Spring 2020

Shark Research Institute Global Headquarters PO Box 40 • Princeton, NJ 08542 • USA • Phone: 609-921-3522 • www..org

Djibouti Whale Expedition 2019 by Jennifer V. Schmidt, Ph.D, Director of Research

Whale sharks are difficult to observe and study. These large filter-feeding sharks are pelagic animals, and the adults are thought to spend their time on the open ocean far from land. The observation that juvenile whale sharks aggregate to feed at certain coastal sites first made it possible for planned scientific expeditions to be organized to study whale sharks. Most research today is conducted on the more than 20 known aggregation sites around the world. One of these aggregations is in the Gulf of , 2019 group aboard the M/Y Deli. off the of Djibouti, . Juvenile whale sharks gather here to feed between November and February of each year, and with collaborators from the Marine Conservation Society Seychelles, Sharkwatch Arabia, and the University of Insubria, I have been traveling to Djibouti each boreal winter to monitor these animals.

The Djibouti whale shark aggregation is somewhat unique, even among the juvenile groupings. Djibouti attracts the smallest of these giant sharks, very young animals averaging three to five meters with some sharks as small as two meters. While they are the youngest whale sharks seen at aggregations, these are not newborns; a two-meter shark is perhaps one to two years of age. This is in contrast to aggregations such as that in the Mexican , where the average shark size is six to eight meters. The young ages of the Djibouti sharks illustrates the importance of studying this aggregation, and the many important questions it poses. Where do these young animals come from when they migrate to Djibouti? Why do such small animals predominate in the ? Where do the sharks go when they leave each February?

This past December I spent two weeks on the Gulf of Tadjoura studying whale sharks. With my research partners, David Robinson and Ginevra Boldrocchi, we filled our chartered ship with members of the shark- loving public. This is a working for our guests, and the expedition participants function as research assistants to help study the whale sharks. The second week of the expedition carried 11 Shark Research Institute members, a truly international group from five countries.

After a night recovering from long flights and getting our bearings in Djibouti City, each group boarded the M/Y Deli, a 26-meter Turkish gulet that has been our temporary research home for many Djibouti seasons. With a skilled crew of six, the Deli is a fully-equipped IN THIS ISSUE: Djibouti Expedition 15 , but has an undeniable old-world charm. Bahamas 16 We left port for the three-hour trip to our first Conversation about Conservation 3 Sardine Run 17 Vanishing Sawfish 4 SA Photo Expedition 18 anchorage at Ras Eiro, in the Gulf of Tadjoura, and Kids’ Corner 8 SA Training Courses 18 would spend the week moving the ship to different Thank you Jeff Miller 9 Warning Flags 19 Bookshelf 10 Shark Shop 20 areas of the Gulf as we searched for whale sharks. HQ News 11 Internships 20 This year we found most sharks in the western Lesley Rochat by Emma Claisse 12 Journal Articles 21 Events 13 Our Supporters 26 Continued on page 2 Expeditions 14 Volume 29, No. 1 Page 2

portion of the Gulf, the Bay of Ghoubet, and we spent the majority of our time in this area.

Our goals this season were to place several satellite tags on the whale sharks, to allow the animals to be tracked for six months or more by satellite. We also planned to continue the long-term photo- identification population monitoring project, which uses the whale sharks’ own spot patterns as unique identifiers. Additionally, we would take plankton samples to continue an ongoing study of the feeding opportunities that are believed to bring whale sharks to the Gulf of Tadjoura. This was a challenging year in Djibouti. An unprecedented two weeks of rain in this desert country had washed large amounts of silt from the volcanic hills into the Gulf of Tadjoura, blocking light and causing the plankton web to collapse. Although the plankton began to recover as the rain ended, and this recovery continued during our two weeks on the Gulf, whale shark numbers remained the lowest I have seen. Our first day of tagging nonetheless began with a burst of sharks–four animals were tagged in the first two days of the first week of the expedition. Working in the Bay of Ghoubet at the western end of the Gulf of Tadjoura, three fin-mounted SPOT tags and one Whale shark wearing a fin- tethered MiniPAT tag were deployed on four whale sharks. mounted SPOT tag.

The second week of the expedition was devoted to relocating the tagged sharks to monitor the integrity of the tags, to photo-identification of the entire Djibouti shark population, and to plankton studies. In addition to research activities, the Djibouti expedition provides ample free time for participants to dive or the pristine reefs of the Gulf of Tadjoura, or just to relax aboard the ship.

SPOT tags begin transmitting their position immediately upon activation, while MiniPAT tags follow a programmed release time to detach from the shark and upload their stored data. Each tag type has disadvantages and advantages, and we chose a combination of methods to allow for immediate updates during the season, then more extensive data in the future. Satellite track of Max, a five-meter juvenile male whale shark who migrated from the Gulf One of the SPOT tags came off the shark shortly after of Tadjoura to the . placement; that tag was retrieved and can be redeployed next year. Two of the SPOT tags currently remain with the sharks and are signaling their positions as they migrate. These two animals have done entirely different things! One shark, Byron, a four-meter male, remains in the Bay of Ghoubet, feeding in the very area where he was tagged. The other shark, Max, a five-meter male, left the Gulf of Tadjoura within days of tagging and moved quickly into the Red Sea. We know that some whale sharks move between the Djibouti and Red Sea aggregations, and a few animals have been photo-identified in both places. This represents the first time we have been able to watch a shark make this journey, however, and it was exciting to see how quickly he migrated between sites.

We speculate that the lack of food in the Gulf of Tadjoura may have motivated Max to look for better feeding grounds, while Byron chose to take his chances with the recovering plankton of the Gulf. We anticipate months of additional data from Byron and Max, as their tags allow us to observe the behaviors individual animals perform and the decisions they make.

If you would like to join the next Djibouti Whale Shark Expedition in December 2020 please see our website at https://www.sharks.org/expeditions , or contact expedition leader Jennifer Schmidt at [email protected]. Volume 29, No. 1 Page 3

A Conversation About Conservation

By Taylor Neisen, SRI International Conservation Director I recently returned home from a volunteer medical trip to Sierra Leone, . With no medical background, I was enlisted to help with a wide variety of tasks. Although this wasn’t a marine-related trip, I became acutely aware of the water conditions around me. My main project during the trip was to test drinking water for coliforms using an Aquagenx Test. I took samples of the drinking water from several remote villages, bottled water, sinks, and wells. I repeated each test from each source three times. To my astonishment, almost every source tested positive for E. coli, including the bottled water I had been drinking.

At the medical clinic where I volunteered, many of the patients were sick from waterborne illnesses. I realized the patients would continue to seek medical attention for the same illnesses until something was done about the water and sanitation systems. The more time I spent there and the more I learned and listened, the more I realized that safe water was only one of the many serious issues they are facing.

Sierra Leone is a beautiful country, rich in natural resources. It has been plagued with corruption, war, poverty, and famine. I witnessed firsthand the injustices citizens face every day. Working at the medical clinic, I saw people dying from preventable illnesses. I sat with children as they begged for food. I found dangerous contaminants in almost every water source I tested. I wondered what could be done and where to begin.

On my last few days of the trip, I traveled to a beach town to relax and swim before heading home. I was excited to get in the ocean until I saw the garbage. As third-world countries enter the developing world, plastic and packaged foods become more accessible and prevalent. I was not surprised to find the beaches littered with garbage in a country without a proper sanitation system. This is a common theme I have found in many developing countries I’ve visited. With nowhere to put the garbage, it fills our beaches and oceans.

In 2015, the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which included 17 sustainable development goals. Number 14 on that list is Life Below Water. Its goal is to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development. It isn’t any surprise that No Poverty, Zero Hunger, Good Health and Well-being, Quality Education, and Clean Water and Sanitation all come before ocean conservation on the UN’s 2030 Agenda.

As we enter 2020, I am reflecting on the 2030 goal with a heavy but hopeful heart. I wonder what can be done in developing countries to start the conversation about conservation. Many of the Sierra Leonean people I met didn’t have access to proper shelter, adequate food, clean water, education, or basic healthcare. Why should they care about protecting life below water? How can we convince people to care about things they cannot see? To take care of our oceans, I believe we must first start by taking care of our people.

