© SRI 2000 Volume 9, No. 4 Shark Research Institute SHARK RESEARCH Newsletter INSTITUTE Shark Research Institute Global Headquarters P.O. Box 40, Princeton, New Jersey 08540, USA Update on the Whale Shark using footage supplied by SRI and Mike Pandey, will be produced by Prahlad’s company and aired throughout Slaughter in India India. During the upcoming killing season, SRI will charter fishing boats for ecotourism–as many as we can In November, SRI afford. On site observers will remain in Veraval during Executive Director, the entire six-week season to pay the crews we’ve Marie Levine, traveled chartered and make certain that none of them participate to India to meet with in the hunt. The fishermen are reluctant to kill the sharks several conservation and our strategy is to prove to them that there exists a organizations and financially lucrative and far less dangerous alternative. individuals working to Each boat that is chartered for ecotourism will cost up to end the slaughter of $15,000 for the duration of the season. Every boat whale sharks in that chartered may prevent the slaughter of 30 whale sharks or country and assess more. Sport Diver Magazine has offered to support this the possibilities for initiative, and more sponsors for boats are needed. development of whale shark-based ecotourism. She met with divers in Goa, then visited the Lackshadweep Islands off the southwestern coast of India, and the Andaman Islands off the New Aircraft for southeastern coast. Both island groups offer superb diving, although whale shark sightings are rare. Baja Field Station Commander Arun Patil, Director of the National Institute Thanks to the generosity of SRI members Marc and of Watersports working with the Ministry of Tourism and Mary Fougner, our Baja Field Station will soon take Government of India, coordinated the trip. delivery of a new $22,000.00 microlight. The aircraft, One of the highlights of the visit was a strategy-planning built by the Ultralight Aircraft Corp. in Moline, IL will be session in Mumbai, organized and hosted by Prahlad delivered in January Kakar, author, television producer, owner of India’s 2001 and will be used largest scuba training center and dive resort operator. The to spot whale sharks in meeting brought together conservation groups, fishing the Bay of La Paz. interests and the media. Mike Pandey screened his The plane is similar to documentary film Shores of Silence – Whale Sharks of the one in these India , and discussions followed. It was decided that the most expedient means of ending the massacre is development of whale shark-based ecotourism. Unlike photos. We can’t many other countries with subtropical and tropical shores, wait to put the there are still comparatively few sport divers in India. plane to use! However, the local population base is enormous and Thank you Marc swimmers can safely interact with whale sharks. And so, and Mary!! in the coming months, a series of television commercials Page 2 Shark Research Institute Beach on Florida’s gulf coast. The incident Global Shark Attack File took place in murky water and may have SRI maintains the GSAF to provide involved a 4 ' to 5 ' sharpnose or blacktip accurate data about these incidents shark. · On October 20th at 18h00, Jason Licamele, 23, was surfing just north of Fort • AUSTRALIA: · December 3rd, 2000, at Pierce Inlet State Park in Florida when a 09h30, a 38-year-old spearfisherman was shark bit his leg. The surfer was treated at bitten by a 2.5-metre shark at Sykes Reef on Lawnwood Regional Medical Center and the Great Barrier Reef. The shark, thought released. In September, another surfer was to be a bronze whaler, was apparently trying bitten on the ankle by a shark at dusk near to take the speared fish, but bit the man’s the Fort Pierce Inlet. · On October 17 th at left forearm and elbow instead. On 15h30 Norman Payne, 69, was swimming November 6, 2000, Ken Crew, 49, was 100 to 150 yards from shore at South Beach, fatally attacked by a white shark in shallow when his right hand was apparently bitten water 25-metres from shore at Perth's by a shark. · October 9 th Matt Kraskiewicz Cottesloe Beach in Western Australia. · At was surfing near Lake Worth Inlet in West 7h30 on September 24 th , Cameron Bayes, a Palm Beach when a shark, apparently tourist from New Zealand, was killed by a following a school of baitfish, bit the teen’s 5-metre white shark while surfing 50 metres left foot. · On October 5 th two people were from shore at Cactus Beach in South bitten by sharks at New Smyrna beach. At Australia. This was the second attack at 13h00 Taylor Holley, 11, was body-surfing Cactus Beach this year; another man, in waist-deep water amid a school of fish Anthony Hayes was bitten by a three-metre when he was bitten twice on the right heel. shark there in February. · On September Two hours later and a mile to the north, 25th a 17-year-old local surfer was killed by Austin White, 23, was surfing when his a white shark off Blacks Point, South hand was bitten. · On September 11 th at Australia. 