Sea Notes

Good News for Sharks

There's been no shortage of troubling news about sharks in recent years. And when a shark makes headlines, it's usually not in the best light.

So it's great to be able to report two pieces of excellent news this week. First, the House of Representatives passed legislation that further cracks down on shark finning. The bill, H.R. 5741, the Shark Conservation Act of 2008, now goes to the Senate for action.

And in Australia, a team of divers tracked down and rescued an endangered grey nurse shark found with a 9-foot-long fishing gaff stuck in her throat. The 6-foot-long female shark was spotted one day and a rescue team from Sea World Australia organized to remove the gaff.

"This was a difficult and dangerous operation and I congratulate everyone involved for their professionalism and speedy response," said New South Wales government official Ian Macdonald in a story reported in the Daily Telegraph. "She was pale, which you'd expect after such an ordeal, but once released she swam back to the other sharks." (And here's a video clip from CNN.)

With stories like that, and the good work of WildAid as it enlists Olympic athletes in a campaign to end shark finning, this year the phrase "summer of the shark" may take on a whole different meaning.

At the Monterey Bay Aquarium, our own white shark research project continues this summer. We and our research partners have tagged four juvenile white sharks in southern California waters. We still hope to bring a young white shark to Monterey for a brief stay before as we've done three times in the past four years.

(Credit Grahame Long for both photos, including the great shot of Sea World veterinarian David Blyde reaching through a PVC pipe to remove the gaff from the nurse shark's throat. Copyright 2008 News Limited.)

The State of the Seas

Not a day goes by without a headline or broadcast report about something happening to the health of the ocean. The news isn't always good, but at least more attention is focused on the largest living space on the planet. With awareness, you open the door for solutions. (In the case of the ocean, ignorance definitely isn't bliss.)

With that in mind, the bad news first:

In the Mediterranean, new research estimates that shark populations are down more than 90 percent from historic levels 200 years ago -- with all the negative impacts on overall ecosystem health that result when you all but eliminate the top predators in the system. Hammerheads, mackerel sharks and blue sharks have been wiped out as accidental bycatch, or killed as pests by fishermen who don't value their place in the ocean's living web. And, sadly, there are still few regulations in place to protect sharks in the wild.

There's also disturbing news about the presence of chemical pollutants in the deep ocean. Scientists surveying deep-water cephalopods in the northwest Atlantic Ocean have detected chemical pollutants (like tributyltin and PCBs) in the tissues of deep-sea squids. Tissue samples from deep-sea squids and octopus -- including the cockatoo squid (Galiteuthis spp.) and the vampire squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis) -- yielded surprising concentrations of persistent organic pollutants. Chemical like tributyltin (TBT, used in anti-fouling paint on boats), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), DDT and flame retardants were documented in tissue samples collected by scientists in the northwest Atlantic Ocean.

Why worry? Because these cephalopods are an important part of deep-sea food web -- including a source of food for deep-diving whales and dolphins.

On the good-news front, Southern California Edison is spending $40 million to create an artificial reef off the coast of Orange County as mitigation for damage to native kelp forests caused by discharge from its San Onofre nuclear power plant.

The 2.5-mile-long reef, mandated by the state Coastal Commission, is intended to provide footings to anchor giant kelp that will become the basis for a restored kelp forest ecosystem where wildlife can thrive.

Here in Monterey Bay, the return of sea otters from near-extirpation by fur hunters in the 18th and 19th centuries provided conditions for a similar revitalization of the kelp forests. Today, you'd never know that the bay was denuded of kelp by sea urchins, abalone and other grazers after otters were eliminated in the bay. They returned in the early 1960s, and the kelp forest followed them. Keep your eyes on San Clemente to see if the reef there has the same effect.

Finally, a celebration reported this week for "the most important microbe you've never heard of." NPR's Joe Palca took part in commemorating the discovery of a marine bacterium called Prochlorococcus. Why? Because it's super-abundant in the ocean, and is probably responsible for the oxygen in one out of every five breaths you take. Although it's one of the most abundant organisms on Earth, it was utterly unknown to science until 20 years ago.

Sharks: End of the Line?

A new and alarming report estimates that more than half of the world's sharks are at risk of extinction.

Yet another signal that the continued overfishing of these long-lived, late-to-mature animals is threatening their very existence. Six new sharks were added to the official "red list" : Thresher shark, Silky shark, Shortfin mako, the Pelagic thresher, the Bigeye thresher and the Salmon shark (a relative of the already listed white shark).

You can take action on overfishing on our website www.oceanaction.org and check out the WildCoast campaign to end the practice of shark finning.

Friday's Featured Film: The Magic of Sharks

In a week when we mourn the deaths of two men killed by sharks near San Diego and in Mexico, it's a good time to recall that sharks inspire awe as well as fear.

We need to hold and honor that sense of awe, because if we succumb to fear (or greed), the ocean will lose the great predators whose survival is essential to the health of ocean ecosystems.

