Enjoy this clip of our team taking measurements and tagging a lemon shark while in the Bahamas 

Other than a hairy paddle-boarding excursion across the open ocean with the first man to have crossed the Bering Sea kitesurfing (see this p.s. it was my first time paddle-boarding), I made it back in one piece from the South Berry Islands where I joined The Nature Conservancy and Summit Series in surveying our newly minted MPA. It was a thrill to witness a sanctuary that our game players are helping to support!! There is so much to tell, but some key takeaways are: 

1. Shark research is hard: trying to capture key data, take a biopsy, blood and a dorsal fin sample, as well as fix a satellite tag to a tiger shark in under 7 minutes while keeping it calm is, well, pretty challenging. As one friend on the trip put it, it’s like a Formula 1 pit stop and many things can go wrong. 

2. Patience is a virtue: despite the University of Miami team having extensively chummed the waters the night before and throughout the day, sharks do not show up just like that. We spent several 8-9 hour days in a 25 foot tender surrounded by shark bait and were fortunate to have caught and released 3 sharks on one lucky day - and only 1 had a dorsal fin capable of supporting a satellite tag. Frankly, I think they were on to us.

3. Once you do capture and secure a shark, don’t get off until Neil tells you to: Capturing a shark is like few things I’ve experienced before and you grow deeply concerned about the welfare of the animal. Trying to fasten a satellite tag on the dorsal fin of a tiger shark while straddling its back is tricky - don’t lose your concentration! There’s a lot going on of course and a large team hopping madly around the stern of a not very big boat as the UM scientists shout out commands to us all. But with all the commotion sometimes a few instructions get lost in the shuffle, e.g. “Don’t get off the shark!” I commend Dr. Neil Hammerschlag and his team including Austin, Virginia and Curt for how they are pushing the boundaries of shark research and involving people from all walks of life in the experience in an effort to protect these awesome creatures.

Hats off again to Thayer Walker at Summit Series for bringing together such an interesting group of people on such short notice for this once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Amazing.

-Gregory

Photo from the field! Tiger Shark Pup caught in the Bahamian MPA getting some measurements taken prior to being released back in to the ocean. 

It has a been a month of progress for shark and ocean lovers everywhere. The Marshall Islands declared the world’s largest shark sanctuary and now the state of California’s Governor Jerry Brown has signed into legislation a bill making it illegal for anyone to posses or sell shark fins.

Gov. Brown said “The practice of cutting the fins off of living sharks and dumping them back in the ocean is not only cruel, but it harms the health of our oceans.Researchers estimate that some shark populations have declined by more than 90 percent, portending grave threats to our environment and commercial fishing. In the interest of future generations, I have signed this bill.”

Yet another example of the changes that can come about through hard work and dedication!

We are proud to be partnered with United Conservationists and WildAid, both instrumental in pushing for shark finning bans around the world!

Mr. Knights, of WildAid, said that if the decimation of shark populations continued, all the money in the world would not provide shark fins for diners. “This is unsustainable,” he said, “and the question is, do you end it now or do you wait until there are no sharks left?”

In a segment for 60 Minutes, Anderson Cooper dives with the Sharkman and Great White Sharks highlighting that although there is a lot we do not know about these amazing creatures, we do know that they are not the man-eating monsters they’ve previously been made out to be. A really interesting look at these beautiful animals up close!

A new documentary on the global shark trade, The Fin Trail, coming later this year.

Since time began we have seen the shark as the silent deadly killer of the ocean deeply engrained in the human psyche as an object of fear. However fact is that in an average year, sharks account for less than ten human deaths, while in the same period we kill up to 100 million of them. What’s more, 99% of them are killed for their fins alone which are added to a soup to make an oriental delicacy.

The fact that sharks are facing extinction to satisfy the demand for soup is becoming well known. But how do the fins reach the markets? Who is making the money? How much money is being made? When and where is shark finning legal, and when is it illegal? And should we care?

The Fin Trail will follow this trade from beginning to end and will travel the world in search of the answers. We will track down the profiteers and gangsters behind the business that is pushing a group of animals towards extinction. We will calculate their profits — in effect the price of extinction — and will smoke out the corrupt officials turning a blind eye to what is happening. We will try to find out to what extent governments across the world are colluding in the extermination of one of the oldest inhabitants of our planet. We will meet the conservationists around the globe who are fighting a rearguard action against the slaughter.