the area, with the
help of fishers, communities and researchers across Wales - and now citizen scientists across the
UK.

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First International Mako Shark Quota Adopted

21st November

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) today agreed the world’s first population-wide fishing quota for highly vulnerable shortfin mako sharks.

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New gadget could reduce shark bycatch by 90%

21st November

Marine scientists have designed a piece of technology that could drastically reduce shark bycatch by emitting short electrical pulses as a deterrent.

The small battery-powered device, known as SharkGuard, reduced the numbers of blue sharks accidentally caught by commercial fishing gear in a French longline tuna fishery in the Mediterranean by 91% and stingrays by 71%, according to a study in the peer-reviewed journal Current Biology.

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Nurse Shark with rare skin pigmentation recorded in Honduras

24th November

One of the defining features of nurse sharks is a brown coloration that is present over their entire body. However, earlier this year, recreational divers in Utila, Honduras stumbled upon a unique individual with a rare condition that completely alters the typical pigmentation pattern in the skin.

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