Volume 29, No. 1 Page 4

Vanishing Sawfish - Searching for Shadows on the Amazon by Dave Grant – Conservation Director "Do not tell fish stories where the people know you. Particularly, don't tell them where they know the fish." Mark Twain

The sawfish is one of the most outlandish elasmobranchs and unsurprisingly, its scientific moniker, Pristis , is from the Greek for “saw.” The sawfish is a ray, not to be confused with a sawshark (order Pristiophoriformes). Globally, it is the most threatened marine (and sometimes freshwater) fish, so this past winter, when the opportunity presented itself to collaborate with other organizations prorecting it, I did not hesitate to plan a trip up the Amazon River.

A sawfish is the real crowd-pleaser at public aquariums, but can be an unusual addition to collections and difficult to acquire since its legal harvest and export is only permitted in . My first exposure to this peculiar creature was a gift from a student who participates in historical reenactments. The 20-inch rostrum of a small-tooth sawfish, Pristis pectinata, was being used as a mock weapon at a Renaissance Fair event.

Sawfish are bottom feeders and their saw is the perfect adaptation for sensing prey via electroreceptors while sweeping muddy sediments to harvest small fishes, crustaceans, and other benthic invertebrates that make up their diet. The Amazon River is one of the siltiest, and as I discovered while , visibility is abysmal.

I have also seen sawfish rostra in taverns and bait shops in beach towns in Florida, Louisiana, and Texas, where they were once much more common. Occasionally, they can also be found displayed as curios in shell shops. Of the seven species worldwide, all are critically endangered and listed on CITES Appendix I. Two vulnerable species: small-tooth sawfish, Pristis pectinata, and the large-tooth sawfish, Pristis pristis , linger in ranges that once spread across the Western Atlantic between São Paulo, Brazil and New York.

Besides natural threats like crocodiles, sharks, and red , sawfish are threatened throughout their ranges from human activities including: habitat alteration, commercial exploitation, and as by-catch in the shrimping industry. Throughout the world’s tropical and sub-tropical estuaries, sawfish populations have plunged during the last century.

The Amazon is the world’s largest river, but one of the least studied. Increasingly, it is impacted by human activities. Large and small-scale fisheries exist throughout the river basin and commercial development along the shores is expanding rapidly. My excitement Amazon River Basin Volume 29, No. 1 Page 5

about exploring the cultural environment and rain forest was tempered at crowded, commercial ports between Belem on the Atlantic coast and Manaus, over 800-miles upriver. Also, I was alerted beforehand by reports from earlier fishery researchers: the scarcity of records does not totally reflect the distribution and abundance in the historically or today, as scientific collecting and fishery data- gathering in the area has been and continues to be extremely poor owing to the logistical difficulty, the nature of artisanal fishing, and the vast expanse of land and water subjected to highly variable seasonal flow regimes. Regardless, armed with images of “katana” (rostrum) and peixe-serra (fish-saw), and a Portuguese dictionary, I was eager to venture upriver.

To me, the sawfish looks like a creature designed by a committee that had serious issues agreeing on details. At over 20-feet, a sawfish looks fearsome, but except for its splendid saw-like rostrum, it is considered inoffensive to humans. However, when sawfish are thrashing sideways to escape entanglement and because their harvest is illegal, fishermen sometimes cut off the “saw” to simplify its safe and efficient release from nets, as well as to keep a trophy of their encounter. The survival rate of such mutilated individuals is not known, but it is likely low since the rostrum is not simply an ornament on the fish in these murky waters.

Fortuitously for me, the best time to get off the river and search for fish in local markets is early in the morning. As to be expected on the equator, the heat is oppressive, especially away from the coast. Although this was the dry season, the high humidity is a harbinger of thunderstorms in the afternoon, so that time of day is much better suited for tourist endeavors like side trips up tributaries with locals in small boats.

I was surprised and delighted to see warning posters from the State of Amazonas prominently displayed at markets. These help regulate fishing seasons and areas, and exhibit a number of other protected giant fish species like the pirarucu and aruan ā. Despite notable management and enforcement efforts, sawfish are taken primarily as bycatch by fishermen A local merchant assists the search on the river. for sawfish.

For such an impressive animal, it’s not surprising that sawfishes have attracted the attention of humans throughout the tropics. Some cultures believe that the sawfish has a spirit that can protect them, as I learned from the Kuna Indians while on the San Blas Islands in Panama. As a result, the rostrum is sometimes seen as an amulet. In Amazonas, the small rostra of juveniles end up as local , whereas large ones from adults may command hundreds of dollars in Asian markets, along with the fins. Individual teeth are fashioned into leg spurs used in cock-fighting. Others Entangled sawfish landed by fishermen. become religious objects, and in some societies, http://ecowb.org/project-amazon-megafish-migration ground-up teeth have been used medicinally as a supposed cure for asthma. The teeth are also reported from archaeological sites, so their human history as tools and ornaments is no recent phenomenon.

Enforcement to regulate the commerce in katana may be limited, but the word is out among fishmongers and dealers. When I enquired about sawfishes at fish markets and other sites, the Volume 29, No. 1 Page 6 response was instantaneous, and left no doubt that people were aware that they should not be handling sawfishes or body parts. Perusing tourist shops that sell so-called indigenous art, I found shopkeepers were spring-loaded for my questions. Even at roadside stands, where hundreds of native fishes are dried and mounted for sale to tourists. Vendors are quick to deny that they ever see or sell katana or fins. Dried Piranhas and aruan ās for sale in the tourist shops These responses and results are good news for the survival of these magnificent fishes. Protection efforts may be working, and hopefully indicate that populations can be sustained here, especially since, like other members of the group, they are slow to reproduce, and take decades to mature and recover from over-fishing.

Regrettably, it is unlikely that most people will ever see a sawfish in the wild, but large aquariums often house some in their big tanks.

Also, you are welcome to join us in New Jersey when we go stream- walking and sifting for shark teeth. In addition to a variety of fossils, we sometimes recover an ancient tooth from one of these past residents of the New Jersey coast.

Inch-long sawfish tooth from an SRI fossiling field trip Volume 29, No. 1 Page 7 Good, Bad and Mixed News ● On January 9, 2020, Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey signed the bill banning the trade in shark fins throughout the state. Some 80% of New Jersey citizens supported this bill. The time, effort, and passion of dedicated members of SRI, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), The American Littoral Society, and Jenkinson’s Aquarium all worked together tirelessly on this bill and scored a big one for the sharks. https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2020/401

● We urge all SRI members in Florida, or have family and friends in the state, please contact your Representative and Senator to support HB 401 . https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2020/401 “banning the sale of fins is not just good science and the correct moral thing to do, it is also a fantastic thing for Florida’s workforce.” Guy Harvey

● Sharks are still being exterminated at an unprecedented rate. It is estimated that 73 to 100 million sharks are being slaughtered annually; they are being killed faster than they can reproduce. primarily for their fins or as bycatch. The shark fin soup trade is decimating shark populations. Virtually 60% of all shark species are threatened and some shark populations have plummeted by more than 90%. While it is illegal in the U.S. to remove a fin from a live shark, it is not illegal to traffic or trade shark fins in the U.S. As result, the U.S. remains a conduit for fins shipped to Asian markets, more and more states have enacted legislation banning the shark fin trade. Sharks have a vital role in the ocean ecosystem ─the ecosystem that sustains you, me and everyone else on this planet.

On January 24, 2020, approximately 1,400 pounds of shark fins were seized in Miami, Florida. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Office of Law Enforcement was the lead agency for the seizure and Customs and Border Protection officials assisted. The fins, shipped from in 18 boxes and believed headed for , included CITES- listed species and violated the Lacey Act. The shipment, valued at between $700,000 and $1 million, demonstrates why the U.S. Senate needs to pass the federal Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act (S.877) to ban the trade in fins throughout the U.S. If enacted into law, the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act will make it it illegal to possess, buy, sell, or shark fins or any product containing shark fins, except for certain dogfish fins and carry a maximum penalty for each violation of $100,000, or the fair market value of the shark fins Service Wildlife and Fish U.S. Photo: involved, whichever is greater.

