Diving in the Med? Let us know if you see a mermaid purse!

Are you a dive master working in the Med? Or are you taking your diving holidays in this little-known diving paradise (it is, trust me)?

Then pls keep your eyes peeled and if you see a mermaid purse – those large, white eggs that nursehound sharks lay on red seafans – please let us know.

The nursehound – Scyliorhinus stellaris – is a species we don’t know much about – but we know that in many areas of the Med it has declined so much it almost vanished.
Scientists are trying to get more information; the IUCN is concerned that it may indeed qualify for the infamous “threatened” status. So any info we can get is very important.

And divers can provide a vital information: where they see the eggs – the special areas where this shark has its babies.

So – next time you see a mermaid purse, please fill in this form (in Italian) or send us an email at info [at] medsharks.org including where (dive site and area), at what depth, how many eggs and what they were attached to – and if you saw a nursehound shark in the dive too.

If you’re a photographer, take pictures – and if you dive regularly in the area, you might take pixes over the weeks – we could track together the growth of the baby shark.
But please always remember that inside the egg there’s a baby who’s delicate – so don’t touch or collect the ogg, OK?

thanks so much – and if you’re on Facebook, “like” our page!