Semporna, Malaysia is home to many species of shark, from the extremely rare and elusive Borneo and hammerhead shark to the largest fish in the sea, the graceful whale shark.

A local group of conservationists and divers are petitioning the local state government to set up a Semporna Shark Sanctuary, which would cover some 83 islands, including the world renowned diving haven of Sipadan and its neighbouring Mabul island. Mabul-based divemaster and campaigner Oliver Ostick tells us that:

If we get 10,000 signatures then we can go to the government and have a great chance of succeeding.

Nearly 6,000 people have already signed the petition, so if you’re interested then please show your support! The initiative also has a Facebook page.

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Fishing nations at this year’s International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) meeting have adopted protections for silky sharks, but failed to take action to protect porbeagle sharks and to strengthen the ICCAT ban on shark finning.

In a press release following the meeting held in Istanbul, SOSF-funded Shark Advocates International reports that:

For the second time, an EU proposal to protect porbeagle sharks failed due to opposition from Canada, the only Party with a targeted fishery for the species. Belize, Brazil, and the US were unsuccessful in their third attempt to strengthen the ICCAT finning ban by replacing the current fin to carcass weight ratio limit with a prohibition on removing fins at sea. China, Japan, and South Africa spoke in opposition to the measure.

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The Taiwan Fisheries Agency has announced that it will impose a ban on shark finning – the practice of slicing off the animal’s fins on-board and then throwing away the body at sea – next year, and mandate that sharks are landed with their fins attached. The move comes days after the Pew Environment Group published a series of photos exposing the sheer scale of the shark fin trade in Taiwan, which show fins and body parts of vulnerable shark species – including the scalloped hammerhead and oceanic whitetip – being prepared for the markets.

The new regulations are a step in the right direction, but, as Pew’s Matt Rand pointed out, they only mandate that the sharks are returned to port with fins attached – they do not address the larger problem of large-scale shark overfishing that is threatening many species of these slow-maturing animals:

“Unfortunately, since there are no limits on the number of these animals that can be killed in the open ocean, this activity can continue unabated,” Pew’s Matt Rand said in a statement. “This strip-mining of the world’s sharks is clearly unsustainable.”

National Geographic has a story on this, and more information can…

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SOSF-sponsored marine podcast Naked Oceans is back for a second series, with this month’s episode focusing on life and death in the ancient seas. Listen in to learn about how life emerged from the oceans – and how it almost came to an end, as well as what the past can tell us about the future of life in the seas. As always, you can download the episodes for free at the Naked Oceans website or on iTunes.

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The prestigious Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival concluded last week, and we’re proud to announce that The Riddle Solvers: The Shark Riddle won the award for best children’s program! The program was co-produced by Sisbro Studios and Save Our Seas Foundation.

The Shark Riddle follows the a brother/sister riddle solving team on an adventure through the pages of a magical journal to solve a mysterious riddle about shark teeth. Meet a raucous group of singing sea lions, experience the underwater game show Are You a Shark?, hear a shark lullaby and discover the powerful and magnificent world of sharks. Featuring high-definition footage of 20 different shark species from around the world, this charming and hilarious look at the ocean’s top predators has received ‘two fins up’ from sharks everywhere.

Have a look at The Shark Riddle project page for more information. Congratulations, Laura and Robert!

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A few days ago, the government of the Marshall Islands passed fishing regulations that have created the world’s largest shark sanctuary. The sanctuary covers nearly 2 million square kilometers of the Pacific ocean, extending the global area where sharks are protected to roughly 4.6 million square kilometers. The move follows a similar sanctuaries created recently in Honduras, the Maldives, the Bahamas, Tokelau and Palau, where SOSF project leader Tova Harel-Bornowski played a major role in the creation of the world’s first shark sanctuary.

Key provisions of the new bill include complete prohibition of commercial shark fishing and the sale or possession of shark products, enforced by fines of up to US $200,000 for anyone found in violation of these prohibitions.

The BBC reports that “the Marshallese government has worked on the plan with advisors from the Pew Environment Group, the US-based organisation that identified archipelago nations as providing big marine conservation “wins” because of the vast scale of their territorial waters.” Pew have an interactive map online with the regions around the world that have implemented shark protection measures in their waters.

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The recent shark incident in Cape Town, South Africa, has again catapulted the relationship between people and sharks into the public eye. In light of the recent attention, we have published two articles examining the subject in-depth:

The first is by SOSF project leader Christopher Neff, which looks at the shark bite prevention system Cape Town has in place, and its effectiveness. Praising the effectiveness of the system (the beach was closed at the time of the incident) Chris writes:

The City of Cape Town and local residents should be proud to have the earliest-early warning system in the world, with scientists tracking sharks at sea. Cape Town also has the best-trained beach spotters in the world, who also provide emergency first-aid, and who in this case saved Mr. Cohen’s life. And Fish Hoek should be proud of its brave community members, who risked their lives to save a stranger. This is a story of success done courageously.

While no system is perfect in an always-active beach ecosystem, this three-pronged approach serves as a global model for other beach locations. In all, telling this total story is important because shark bite incidents are a tragedy for individuals and…

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