Shark fins may be harvested legally in our waters. However, shark fins are also imported into the U.S. from other countries as well transhipments of fins of sharks caught on the high seas, yet NOAA readily admits they are unable to determine if those fins were harvested legally and meet the requirements of U.S. Laws and regulations. Instead of supporting the federal bill and closing the loopholes in previous bills to end US contribution to the global fin market, as many states have already done, Chris Oliver, Assistant Administrator of the National Marine Fisheries Services, apparently now opposes S.877, claiming it would have little impact on the global fin market. SRI strongly disagrees, and asks all our members to contact their senators and urge them to support S.877.

● Thanks to HSUS, animal cruelty is now a felony in all 50 states. The Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act was further strengthened. Now, under PACT, the FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies are able to bring federal felony charges when such acts occur within US federal jurisdiction (including on federal property) or when animals are moved across state lines, or the internet is used as part of a criminal enterprise.

Volume 29, No. 1 Page 8 Kids’ Corner Amanda Martin wrote that her four-year-old daughter is “shark obsessed.” After seeing a shark finning scene in the movie Meg, her daughter wanted to help. She asked that her birthday party have a shark theme and a small fundraiser for SRI. We sent Amanda information about sharks and 30 shark bracelets for the family party. Amanda and guests donated $80 to SRI through Facebook. “ I just wanted to say thank you again for helping us show our daughter that you CAN help, and to never think small amounts don’t matter. I’m attaching some pics. Seriously, we can not thank y’all enough,” Amanda says. Thank you Amanda and the Martin Family for caring about sharks too!

And here are some books we spotted on AmazonSmile.com especially for you … Every item on Amazon.com is also available on smile.amazon.com at the same price, When you shop on AmazonSmile.com, then select Shark Research Institute as your charity, Amazon donates 0.5% of the purchase to Shark Research Institute. Every donation, no matter how small, helps us to protect sharks and the ocean.

Save the Ocean by Bethany Stahl . Ages 0-10, Grade Level P-5. Available at Amazon.com as hardcover, kindle and audio book. Meet a lovable sea turtle named Agwe for a heartwarming lesson about recycling and conservation. This is the first in the Save the Earth Book series which also includes Save the and Save the Bees . Available as hardcover, kindle and audio book.

10 Things I Can Do to Help My World by Melanie Walsh. Ages 3-4. Available in hardcover and paperback. I Love the Earth . These are go-green books that gets kids in the "can-do" spirit by showing them small things they can do to be kinder to the earth and make a big difference. Available in hardcover.

Don't Let Them Disappear by Chelsea Clinton. Illustrated by Gianna Marino. Ages 4-8, Grade Level P-3. The world is filled with millions of animal species, all of them unique and special. Many are on the path to extinction. This book introduces young readers to a selection of endangered animals. It explains what makes them special and also what threatens them. Available in kindle and hardcover.

A World without Fish by Mark Kurlansky. Can you imagine a world without fish? It is as crazy as it sounds. If we keep doing things the way we've been doing things, fish could become extinct within 50 years. So let's change the way we do things! Available as kindle and paperback.

Plastic Sucks by Dougie Poynter. This guide tells how to get involved in the mission to cut out single-use plastic. What a Waste by Jess French . How do our actions affect planet Earth? Do you know that every single plastic toothbrush ever made still exists? Or that there's a floating mass of garbage twice the size of Texas drifting around the . Both are available in hardcover and kindle. Volume 29, No. 1 Page 9 Harry Hawksbill Helps His Friends by Paul J. Mila. Harry the Hawksbill turtle discovers that his angelfish friends aren't getting along because they look different from each other. Harry teaches them they are more alike than they realize. Meanwhile, children also learn about sea life. This is a fun book for beginning self-readers or for parents and children to read together. Available in paperback and kindle.

Gracie Green Turtle Finds Her Beach by Paul J. Mila. Gracie Green Turtle returns to the beach where she was born to make a nest and lay her eggs. However, something is wrong with her chosen beach! She must find a new beach quickly, and Harry Hawksbill is the only sea turtle who can help. Available in paperback and kindle.

Rachel Carson and Her Book That Changed the World by Laurie Lawlor , illustrated by Laura Beingessner . Ages 3-9. Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring, helped shape the modern environmental movement and inspired a generation of readers to get involved in conservation. "Once you are aware of the wonder and beauty of earth, you will want to learn about it," wrote Rachel Carson. Her book mobilized a generation and brought a greater understanding of the impact humans have on our planet. Available in paperback.

The Watcher: Jane Goodall's Life with the Chimps by Jeanette Winter. Jane Goodall is an extraordinary scientist and observer of chimpanzees. The book follows Jane from her childhood in London watching a robin on her windowsill, to her years in the African forests of Gombe, Tanzania, invited by brilliant scientist Louis Leakey to observe chimps, to her worldwide crusade to save these animals. Available in kindle and hardcover.

The Lost Art of Reading Nature's Signs: by Tristan Gooley. Use Outdoor Clues to Find Your Way, Predict the Weather, Locate Water, Track Animals, and Other Forgotten Skills. Available in kindl e, paperback and audio.

The Animal Lover’s Guide to Changing the World , by Stephanie Feldstein. This book belongs on every animal lover's shelf. It is a particularly good book for young people who are on fire to save animals but are unsure where to start. Available in kindle and paperback.

Greta Thunberg: No One is too Small to Make a Difference. In August 2018, 15-year-old Greta Thunberg took a stand to call attention to the climate crisis, inspiring millions of students and governments around the world to action. This book brings you Greta in her own words. It is a collection of her speeches delivered at the United Nations and during mass protests. Greta has become the voice of a generation; her book is a rallying cry for why we must all fight to protect our planet. Available paperback.

Thank You to Jeff Miller

A very special thanks to tattoo artist Jeff Miller. He donated $3 from each shark t-shirt sold to SRI and raised $200. You can meet Jeff and buy one of his shirts at Seven Swords Tattoo, 2580 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and at conventions around the U.S. Volume 29, No. 1 Page 10 Bookshelf Ebert DA and Stehmann, MFW (2013) Sharks, Batoids and Chimaeras of the North Atlantic . FAO Rome 2013. Download at www.fao.org/3/i3178e/i1378e.pdf

In 2013, The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) released a catalogue titled “Sharks, Batoids and Chimaeras of the North Atlantic,” which presented a comprehensive treatment of the identification, taxonomy, distribution, biology, and ecology of the sharks, rays, skates, and chimaeras of the North Atlantic.

The catalogue aimed to facilitate the species-specific identification of cartilaginous fishes occurring in the North Atlantic by scientists, fishery officers, observers, and the interested public. It indicates that in both areas, cartilaginous fishes are caught by target and non- target fisheries and are subject to an extremely high fishing . Most species are vulnerable to overfishing because of their specific biological characteristics, namely slow growth, late maturity, low reproductive potential, and thus low capacity for population recovery.

FAO stresses that such traits limit their capacity to recover from overfishing and it is therefore essential to implement an effective framework for the management of fisheries on sharks, batoids, and chimaeras. In the North Atlantic, the European Community, the U.S. and Canada have adopted Plans of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks that set down measures for the sustainable management of the fisheries concerned. The plans include recommendations to improve species- specific monitoring of catch and landings of cartilaginous fishes.

What You Should Know about Sharks: Shark Language, Social Behavior, Human Interactions, and Life Saving Information by Ocean Ramsey and Juan Oliphant/ Paperback, $29.21 on SmileAmazon.com .

This is a full color version of the bestselling book released earlier in 2019. The book was highly acclaimed and the Images are amazing!

Sharks. Photos by Michael Muller. Text by Jr, Dr. Alison Kock, and Arty Nelson. Hardcover, $32.96 from SmileAmazon.com .

Muller is best known for his portraits of celebrities, but this book is full of his intimate shots of sharks that he seeks to conserve and protect. He photographs the sharks using Hollywood-style lighting, a patented seven-bulb, 1200-watt plexi-encased strobe lighting rig developed with NASA engineering, and no cage.