13h20, Jason Armstrong, 25, was in waist- • deep water at Daytona Beach Shores, when OKINAWA: · On September 9th, a 2.5-m a 2’ to 3’ shark bit two fingers on his right white shark was thought to be involved hand. It was speculated that in the turbulent when a surfer, 31, was fatally attacked 30 water the shark mistook the swimmer’s metres from shore off Miyako Island. This fingers for baitfish. was the first attack off the island in more • rd than 4 years; on July 23, 1996 Moriyoshi NORTH CAROLINA · On October 3 it Takehara, 52, was doing a coral survey was reported that Mark Taylor was surfing when he was killed by a 5-metre shark. off Wrightsville Beach at 16h30 when his Tooth fragments recovered from Mr. upper left arm was reportedly bitten by a Takehara’s wounds confirmed that a white shark. At 16h30 on July 6th Ashley Walker, shark was involved. 12, was playing in the surf at Currituck on the Outer Banks when her calf was bitten by • TANZANIA. · This year five people were a shark. It was believed a tiger shark, killed by sharks at Coco Beach, Dar-es- following shoals of fish close to shore, was Salaam. The most recent victim was involved in the incident. The girl was Godfrey Msemwa, 28. It is believed that expected to make a complete recovery. · Zambesi sharks, Carcharhinus leucas , were The following week two surfers were bitten involved in the attacks. off Wrightsville and Holden beaches. It was believed that the Gulf Stream may have • FLORIDA: · On November 18 th, it was forced schools of fish close to shore, the reported that a shark lacerated the right calf sharks followed the fish inshore, and came of swimmer Colin Shadforth at Bonita into contact with the surfers. Volume 9, No. 4 Page 3 SRI NOTES SRI Trips for 2001 U.S. Congress Acts to End Shark Finning Utila, Bay Islands Honduras: Finning, the slicing off a living shark's fins and Trip 1: April 7 - 14 discarding its carcass may soon be outlawed in Trip 2 July 7 - 14 U.S. waters. After a two-year fight to protect Trip 3: July 14 - 21 shark populations, the US Senate passed legislation to prohibit shark finning in U.S. Trip 4: July 21 - 28 waters. The U.S. House of Representative Trip 5: December 22 - 29 passed the same legislation in November. The bill will now be sent to the President to be La Paz, BCS, Mexico: signed into law. The legislation will make it illegal for a fishing vessel carrying shark fins Trip 6: September 1 - 8 without the carcasses to enter an American port Trip 7: September 8 - 15 or operate within the 200-mile U.S. federal Trip 8: September 15 - 22 waters. The legislation is aimed primarily at the Trip 9: September 22 - 29 Pacific Ocean fishery; in 1998 alone the number Trip 10: September 29 - October 6 of sharks finned in Hawaii waters topped 60,000. Sharks are especially vulnerable to Galapagos Islands, Ecuador*: Eco-tourist Mina Kuhn overfishing because they mature slowly and snorkels with a whale shark produce small litters. The bill also provides for Trip 11: October 18 - 25 in Utila this past September a study of shark stocks, including the identifying (Photo by Lance Ehret) of fishing gear and practices to minimize Cocos Island, Costa Rica*: incidental catches of sharks. Trip 12: To Be Announced Exciting News - Data Received For More Information Call or Email The satellite tag that was deployed on July 6, Dr. Alex Antoniou at (908) 510-8046 2000 successfully detached itself from the whale [email protected] shark right on schedule on October 1, 2000. The data was transmitted to SRI via the Argos satellite service. The data suggests that the animal did not venture far from the point of Stan Waterman to Premiere Film in Texas deployment off the coast of Honduras. The data also suggests that the animal was continuously cont... diving up and down the water column due to the variable temperature readings obtained. It seems include a trip with Stan aboard the Turks & Caicos Aggressor, a as if the whale shark did not mind the cooler trip for two in Queensland, Australia (Cairns area) including waters of the deep. The lowest temperature diving, a Light & Motion Tetra housing, plus a variety of diving reading recorded was 12 o C, or 53.6 o F.