Oxygen Depletion and Sharks - The Myth

Like Da Shark I recently watched a series of shark conservation videos featuring filmmaker Jonathan Ali Khan in Sharkquest Arabia.

Great stuff for the most part and compelling watching, except for one glaring factoid that gets pasted into the film and almost ruins the message.

Folks, if we lose all the oceans sharks we will not run out of the worlds Oxygen.

Seriously.

How this factoid ever got into the broad based conservation messaging for sharks remains a mystery. Call it a case of too many shark centric people wanting to save sharks and not checking in with their facts or even bothering to question the obvious.

But check we must, otherwise those who regurgitate said factoids look like conservation village idiots when up against those in power who can effect change and who may be slightly more informed.

Let's do away with this unsupported line of reason as the facts about shark conservation are horrific and compelling enough without the addition of Fox News style gotcha shark headlines:

With 92% of our living biosphere being aquatic, almost 80% of our planet’s air is generated by the algae and microscopic phytoplankton that are found in the sea. Many thousands of fish species and other marine organisms feed on phytoplankton and algae. Sharks on the other hand prey on the fish that feed on plankton; right up through to the top of the food chain. So if we remove the sharks, as we are systematically doing at an unsustainable rate of over 70 million sharks a year, then it leaves the plankton feeders free of predation and free to gobble up the main source of our planet’s main oxygen supply!

Therefore, it is in our interest to maintain a healthy source of oxygen and air, if we want to keep on breathing!

And watch this film, like we said aside from this small part, it is a tribute to sharks and the entire team should be congratulated:

1000 Over in Scotland - Conservation in Action

We have been big fans for the past couple of years of The Scottish Shark Tagging Programme (SSTP).

SSTP celebrated a milestone last week with the 1000th shark tagged and released in regional waters. It was this unhappy looking fellow who did the catching.

Seriously, this is a 1000th tagged shark victory smile?

The you read on and discover he's from Amsterdam, that explains it.

We digress.

Kudos to the entire effort over at SSTP and for the new website, looking good, helping sharks.

Changes to Fisheries Laws - Florida

An extraordinary and diverse group of conservationists, divers, and shark people banded together to effect a change in shark fisheries along the coasts of Florida this year. Kudos to the effort.

We got the final synopsis from Guy Harvey this week:

On December 10^th, the Florida Wildlife Commission approved new measures aimed at protecting several distressed shark populations in Florida state waters. Beginning in mid-January 2010, the harvesting of sandbar, silky and Caribbean sharpnose sharks is prohibited within state waters. These species are either currently being overfished or are in danger of being overfished.

In addition, the FWC implemented several other protective measures, including 1) the prohibition against the removal of shark heads and tails at sea, 2) a rule allowing for only hook-and-line gear to harvest sharks and 3) the establishment of a minimum fork length on several shark species.

Another encouraging development at the Dec. 10^th meeting was the proposal of a rule that would prohibit both recreational and commercial harvest of lemon sharks from state waters. Lemon sharks are especially vulnerable to overfishing, so conservationists – including representatives of the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation – have been lobbying the FWC for some time to adopt more aggressive protective measures for lemons. The FWC will hold one more public meeting on this proposal before putting it to a final vote.

All in all, the Dec 10^th meeting of the FWC was a great day for shark conservation efforts in the state of Florida. Many thanks to the FWC for taking a leadership role in the protection of our marine ecosystems!

For more information about the new rules, and to view the presentations on shark management and lemon sharks that were used at the meeting, see the official FWC press release published on the FWC web site.

Cheers!

Additional in depth look into Florida shark fisheries here from the Paxton Blog.

Blue Bloggers Welcome Sean Paxton

"Juggling sharks, chainsaws and bowling balls is a personal metaphor adopted for my life and all the opportunity and challenge that makes it worthwhile. In reality, sharks do consume large portions of my time and energy, but it's the connected totality of the world's wild parts that fuels a passion for their long-term sustainability. Dull moments be damned. Here's a stout cocktail of adventure and wildlife; of risk and reward, and an exploration of how it all ties together in some of the strangest ways imaginable. If so much of this wasn't from personal experience, I probably wouldn't believe me, either."

Thus introduced, welcome to the newest addition of the Blue Blogosphere - Sean Paxton

Who are the Blue Bloggers?

As I have come to know them they are thinkers, innovators, trend setters, and conservation gurus. They are those who see things in all shades and beyond the horizon, they are the ones who shape current conservation issues, and sometimes move mountains.

For those who have not yet met the Blue Bloggers, you'll see their work in the shaping of ideas and conservation thought, in new websites, new media direction, and changes in old behavior.

The conservation world needs independent and controversial thoughts, smart ideas and conservation direction.

This is Sean Paxton.

If you were hoping for a dull assortment of "daily blarf", this blog is not for you. If you were hoping for something that challenges, enrages, and inspires, you came to the right place.

Sit back. Set your amps to 11 and please ensure your seat back tables are in the upright position...welcome to SeanPaxton.com

PETA Schizophrenic Messaging for Sharks

A few months ago we had a few things to say about the ill conceived and ill timed PETA Shark Week campaign featuring this image.

This week PETA announced a pro shark campaign in Florida to coincide with annual shark migrations and the negative hyper media that usually follows in it's wake.

This smart media tactic piggybacks on a natural shark event and effectively allows PETA to insert it's messaging into the local conversation.

Singer Island, Fla. -- The annual migration of hundreds of sharks off the South Florida coast has prompted PETA to create a pro-shark banner that will fly over Singer Island's beaches on Saturday from 12 noon to 3 p.m.The banner, which reads, "Sharks Aren't the Only Predators. GoVegetarian!," is part of PETA's campaign to raise awareness about the plight of sea animals who are killed for food.
Every year, more than 50 million sharks and billions of other sea animals are killed and consumed by humans, while sharks killed fewer than a dozen people last year.

PETA wants those who are concerned about predators in the water to think about the terror and pain that sharks experience as they bleed to death after their fins are hacked off to be made into "delicacies" such as shark-fin soup and shark steak. Many species of shark and other fish have been decimated by overfishing. According to an international team of scientists, 29 percent of fish species have "collapsed," or declined by 90 percent.

"Sharks are much more likely to be attacked by humans than the other way around," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "The most dangerous predators of all can be found lined up at the all-you-can-eat seafood buffet."

For more information, please click here.