Ocean News

A Dubious Detection As part of an ongoing collaborative research project, scientists have been tracking the movements of smalltooth sawfish using passive acoustic telemetry. As the name may suggest, instead of actively following a sawfish around, data are…

Oceanics across oceans from the Maldives to Mexico The study into the population of oceanic manta rays in the Maldives I am working on is still somewhat in its infancy, so when I was offered the opportunity to…

Whale sharks are the largest member of the shark family and the largest fish in the world. Weighing up to 20 tonnes, they can grow up to 14 m long – that’s as long as a school bus! However, these pelagic animals do not evoke the same fearful reaction in…

It’s against every instinct of the human body to not breathe, but that is exactly what you train yourself to do when you’re freediving. I’m from Canada, so my first attempt at freediving was in the cold clear…

Welcome to The Whole Tooth! A new series where Isla gets your ocean questions answered by experts. Our first episode is all about sharks – want to know how old they can get, or if they’re immune to…

Public outreach is a crucial component of our project that’s investigating the use of Tampa Bay by smalltooth sawfish.  Outreach and education are necessary to effectively educate the public about endangered smalltooth sawfish, discourage illegal practices, and promote…

Shark Biology and Conservation Essentials for Educators, Students, and Enthusiasts by Daniel C. Abel and R. Dean Grubbs, with contributions from Tristan Guttridge and published by Johns Hopkins University Press. Shark Biology and Conservation is a new book about sharks aimed at communicating shark science in a meaningful and unintimidating…

Fieldwork has been challenging lately. Lots of us are facing false starts. We fundraise, plan for trips, prepare gear, book travel, get swabbed for COVID19 tests, and generally wrestle lots of moving pieces into place. Then coronavirus redirects…

Batoids – commonly known as rays – are notoriously difficult to identify morphologically to species level; just look at how many taxonomic reshuffles have taken place within this superorder. It’s virtually impossible to identify a ray from just…

Evidence of social connections in basking shark behaviour? Basking sharks, the second-largest sharks in our seas, continue to amaze scientists as we learn more about their lives. These enormous, filter-feeding sharks made headlines in 2018 for their ability to breach clear of the water’s surface, making acrobatic leaps thought only…

There are many sources of plastic in our oceans, including the mountains of single-use plastic created in western societies, and lost and abandoned fishing gear. But far more insidious is the problem of microfibres, and it’s one that very few people are aware of. A recently published study has revealed…

Scientists devise conservation plan for angel sharks in the Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea By their very nature, angel sharks are not exactly the scene-stealing sharks of the seas. Camouflaged ambush predators that lie in wait for their prey, they settle subtly onto the sandy seafloor along shallow coastal…