Sadly, officials in Mexico unleashed a slaughter of sharks following the death of a young American surfer in the waters near Puerto Vallarta. Our friends at WildCoast are leading a campaign to stop the senseless killing, just as the Monterey Bay Aquarium and others are calling for an end to shark finning worldwide.

Filmmaker Howard Hall captures the majesty of sharks in this clip from the PBS Nature program "Shark Mountain." Enjoy!

Hi, I'm Simon Willig

Hi, I'm Simon Willig. I’m 12 years old and currently live in Redwood City, California. I love the oceans and all that lives in them. I'm a 2008 Official Explorer for the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Over the next several months I hope to get you more interested in the oceans through the Sea Notes blog.

Right now I'm doing simple things like using compact fluorescent light bulbs, recycling and eating sustainable seafood (to learn more download the Seafood Watch pocket guides). These are all easy things that you can do to conserve the oceans.

I also like working with the organization Save the Bay at the Palo Alto Baylands reserve. (I’ll tell you more, later; keep reading.) I’ve been working with my friend Ayla (2007 Official Explorer) to create a PowerPoint presentation and assembly kit called "Save Our Seas" (S.O.S.) that can be presented at schools in your area. Come to and see Ayla and me present S.O.S, and find out how you can present it, too.

As an Official Explorer, I am excited about learning all I can from the aquarists (scientists who work at the Aquarium doing research and taking care of the animals). I also love educating the public on how to save the oceans and how to eat sustainable seafood by passing out Seafood Watch pocket guides.

February 23-24 was Shark Days at the Aquarium, my first event as an Official Explorer. I was both nervous and excited before the event.

First, we had the passing of the torch (or in this case the vest) ceremony from the 2007 Explorers. We talked about what we were looking forward to as an Official Explorer (which is basically everything). Right after getting the vest, I put it on and got down to business. I had a great time working at the event booth with 2007 explorers Ayla, Sierra and Eduardo, and 2008 explorer Alexa. We had fun helping each other figure out the answers to the Sharks and Rays activity booklet, taking turns helping Aquarium visitors find their way around, and discussing our favorite exhibits.

I had great fun at the sevengill shark feeding where divers held pieces of fish on poles. Sharks swam by and bit off the fish. It was awesome to see these huge sharks prey like they would in the wild. Later, I went with Ayla, Sierra and Alexa to Jellies: Living art and Wild About Otters to pass out Seafood Watch cards and learn more about jellies and freshwater otters.

A couple weekends later I found myself in the new exhibit Splash Zone staring at a wall of eel burrows. Among these strange, but beautiful snakelike fish were snowflake morays, honeycomb morays, white mouth morays and zebra morays. I also had a chance to see leaping blennies (cute little grey fish that actually do jump onto low rocks), and leafy sea dragons (a close but cooler relative to seahorses that camouflages amazingly well by having leaflike green appendages). I saw cuttlefish (a cousin to squid and octopus that, like its relatives, can change its skin to thousands of different colors) and a personal favorite: nudibranchs, which are brightly colored sea slugs that have stinging tentacles.

The next weekend I went to the Palo Alto Baylands with my mom and the organization Save The Bay. I helped plant native vegetation such as common yarrow and common aster to help the indigenous plant population recover and grow. I had a blast learning more about the San Francisco Baylands and their history while helping conserve the oceans.

Stay tuned to learn more about Explorer activities in my next entry. Until then (and always), this is Simon saying: THINK OCEAN!

Strange Days on Planet Earth

This Earth Day, people around the world are getting active, seeking solutions to a host of environmental challenges that  more of us acknowledge must be addressed now, while we have time to make a difference.

Part of the path to solutions lies in understanding the nature of the problems. A great set of television programs exploring just that airs on Wednesday night.

"Strange Days on Planet Earth," narrated by actor Edward Norton, presents a second season with two hours of programs that look at threats facing the oceans -- including overfishing, unsustainable fish farming and the interconnections between what we do on land and the health of the seas.

It's a project of our friends at Sea Studios Foundation, just down the block on Monterey's Cannery Row. Created in collaboration with National Geographic Television, "Strange Days" will air on a PBS  station near you (our on your DVD player, if you buy a disc to share with family & friends).

"Dirty Secrets" and "Dangerous Catch" address threats to our water supply and the oceans, and the producers challenge us to "find out how we all can make a difference."

Their website offers tools so you can make a difference  --from buying seafood certified by the Marine Stewardship Council to using one of our Seafood Watch pocket guides when you shop for fish.

Check it out & tell your friends. The planet we save is, after all, our own.

Sherman's SOS for Sharks

Jim Toomey and his Sherman's Lagoon comic strip are huge allies for the oceans. (Also darn funny as a comic strip, if you haven't checked it out before.)

Now he's asking for your help on behalf of real-world conservation of sharks. It's a chance to do good, and show off your own talents as an artist.

Here's Jim's request -- and ours as well:

This Sunday, April 20, I have devoted my color Sunday Sherman’s Lagoon comic strip to creating awareness and public interest in saving sharks from extinction.