Muller’s images are spectacular, especially the photograph of a white shark breaching at night. The book is arranged geographically, following Muller’s subjects in South Africa and .

Volume 29, No. 1 Page 11 Around HQ

Lesley Rochat (SRI Media), after attending the NY show and before heading home to South Africa, spent a weekend at HQ to meet some interns, staff and friends.

Mike & Jordyn Vermut, Lesley, Emma, Henry, Ivonne & Paul Claisse Dean Fessler & Lesley

Carolyn & Lesley Emma describing new programs Carolyn Nickels & Lesley discussing new projects

SRI intern, Jordyn Vermut , has created a Powerpoint presentation about sharks for elementary school teachers. To request a copy of the powerpoint via email, contact [email protected]

It has been a long cold winter; now Spring Cleaning is in full swing! Mike Stewart , Dean Fessler and Marie Levine contributed art prints, posters, dive gear, and many boxes of new and used books from their personal collections to SRI for our spring auction. The problem: there are simply too many items for a single auction! We’ve decided to divide the items into categories and have three, possibly more auctions throughout the spring:

1. Shark, fish identification, behavior, and marine aquarium books.

2. books, including historical scuba and dive magazines, and

3. Dive gear, marine art, and posters.

We will send notices of the auction dates via Constant Contact and links into the auctions will be posted on our website when they go live.

Volume 29, No. 1 Page 12 A Conversation with Lesley Rochat by Emma Claisse

Last month, I had the wonderful opportunity of speaking with Lesley Rochat, South African marine and shark conservationist, underwater photographer, journalist, filmmaker, and founder of AfriOceans Conservation Alliance. As a high school student who is dedicated to helping our planet, it was an invaluable experience to hear directly from Lesley Rochat about how she followed her passion and became an activist. She is known for her bold campaigns that promote awareness about issues that affect our oceans, which include captivating underwater photographs that often depict Ms. Rochat surrounded by sharks, trapped in a fishing net, or even on a giant fishing hook.

What influenced you to start working with sharks and ocean conservation? LR: “I had a very special encounter with an extraordinary ragged-tooth shark [also known as the sand or grey nurse shark], and her name was Maxine. She changed my life and I changed hers. She was a catalyst that enabled me to have the courage to pursue my passion for the ocean and my desire to make a contribution towards its conservation, and in particular, to shark conservation. Through meeting her, I packed up my well-paying corporate career and started my non-profit organization. I was also able to get Maxine returned home to the wild, because she was in an aquarium.”

Could you tell me a little more about how you met Maxine and why she had such a significant impact on you? LR: “I was photographing her, as I’m an underwater photographer. I saw that she had a scar around her gills and I had wondered how she got that scar. I was also an environmental journalist, and when I found out about her remarkable life story, I realized then that I had found myself a perfect ambassador to help me raise awareness for the plight of sharks and of the ocean. Through that, I took a couple of years to raise money to start a shark awareness program for which Maxine was the icon and I designed a scientific research project where she was satellite tagged and tracked and returned to the ocean.”

Was getting Maxine released a difficult process? LR: “It was. It took me a good year and a half to get the clear, as they initially did not want to release her. Because of my program, that aquarium no longer keeps sharks in captivity their whole life. They will catch a shark, keep it there for a couple of years, not very long, and then release them. The program started with Maxine’s release, then the other sharks were released after her. We compared the movements of wild sharks versus the captive animals and saw how those animals compared in terms of their movement up and down our coast.”

Do you have a scientific background? LR: “My background more creative. I studied acting and became a professional actress and TV presenter. After that, I went into the insurance industry, and though I was doing very well financially, my passion was definitely not in the corporate world. It was a very hard journey, but I went for my passion and believed the money would follow. I would advise any young person who wants to make a difference in this world to do an environmental science or biology degree as it’ll give you a solid background and help you have credibility when putting yourself out there and speaking to people.”

Talking with Ms. Lesley Rochat about her commitment to raising environmental awareness, she expressed how important she feels it is to be a vocal advocate for the cause if you truly want to make a difference: “You have to become an ambassador if you want to make change. If you’re not prepared to put yourself out there to speak for those who cannot, you’re not going to have as much impact." Volume 29, No. 1 Page 13 UpcomingUpcoming Events Events March 3, 2020: Annual celebration of World Wildlife Day. Venue: Trusteeship Council Chamber, United Nations Headquarters, New York. Time: 10:00am - 12:30pm. https://www.wildlifeday.org/

March 7-8, 2020: Boston Sea Rovers. Venue: DoubleTree by Hilton Boston North Shore, 50 Ferncroft Road, Danvers, Massachusetts 01923. The event showcases dive equipment and travel . Bostonsearovers.com

March 7-22, 2020: SRI Shark Book Auction. New and used books on sharks, fish behavior, marine aquariums and more. Special thanks to Mike Stewart, Marie Levine, and Dean Fessler who contributed many boxes of books from their personal libraries. A link into the auction will be on our website on March 7 .

Friday March 20, 2020: Hopewell Elementary School STEM Fair and Scientific Community Expo. Venue: 35 Princeton Ave, Hopewell, New Jersey 08525, from 5 to 9 pm. Free!

March 27-29, 2020: Venue: Beneath the Sea. Venue: The Meadowlands, Secaucus, New Jersey. America’s largest consumer Scuba and Dive Travel Show. Meet SRI staff at Booth 320. Beneaththesea.org

April 11-19, 2020: SRI Dive Book Auction. Features hard-to-find used and rare books on scuba, , shipwrecks, u/w photography event tickets, and more. The link into the auction will be on our website on April 11 .

April 17–19, 2020: ADEX Singapore. Venue: Suntec & Exhibition Centre Singapore Halls 401 – 40. Celebrated for more than two decades in Asia since its inception in 1995, this is the largest and the longest-running dive show in Asia. https://www.adex.asia/2020/

April 19-21, 2020: The 76th Annual Northeast Fish & Wildlife Conference. Long Branch, NJ. Visit SRI’s booth, talk with SRI staff and researchers, and learn about our projects in the northeast.

April through September: Fossil Hunts. Check our website for dates and locations.

May 2-16, 2020: Spring Auction. New and used books on whales, marine art, dive gear, childrens’ books, toys, jewelry and more. The link into the auction will be on our website on May 2 .

May 27-31, 2020: Seventh Annual Wreck • Shark Shootout , hosted by Mike Gerken at Olympus , Morehead City, North Carolina. https://www.evolutionunderwater.com/7th-annual-north-carolina-wreck-shark-shootout-mike- gerken-olympus-dive-center

May 30-31, 2020: Scuba Show. Venue: Long Beach , Long Beach, California. scubashow.com

June 8, 2020: World Oceans Day. Celebrated around the world and a Global Celebration at the United Nations in New York city, 9 am to 9 pm https://www.un.org/en/events/oceansday/

June 18-20, 2020: Annual Meeting of the Undersea & Medical Society Meeting. Venue: Sheraton San Diego & Marina, San Diego, California. https://www.uhms.org/meetings/annual-scientific- meeting/uhms-annual-scientific-meeting-information.html

July 20–26, 2020: American Elasmobranch Society Meeting. (Date subject to change) Venue: Norfolk, Virginia.

There are spaces available on the 2020 Djibouti expeditions. To reserve your space, contact: [email protected] Volume 29, No. 1 Page 14

TIGER SHARK IDENTIFICATION EXPEDITIONS

Join a Shark Research Institute expedition in Hawaii to assist with research on tiger sharks

Multiple dates during September 2020

Three expeditions will be led by Charlie Fasano, SRI Regional Director-Hawaii. Citizen scientists participate in cataloging individual tiger sharks. The objective is to determine tiger sharks’ annual use of the area. The project will also increase the biological information available to guide conservation efforts for this species, on both a regional (Hawaiian) and global scale, with important data such as life history, species distribution, abundance and diversity, population productivity, and extinction risk. This information will then be used to inform international conservation forums such as CITES, as well as local fishery and management plans. An education and awareness campaign on the status of Hawaii tiger sharks will be conducted in conjunction with the survey to increase awareness of the habitat use of the species.

