Ocean News

No, its not the name for an x-rated movie as it might sound (actually, it probably is somewhere in the world), but rather a description of the marine life we spent our morning with. We’re running short on days here in Eleuthera, and we need images and video of sharks…

I told you about the two pop-up tags I attached to bull sharks in Fiji earlier this year and that were prematurely lost by both sharks, but did not uplink to the satellites for unknown reasons. Well, at least one of them started transmitting after being "lost" for almost two months!…

That’s, Crime Scene Investigation; Cape Eleuthera Institute. This morning, the body of a bull shark was found in a local marina. Unfortunately, this is not the first time this has happened here at CEI, but strangely enough the last time it happened was when I was last here (I had…

So we’ve hit the ground running here in Eleuthra. On our first day we went out to sea to film one aspect of the shark research project here; long lining. The words long-lining normally have very negative connotations, but this type of long-lining is an essential part of shark research.  It…

So, its time for the next part of our journey. We’re now in back in Palm Beach, and we’re going to be heading back to a different part of the Bahamas tomorrow. I know what you’re thinking, why didn’t we just stay in the Bahamas rather than coming back to…

The basic concept of pop-up satellite tagging is straightforward. However, many things can happen to a tag attached to a free-ranging animal. Often, pop-up tags detach prematurely. Most tags are equipped with a so-called emergency and/or constant pressure release mechanism. For example, if the tagged animal dives below a certain depth…

It would not be possible gather images and video footage of sharks (which are essential tools in marine conservation) without exceptional individuals who have made it their life’s work to understand these animals; their behaviour, movements, and habitats. Jim Abernethy is one of these few individuals. I meet a lot…

So we’re nearing the end of our time here on the MV Shearwater, we’re currently heading back to towards land after our final day with the hammerheads. Conditions have turned pretty nasty now, there’s a mean looking weather system heading our way, so we’re lucky to get the conditions we…

A quick  update from ‘edge of the map’. We had better luck with the hammerheads today. Once the first shark turned up, and was suitably relaxed and comfortable with the presence of the boat, we started kitting up. Myself and Tom decided to take turns in the water today, to…

SOSF supported scientist Jason Hall-Spencer featured on Euronews disussing his work on ocean acidification. Click here to watch.

The hammerheads were being temperamental today. They gave us lots of their time yesterday, so perhaps they just they didn’t want the novelty to wear off for us. Maybe I’m reading too much into it (maybe I’ve spent too much time at sea looking for sharks). Whatever the reason is,…

An article just released on the BBC’s news website, states that the Maldives has just become the first nation in its region to completely outlaw the fishing of reef sharks. The article highlights that while a previous moratorium had banned shark hunting on the 7 "tourist" atolls, this new ban covers…

So, Day 1. Our first day at ‘edge of the map’. I awoke this morning in the Bahamas; we left the dock in Florida at around midnight, and after a short wait to clear Bahamian customs this morning, we were heading towards the secret dive spot; edge of the map.…

Today I was interviewed by a film crew from Brazil who are assisting Sea Shepherd, Brazil with a campaign film they are making to raise awareness about the need to conserve the sharks of Brazil. According to Ana Paula and her husband Tony, there are practically no sharks left and…

It is something that’s been covered by SOSF before, but it remains the issue that is often overlooked when headlines warning of rising CO2 levels hit the media: ocean acidification. Ocean acidification happens when CO2 from the atmosphere is absorbed by our oceans (which a large chunk of it is). CO2…