Recent populations studies done by numerous independent marine biologists confirm that many species of large sharks – from great whites to hammerheads to tiger sharks – are being overfished to the point that only 5% of their historic populations remain.  Here in the U.S., we have taken the initiative to put limits on shark fishing in our waters, but they are still inadequate.

This fall, shark catch limits are going to be reevaluated by scientists, and the Nation Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is going to seek to establish more stringent catch limits.  The U.S. regulations may well set an international precedent, which is badly needed, since most of the overfishing is now happening in unregulated international waters. 

We have a chance to show NMFS that the public does indeed care about sharks, that they aren’t considered pests but a vital part of nature.  Please take a look at the attached cartoon and print it and mail it in if you want to participate in this public awareness effort.

Dr. James Balsiger, director of NMFS, is aware of this campaign and is actually looking forward to a heavy response as a way to point out to the fishing communities and regulatory bodies that this is an issue the the public cares about.  Please help him make that point, which could go a long way toward creating much-needed regulations, not only in U.S. waters but around the world.

Thanks for your attention. Sincerely, Jim Toomey

So, please join in. Click on the image above, print out the larger pop-up version and send in your artwork. The address is included on the strip. You'll never have more fun standing up for sharks!

If you want to do more, sign up for Monterey Bay Aquarium's Ocean Action Team. (If you're already a member, encourage your friends to join.)

To find more more about the threats facing sharks, we have information here. Our friends at WildAid also have great information about shark conservation -- and they've launched a series of celebrity PSAs tied to the 2008 Beijing Olympics to encourage protection of wildlife in the oceans and on land. (Check out Olympic swimmer Amanda Beard's segment on behalf of sharks.)   

Film Friday: How to feed a white shark

Here's a great new video we just posted on our website and on YouTube. 

Just how do you feed a white shark? Do they like finger food?

Find out the answers and watch as our juvenile male chows down on his sustainable snack of the day.

Remember, if you want to be sustainable as a white shark, check out our Seafood Watch website at www.seafoodwatch.org

Learn more about where our white shark is today.

White Shark Phones Home

We've been fortunate at Monterey Bay Aquarium to exhibit three juvenile white sharks since 2004, each for a period of a few months. In each case, we returned the young sharks to the wild (equipped with tracking tags). And in each case, they survived and thrived.

The third release took place on February 5. The only difference is that this shark is carrying a Smart Position Only Tag (SPOT tag) that beams in his position via satellite every time his dorsal fin breaks the surface.

In just 44 days, he's traveled from Monterey Bay to Mexican waters just off the coast of Mazatlán.

It's exciting stuff, because it took the second shark we released 90 days to get just as far south as Cabo San Lucas, at the southern tip of Baja California.

It's also exciting because anyone and everyone can check the shark's position, in nearly real time, on the web. Just log onto the Tagging of Pacific Predators site (or link there from our site) and click on the Juvenile White Shark link.

In addition to the three sharks released from our Outer Bay exhibit, we've also worked with research partners to tag a dozen other juvenile white sharks in southern California waters. Since so little is known about their life history as juveniles, this is filling a huge void in the science.

And a better understanding of the movements of young white sharks in the ocean is essential if we want to protect them at this critical stage in their lives.

Where will the shark go next: Farther south? Up into the Sea of Cortez? Log in and find out.

Sharks Attacked

Despite our innate fear of sharks, they have far more to fear from us, than we of them. On average two or three people die from shark encounters each year. Scientists estimate that as many as one hundered million sharks may die each year as a result of interactions with us: targeted by shark fishermen for their fins, accidentally caught and killed by other fisheries, and by sport fishermen or trophy hunters.

One hundred million sharks per year equates to three sharks dying every second of every day. Sharks are slow to grow, slow to reach sexual maturity and produce few offspring. How can they keep up with this hunt? The answer quite simply is, they cannot.

A new report published by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) finds that many more sharks are now considered to be at risk of extinction. New to the list is a shark close to our hearts at the Monterey Bay Aquarium - the scalloped hammerhead. You can find this graceful shark, a visitor favorite, in our Outer Bay waters exhibit.

This shark species (and eight others) will be added to the IUCN's red list in 2008. The scalloped hammerhead population is estimated to have declined by a staggering 99% and will be listed as "globally endangered" due to overfishing and the high demand for shark fins. 126 other sharks are already listed as threatened by these factors.

What can I do to help?

·         Follow the recommendations of the Seafood Watch regional pocket guides to find the best choices for healthy oceans.

·        Avoid eating shark and shark fin soup.

·         Avoid products containing shark liver oil and shark cartilage.  Look for shark-free alternatives, such as chondroitin from bovine sources.

·         Avoid buying shark souvenirs such as teeth and jaws, unless they are replicas or fossils.

·        Support legislation that prevents overfishing and encourages fisheries managers to consider whole ecosystems, rather than focusing exclusively on fish “stocks”.