Location Kailua Kona, Hawaii

Cost Charlie Fasano, Expedition Leader Expedition Alpha: Sept 9 -14 (6 days, 5 nights, 9 dives) $3250 double; $3950 single occupancy. Expedition Bravo: Sept 16 - 21 (6-days) $3250 double; $3950 single occupancy. Expedition Charlie: Sept 23 - 28 (6-days) $3250 double; $3950 single occupancy. Kama’aina (For local residents who do not need accommodations): $1100 (3-dive days, 3-dives-per- day). Kama’aina expedition members are still afforded all presentations.

Included Accommodations at King Kamehameha Kona Beach Courtyard Marriott, Kailua Kona, HI (garden room; upgrades available). All passengers embark and disembark at the hotel pier. The expedition includes daily boat dives to catalog resident tiger sharks of Big Island, Hawaii. Tiger sharks and dolphins will be viewable. is available and required.

Not included Airfare To Kailua Kona (KOA), Hawaii. Manta Ray and tethered Blackwater night dives are available at an additional cost. Alcohol and meals, Gratuity, Dive gear (available for rental), Concierge activity services. NOTE: Dive insurance and are required.

A $500 deposit is due to reserve your space. Balance due 60 days prior to departure, 50% of the deposit will be returned if canceled before 60 days prior to departure.

For additional information or to reserve your space, contact: [email protected] Volume 29, No. 1 Page 15

DJIBOUTI WHALE SHARK EXPEDITIONS

Join a Shark Research Institute expedition to assist with research on this fascinating population of the world’s largest shark

November 27 to December 5, 2020 and/or December 4 to 12, 2020

Join an expedition led by SRI Director of Science and Research, Dr. Jennifer Schmidt, to study the whale sharks that aggregate in the Gulf of Tadjoura, Djibouti, Africa. Djibouti hosts an aggregation of the youngest whale sharks found anywhere. Most sharks are between three and five metres with two metre animals occasionally seen. Participants will act as research assistants, documenting whale sharks by photo identification, collecting and analyzing plankton samples and hopefully observing night-feeding behavior. Research goals are to understand where these animals come from, why young sharks congregate in the area, and where they go when they leave.

Our home for this expedition is the M/V Deli , a Turkish gulet that accommodates 12 people in shared rooms with private baths. The chef prepares a daily menu of local and continental cuisine. Whale shark interactions are snorkel only, but excellent diving is available from the boat at sites such as Ras Korali, Turtle Point, Moucha Island, and La Faille, a convergence of tectonic plates. Whale shark interactions and diving are available each day, and participants may choose any combination of activities.

Cost: $2,300* includes shared accommodation on the boat, double occupancy hotel for the nights of November 28th and December 4th or December 5th and 11th, all meals on the ship, hotel and port transfers, and a tax-deductible donation to the Shark Research Institute. Not included are airfare, Djibouti visa, soda and beer, and meals off the ship. Post-trip are available to explore the geologic formations and vast salt lakes of the valley. Dive and travel insurance are required.

The site is remote, and accommodations basic, but the experience is unmatched. Share this unique wildlife expedition to a stark and beautiful corner of the world.

For more details or to reserve your space, contact the expedition leader at [email protected]

*Payments made through PayPal will incur an additional $50 per person processing fee . Volume 29, No. 1 Page 16

Opportunities Offered by SRI Staff and Advisory Board Several of our Advisory Board members also offer travel and dive experiences throughout the year. On this and the following two pages are ones we think you may like. You may book directly with them; just be sure to tell them that you are SRI members.

Tiger Beach , a shallow sand flat just an hour by boat from the West End of Grand Bahama Island, is world renowned for its clear, calm water. For years, its tiger shark diving encounters have made it one of the premier dive destinations in the world among professional photographers, videographers, and shark lovers alike.

Peak season for Tiger Beach is between the fall and spring months. Numerous species of sharks frequent this area: lemon sharks, Caribbean sharks, nurse sharks, and hammerheads, but this dive site is known for its magnificent tiger sharks. When the tigers, growing to over 16 feet in length, come in you find yourself ignoring all the other sharks in the area and focusing on only the large striped shark who seems more curious and cautious than you were expecting.

Debra and Vince Canabal are on SRI’s Advisory Board and have generously offered to donate 15% to SRI for each SRI member who book a space with Vince Canabal, M.D., is an ER physician and Epic Diving ( www.epicdiving.com ). Debra Canabal, Ph.D. is also an underwater photographer .

Their boat, the Thresher, is a custom shark-diving boat with all the comforts. Epic Diving tours the islands by season finding the best Bahamas shark diving. Divers must be Open Water certified. Night dives or other specialty dives require advanced certification.

Debra and Vince offer standard packages with either three or five days of diving at Tiger Beach. On Grand Bahama island, they head out each morning for a day at Tiger Beach. In Bimini, it’s a short boat ride between the dive site and the hotel/marina. On Cat Island, from March through June they transfer to the boat each morning before heading out for a day with the oceanic whitetip sharks.

Included: Hotel accommodations, shark diving, tanks, & belts, lunch, snacks & beverages, and all related taxes & fees. Not included: Airfare & airport transfer, rental gear, breakfast & dinners, crew gratuity. Epic Diving also requires DAN or equivalent dive accident insurance as well as separate dive trip/travel insurance. There are no refunds for lost days of diving due to weather cancellations, natural disaster, mechanical breakdown, air supply failure, travel delays, injury, equipment issues, etc. Volume 29, No. 1 Page 17

The South African Sardine Run: June 16 to July 30, 2020

“The Greatest Shoal on the Planet”

Each year billions of tiny sardines, Sardinops sagax , swim from the cool waters of the Agulhas Banks northward along the east coast of South Africa. This is one of the ocean's great spectacles! It is a massive feeding frenzy of marine predator: huge whales, hordes of dolphins, sharks, and legions of seabirds plummeting from the sky into the bait balls. Each shoal may be more than four miles long, a mile wide, and 100 feet deep. In terms of biomass the Sardine Run has been compared to the great wildebeest migration on the east African Serengeti plain. But Nature is not always predictable: in 2003 and 2004 the sardines failed to run.

Between mid-June and the end of July, vast shoals of sardines pass Port St. Johns, the epicenter of the the Sardine Run. SRI’s Debbie Smith and her partner, Rob Nettleton, own and operate Offshore Africa at Port St. Johns, and is only one of two dive operators at Port St. John that provide aerial support to locate the shoals. While you might see enough action to last a lifetime in just three days, to be on the safe side, we suggest staying longer. Debbie has two vessels: the 8m Offshore 2 and Offshore 1 , a 7.2m semi-rigid inflatable powered by 2 x 85hp Yamaha motors, capable of carrying 10 clients and two crew. She limits numbers during sardine run for maximum comfort and space.

Includes: Accommodations at Port St. John's River Lodge, dinner & breakfast, WIFI, heated swimming pool, Transfers from Mthatha airport or Port St Johns airstrip. Not Included: Airfare from your home to King Shaka international airport in Durban, equipment rental and lunch

Cost: Per person (sharing), depends on length of stay. Choose four nights, three ocean days for $1,254 - or 12 nights, 10 ocean days for $3,764 - or whatever number of nights/days you prefer. (note: single room rates are slightly higher)

Details: Trip and dive insurance are required. No refunds due to weather, sea-sickness or taking a day off. A 30% non-refundable deposit is required to reserve a space. Contact [email protected] or [email protected] to book your spot.

Films of the sardine run are available on YouTube Volume 29, No. 1 Page 18

SHARKS OF SOUTH AFRICA PHOTO EXPEDITION with Lesley Rochat

Southern Africa is considered the shark diving Mecca of the world. Its waters contain an impressive diversity of more than 200 Chondrichthyan species: sharks, rays, skates, and chimaeras.

Starting in the warmer waters of KwaZulu-Natal and ends in the cooler waters of Cape Town, Lesley says you will dive with at least 10 different species of sharks. Expect other encounters with Cape fur seals, African penguins, dolphins, whales, and endemic fish species.

WHEN: All year round DURATION: Nine nights, seven sea days GROUP SIZE: Four to eight people COST: $3,360 per person, sharing. DIVE and TRAVEL INSURANCE are REQUIRED

Includes: Nine nights accommodation on B&B basis, two to three dives per day with light lunches and soft drinks while on the boat. Plus photographic guide and workshop, Cape Point tour, African penguin tour and tour of African wildlife park. Excluded: All flights, transfers, SCUBA equipment, alcoholic and soft drinks, dinners and lunches, except while on the boat.

Lesley is also offering three to four week training courses in Cape Town

● Wildlife Photojournalism for passionate conservationists who want to develop photographic and writing skills to help raise global awareness. ● Ecosystems Research for aspiring scientists or conservationists who want to gain field experience in marine research. ● Environmental Education for enthusiastic educators who love working with their students and inspiring them to become Shark Warrior Conservation Centre eco-warriors. ● Adventure for adventurous conservationists and aspiring tour guides with an interest in social entrepreneurship.

The courses incude accommodation and are led by Lesley Rochat, Terry Corr, and Jon Monsoon at the Shark Warrior Conservation Centre. Dive and Travel Insurance are required.

For details and costs contact Lesley Rochat at [email protected] Volume 29, No. 1 Page 19 Warning Flags Warning flags have been in use for many decades to warn swimmers, surfers, and watercraft operators of hazardous seas and alert boater operators when divers are in the water.

Unfortunately, some municipalities still permit shark fishing off swimming and surfing beaches, putting people at risk.

SRI member Jerry Taggart designed Warning Flags to alert marine resource users when boats are actively chumming/ baiting the water. Chumming is the practice of attracting sharks : For Divers’ Safety by throwing bait in the water. The bait usually consists of fish parts, bone, and blood, which attract sharks to the fishing boat or the surf-fisherman’s lure.

The red flag with the white stripe from upper left to lower right is easy to understand and see at a distance. It is well-known throughout the world as a signal that divers are in the water. The colors these warning flags are yellow and blue because they are eastily seen and are the same colors used in the nautical flag “steer clear.”

Both the Chumming Flag and Shark Flag can also prevent Chumming Flags: Marine predators accidents. The Chumming Flag alerts those on a beach that may be drawn to the area. the inshore water is being chummed. The Shark Flag is recommended when anglers are surf-fishing for sharks. The two flags are often combined as a warning to beachgoers that hazardous conditions exist.

On June 14, 2015, two swimmers, Hunter Treshchel and Kiersten Yow, each lost an arm to sharks along the shores of Oak Island, North Carolina. Oak Island allowed shark fishing from their beaches.

After Krishna Thompson was severely injured by a shark in the Bahamas on August 4, 2001, he said he would not have gone in the water if he had known sharks were being feed (chummed) in the area. https://www.undercurrent.org/ UCnow/dive_magazine/2011/DiversArm201108.html

Municipalities wanting to order flags should contact Nancy Russel at [email protected] or phone (858) 689-8444. Flags are available in two sizes: 13" x 15" and 20"x24"

Ensuring quality time on and in the water is the goal of the chumming flag. A portion of sales goes to support research, projects, and education of the marine environment .

A two flag combo is recommended

when it is unsafe to enter the water. Volume 29, No. 1 Page 20

Shark Shop Support SRI by ordering a t-shirt, tank top, or hoodie. Sizes range from youth to adult XL. Check out the variety of colors and styles! Plan ahead so you can celebrate International Whale Shark Day (August 30th) in style with a commemorative shirt.

There is a limited window for ordering your Bonfire merchandise. Shipping dates vary depending on when orders are placed, but shirts usually arrive within three weeks. Deadline to order is 11:59 pm on March 23, 2020.

Order the shirts through our Facebook page, or online at: Infinity logo: https://www.bonfire.com/shark-research-institute Save Our Sharks: https://www.bonfire.com/shark-research-institute-Save Int’l Whale Shark Day: https://www.bonfire.com/shark-research-institute

● Our Café Press store is open. Show your love of sharks and support of the Shark Research Institute with our cool new logo gear: mugs, glasses, smartphone cases, hats, toys, clothing, blankets, pillows, and much more. Shop now at: https://www.cafepress.com/SharkResearchInstitute

● For a unique gift, consider our Adopt a Whale Shark program. Although our researchers have cataloged hundreds of whale sharks, only sharks that have been seen within the past year are put up for adoption. Guardians are notified as sharks are re- sighted. Tiger sharks that SRI researchers have photographed and cataloged will also be available in the coming months.

Annual Adoptions are $50. Lifetime Adoptions never need to be renewed and are $150. All adoptions include an adoption certificate, a fact sheet about whale sharks and a photo of your shark. https://www.sharks.org/support/whale-shark-adoption/

● And please remember to support SRI every time you shop at Amazon.com . Just go to AmazonSmile and choose “Shark Research Institute ” as your favorite charity. Amazon makes a donation to SRI that costs you nothing!

● Would you like a guest speaker at your company, , Rotary Club meeting, dive club, school, or scout group? Would you like one of our staff to teach students about careers in marine science, lead a field trip for your class, instruct students on how to use a seine net, or help organize a beach clean-up? Contact SRI at [email protected]

Internships Available

CITES Secretariat is offering five internships in Geneva, Switzerland . https://cites.org/eng/ node/56505 Applications must be submitted online through the United Nations Career website https://careers.un.org/lbw/Home.aspx before 11:59 pm (New York Time) on March 14, 2020. Volume 29, No. 1 Page 21 Fisheries Threats to Sharks

Humphries, N.E., Couto, A. et al. (2019) Global spatial risk assessment of sharks under the footprint of fisheries. Nature 572, 461–466 doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1444-4

Effective ocean management and the conservation of highly migratory species depend on resolving the overlap between animal movements and distributions, and fishing effort. However, this information is lacking at a global scale. Here we show, using a big-data approach that combines satellite-tracked movements of pelagic sharks and global fishing fleets, that 24% of the mean monthly space used by sharks falls under the footprint of pelagic longline fisheries. Space-use hotspots of commercially valuable sharks and of internationally protected species had the highest overlap with longlines (up to 76% and 64%, respectively), and were also associated with significant increases in fishing effort. We conclude that pelagic sharks have limited spatial refuge from levels of fishing effort in marine areas beyond national jurisdictions (the high seas). Our results demonstrate an urgent need for conservation and management measures at high-seas hotspots of shark space use, and highlight the potential of simultaneous satellite surveillance of megafauna and fishers as a tool for near-real-time, dynamic management.

Effects of Ocean Acidification on Dermal Denticles of Sharks

Dziergwa, J., Singh, S., Bridges, C.R. et al. (2019) Acid-base adjustments and first evidence of denticle corrosion caused by ocean acidification conditions in a demersal shark species. Sci Rep 9, 18668 doi:10.1038/ s41598-019-54795-7

Global ocean acidification is expected to chronically lower the pH to 7.3 (>2200 µatm seawater pCO 2) by the year 2300. Acute already occurs along the South African west and south due to and low- events, with increasing frequency. In the present project we SEM observations of a investigated the impact of hypercapnia on the endemic demersal shark defined skin area, species Haploblepharus edwardsii . Specifically, we experimentally analysed populated by denticles, acid-base regulation during acute and chronic hypercapnia, the effects of from individual H. edwardsii after chronic hypercapnia on growth rates and on denticle structure and experimental exposure of 9 composition. While H. edwardsii are physiologically well adapted to acute and weeks. Groups of denticles chronic hypercapnia, we observed, for the first time, denticle corrosion as a from 3 sharks that were result of chronic exposure. We conclude that denticle corrosion could kept in normocapnia are depicted in panels of the increase denticle turnover and compromise hydrodynamics and skin left column, those from protection. hypercapnia in the right column. Size bars indicate 100 µm. Volume 29, No. 1 Page 22 Sharks and Scuba Divers

Lucrezi S, Bargnesi F, Burman F ( 20190 “I would die to see one”: a study to evaluate knowledge, attitude and behaviour among shark scuba divers. in Marine Environments. DOI: 10.3727/154427320X15779149069752

Shark diving tourism is an activity that can contribute significantly to coastal economies, while also offering tremendous help to shark conservation efforts. Nevertheless, like any form of wildlife-based tourism, shark diving poses management challenges revolving around ethical and safety considerations. Safety in shark diving normally focuses on operational self-efficacy and adherence to shark diving codes of conduct to prevent incidents such as shark bites and minimise ecological harm. However, safety issues in shark diving can arise from personal choices to exceed standard certification limits. Any detrimental results are capable of casting doubts on the sustainability of shark diving, thus jeopardising its future as well as shark conservation. This study addressed compliance with shark diving codes of conduct and standard by examining the knowledge, attitude and behaviour of people who engage in free scuba diving with predatory sharks. The research made use of mixed methods of data collection, including interviews with shark divers at two popular shark diving destinations in Southeast Africa (n = 86) and an online questionnaire survey amongst shark divers (n = 89). The results showed that divers had positive attitudes towards sharks and shark diving. However, a notable proportion declared that they had exceeded certification limits and broken codes of conduct during shark diving. In particular, diving experience and being a professional diver were correlated significantly with poor safety attitudes and behaviour. The results highlight the need to create an understanding among scuba divers of the connection between shark diving safety and conservation, including the negative implications of safety breaches, whether big or small, for the future of shark diving tourism.

Shark Feeding

Clua E, Buray N, Legendre P, Mournier and Planes S. (2010) Behavioural response of sicklefin lemon sharks Negaprion acutidens to underwater feeding for ecotourism purposes. Marine Ecology Progress Series 412. DOI: 10.3354/meps08746

The feeding of marine predators is a popular means by which tourists and tour operators can facilitate close observation and interaction with wildlife. Shark-feeding has become the most developed provisioning activity around the world, despite its controversial nature. Amongst other detrimental effects, the long-term aggregation of sharks can modify the natural behaviour of the animals, potentially increase their aggression toward humans, and favour inbreeding. During 949 diving surveys conducted over 44 months, we investigated the ecology and residence patterns of 36 photo-identified adult sicklefin lemon sharks Negaprion acutidens . The group contained 20 females and 16 males. From this long-term survey, we identified 5 different behavioural groups that we described as ‘new sharks’ (7), ‘missing sharks’ (4), ‘resident sharks’ (13), ‘unpredictable sharks’ (5) and ‘ghost sharks’ (7). In spite of movements in and out of the area by some males and females, which were probably related to mating, the general trend was that residency significantly increased during the study, particularly in males, showing a risk of inbreeding due to the reduction of shark mobility. Intra- and interspecific aggression was also witnessed, leading to an increased risk of potentially severe bites to humans. Our findings suggest the need for a revision of the legal framework of the provisioning activity in French , which could include a yearly closure period to decrease shark behavioural modifications due to long-term shark-feeding activities. Volume 29, No. 1 Page 23

White Sharks Use the Sun When Stalking Prey

Huveneers C, Holman D, Robbins R, Fox A, Endler Ja, Taylor AH (2015) White Sharks Exploit the Sun during Predatory Approaches. Am.Nat. 2015 Apr;185(4):562-70. doi: 10.1086/680010.

There is no conclusive evidence of any nonhuman animal using the sun as part of its predation strategy. Here, we show that the world's largest predatory fish, the white shark, Carcharodon carcharias, exploits the sun when approaching baits by positioning the sun directly behind them. On sunny days, sharks reversed their direction of approach along an east-west axis from morning to afternoon but had uniformly distributed approach directions during overcast conditions. These results show that white sharks have sufficient behavioral flexibility to exploit fluctuating environmental features when predating. This sun-tracking predation strategy has a number of potential functional roles, including improvement of prey detection, avoidance of retinal overstimulation, and predator concealment.

Oceanic Whitetip Sharks in the Bahamas

Madigan DJ, Brooks EJ, Bond ME, Gelsleichter J, Howey LA, Abercrombie DL, Brooks A, Chapman DD, (2015) Diet shift and site-fidelity of oceanic whitetip sharks, Carcharhinus longimanus, along the Great Bahama Bank Marine Ecology Progress Series, V ol. 529: 185–197, doi: 10.3354/meps11302

Identifying the driving behind oceanic pelagic shark movements is key to a bet ter understanding of their life history. Some oceanic pelagic shark species have been shown to aggregate in specific to mate and/or exploit abundant food resources. The , Carcharhinus longimanus, a subtropical, ectothermic, oceanic pelagic shark that has experienced severe population declines, aggregates seasonally around Cat Island (CI) in The Bahamas. Large pelagic teleosts (e.g. billfish, tunas, and dolphinfish) are abundant in this region and oceanic whitetips are anecdotally reported to feed heavily on recreationally caught teleosts. However, it was unknown whether feeding habits at CI substantially differ from longer-term feeding habits. We used tag-recapture to assess site-fidelity of adult oceanic whitetips to CI and stable isotope analysis(SIA) of 2 different tissues (blood plasma and white muscle) to compare short- and long-term feeding patterns. The relatively high recapture rate (20.3%) confirmed that individual whitetips exhibit site-fidelity to CI. The aggregation consisted of adult individuals; females were more common, more than half were gravid, and no physical or behavioral evidence of mating or parturition was -served at CI. SIA-based Bayesian mixing model estimates of short-term (near CI) diets showed more large pelagic teleosts (72%) than in long-term diets (47%), showing a spatiotemporal difference in oceanic whitetip feeding habits. This suggests that availability of large teleost prey is a possible mechanism underpinning site-fidelity and aggregation of whitetips at CI. These results provide insight into the function of one of the last known aggregations of this once- abundant top predator. Volume 29, No. 1 Page 24 Damages to Whale Sharks in Lester E, Meekan MG, Barnes P, Raudino H, Rob D, Waples K, Speed CW. (2020) Multi-year patterns in scarring, survival and residency of whale sharks in Ningaloo Marine Park, Western Australia . Marine Ecology Progress Series , 634: 115 DOI: 10.3354/meps13173

Documentation of scarring patterns on marine megafauna provides a means of quantifying the risk of anthropogenic threats that occur in the open ocean, such as ship strike. This study investigated the rates and putative sources of scarring of whale sharks aggregating at Ningaloo, Western Australia. Identification photos of whale sharks were contributed by tourism operators and research groups over a six-year period. Analysis of this database found that 355 (38.8%) of 913 whale sharks individually identified between 2008 and 2013 exhibited some form of scarring. This decreased to 15.9% after the omission of categories of minor scarring (nicks and abrasions). An increase in the number of sharks with lacerations between 2008 and 2013 provides some evidence of increasing boat strikes over this time. However, capture-mark-recapture modelling using the Multi-State Open Robust Design found no evidence that major scarring influenced the apparent survival or residency time of whale sharks aggregating at Ningaloo. Although lacerations are a useful indication of the level of threat to whale sharks from boat strike, it cannot necessarily be attributed to boat activity in Ningaloo due to the migratory nature of whale sharks in this aggregation, which commonly venture beyond Australian waters. Close collaboration with whale operators proved a vital tool to generate the volume of data required for this assessment, and provides a model for similar studies of other megafauna with an associated tourism industry.

Predicting Shark Attacks in Australia Ryan LA,Lynch SK,Harcourt R, Slip DJ, Peddemors V, Everett JD, Harrison LM, Hart NS (2019) Environmental predictive models for shark attacks in Australian waters. Marine Ecology Progress Series, DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps13138

Shark attacks are rare but traumatic events that generate social and economic costs and often lead to calls for enhanced attack mitigation strategies that are detrimental to sharks and other wildlife. Improved understanding of the influence of environmental conditions on risk may help to inform shark management strategies. Here, we developed predictive models for the risk of attack by white Carcharodon carcharias , tiger Galeocerdo cuvier , and bull/whaler Carcharhinus spp. sharks in Australian waters based on location, sea surface (SST), rainfall, and distance to river mouth. A generalised additive model analysis was performed using shark attack data and randomly generated pseudo-absence non-attack data. White shark attack risk was significantly higher in warmer SSTs, increased closer to a river mouth (<10 km), and peaked at a mean monthly rainfall of 100 mm. Whaler shark attack risk increased significantly within 1 km of a river mouth and peaked in the summer months. Tiger shark attack risk increased significantly with rainfall. We performed additional temporal and spatio-temporal analyses to test the hypothesis that SST anomaly (SSTanom) influences white shark attack risk, and found that attacks tend to occur at locations where there is a lower SSTanom (i.e. the water is relatively cooler) compared to surrounding areas. On the far north coast of eastern Australia — an attack hotspot — a strengthening of the East Australian Current may cause white sharks to move into cooler upwelling waters close to this stretch of the coast and increase the risk of an attack. Volume 29, No. 1 Page 25 Consequences

Hammerschlag N, Wiliams L, Fallows M, Fallows C (2019) Disappearance of white sharks leads to the novel emergence of an allopatric apex predator, the sevengill shark. Scientific Reports ; 9 (1) doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-37576-6

Despite global declines of apex predatory sharks, evidence for ecosystem consequences remains limited and debated. This is likely a result of both the logistical difficulties of measuring such processes in marine systems and also due to shifting baselines, whereby the ecosystem changes have occurred prior to monitoring. Between 2000–2018, we conducted standardized monitoring of white shark ( Carcharodon carcharias ) abundance patterns (N = 6,333 shark sightings) and predatory activity (N = 8,076 attacks on seals) at Seal Island, a Cape fur seal ( Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus ) colony in , South Africa. Over the 18-year study, declines in white shark abundance and attack rates were documented between 2015–2018, with anomalous lows occurring in 2017 and 2018. This included prolonged periods of complete white shark absence from Seal Island. The disappearance of white sharks from Seal Island coincided with the unprecedented appearance of sevengill sharks ( Notorynchus cepedianus ; N = 120 sightings), an otherwise allopatric kelp- associated apex predator in False Bay. We also recorded a sevengill shark attacking a live seal in the absence of white sharks. These data provide empirical evidence for behavioral shifts in an allopatric marine predator following the decline and disappearance of white sharks from a foraging site. This study demonstrates the importance of historical data and long-term monitoring for disentangling ecological consequences of apex predator declines.

Shark Populations and Sizes in Northwestern Australia Braccini M, Molony B, Blay B (2019) Patterns in abundance and size of sharks in northwestern Australia: cause for optimism. ICES Journal of Marine Science , Volume 77, Issue 1, January- February 2020, pp 72–82, https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsz187

Reliable information for population assessments is rare for sharks. We quantified patterns in catch rates and mean size for numerous tropical and subtropical species from 15 years of fishery-independent surveys (2002–2017) in northwestern Australia. This study region represents an area of ~0.8 million km2 which was closed to commercial shark fishing from 1993 or 2005 onward due to the very high State-wide catches of sandbar (Carcharhinus plumbeus) and dusky ( Carcharhinus obscurus ) sharks. A total of 43 shark and ray species were sampled, with sandbar shark being the most commonly caught species, followed by milk ( Rhizoprionodon acutus ), spot-tail (Carcharhinus sorrah), tiger ( Galeocerdo cuvier ), blacktip (Carcharhinus limbatus and Carcharhinus tilstoni ), dusky and sliteye ( Loxodon macrorhinus ) sharks, and scalloped hammerhead ( Sphyrna lewini ). For sandbar shark, catch rates increased between 2008 and 2017 whereas for other taxa catch rates were mostly stable (albeit fluctuating). Mean size at capture fluctuated across years with no particular trends. Unlike for other parts of the world, catch rates and mean size of northwestern Australian sharks have been stable or increased in recent years. Though most shark species have conservative life histories, when science, management and enforcement work synergistically, sustainable resource use, recovery and conservation outcomes can all be achieved. Volume 29, No. 1 Page 26 Thank You to our Supporters! ● Adventure Aquarium ● Lynn Funkhouser ● Ocean Ramsey ● AfriOceans ● Susan Galli ● Offshore Africa ● Apex Shark Expeditions ● Caterina Gennaro ● Olympus Dive Center ● Atlantis ● Mike Gerken ● Padi Foundation ● Atlantis Oil & Gas ● Steven Gold ● Hillary Palmer Cree ● Michael Aw ● Stephen Goodman ● Commander Arun Patil ● Howard Azer & Associates ● Edmund C. Grainger, III ● Brody Penn ● Barcelo ● Dave Grant ● Lee Peterson ● Jerry Beaty ● Barbara Greenberg ● Margo Peyton ● Beneath the Sea ● Craig & Susan Grube ● The Philanthropic Group ● The Bennett Family Foundation ● Patrick Haemmig ● Michelle Pugh ● BigAnimals.com ● Nikki & Fred Hamer ● Shiloh Pyne ● Philip Bourke ● Kenneth Hanczrik ● Bahman Rabaii ● Clive Branson ● Joshua Hankes ● Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada ● Tracy Bullino ● Dr. Jennifer Hayes ● Ripley’s Aquarium of South Carolina ● William Bunting, Jr. ● David Helvarg ● Mike Rissi ● Calvin Burns ● Erik Herschfeld ● Lesley Rochat ● Nick Calyonis ● The Horgan Family ● The Roddenberry Foundation ● Angus Campbell ● Dr. Gordon Hubbell ● Michael Rodricks ● Tom Campbell ● Jenkinson’s Aquarium ● The Rohauer Collection Foundation ● Debra and Vince Canabal ● Juliet Sailing and Diving ● Rolex Watch USA ● Caradonna Dive Adventures ● Kids Sea Camp ● Joe Romeiro ● Andy Casagrande ● Jupp Baron Kerkerinck Zur Borg ● Roots ● Heather Cifuentes ● Kritty Kesoglides ● F. Peter Rose ● Grant Christensen ● Jeff Kurr ● Wiltraud Salm ● ● Sharon Kwok ● Neil Schartzman ● Ralph Collier ● Mareen & Steve Langevin ● San Diego Shark Diving ● Fred Colucci ● Pascal LeCocq ● Dr. Jennifer V. Schmidt ● Dr. Leonard J. V. Compagno ● Elise Levin ● The Shark Finatics ● Kathy Coyle ● Brad & April Levine ● Debbie Smith ● Crayola Experience ● Brian Levine ● Marty Snyderman ● Sandra Critelli ● Lewis Levine, M.D. ● Greg Sparks ● Christy Crossley ● The Levine Family ● Liz Sparks ● Seth Davidson ● Tom Lipkin ● Paul Spielvogel ● Dive Experience, St. Croix ● Lotus 333 Productions ● Donald Nichols Storch ● Dive Pro International ● Keri Martin ● Rick Stratton ● Dive Voyager ● Allison Martinez ● Studio 1143 ● Diving with Sharks, SA ● Brandon McCloskey ● Surf Expo ● Brian Donato ● Nancy McGee ● Oakleigh B. Thorne ● ● Beth & Tom McKenna ● Mike Tichenor ● David Dunleavy ● The McNally Family ● Barbara & Donald Tober Foundation ● Dr. ● Caroline & Guy Merison ● Jim Toomey ● Ecosmarte.com ● Melissa Michelson ● Undersea Images ● Richard Ellis ● Microwave Telemetry ● Joyce van den Berg ● Epic Diving ● Paul Mila ● John Vincenti ● Robin Ernst ● Craig Milan ● My Virtual ● Evolution Underwater ● Rich Miller ● Phil Watson ● Ben Fackler ● Paul Mischenko ● The Wave Foundation ● Chris & Monique Fallows ● Susan Mottley ● Wildleaks ● Rochelle Fernands ● Amos Nachoum ● Winston Park K-8 Center ● Raymond Ferrara ● Carolyn Nickels ● The Whole Earth Center ● Robert & Deena Ferrara ● Gail Noren ● John Yavorksky ● Dean Fessler ● Hunter Noren ● Cristina Zenato ● Fine Life ● Ocean Geographic Society