David Shiffman

Mermaids do not exist, and five other important things people should, but do not, know about the ocean

June 5, 2012September 2, 2013 David Shiffman 12 Comments

Science

MermenLubok — Mermaids depicted by a Russian folk artist. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons via New York Public Library

Last week, Animal Planet aired a fictional mockumentary about mermaids. From an educational perspective, it was a disaster that was rightfully described as “the rotting carcass of science television” by Brian Switek. As Dr. M on Deep Sea News pointed out, one of the troubling results of this TV special was the discovery that some people believe that mermaids are real.

When I pointed out on Facebook and twitter that mermaids do not exist and that I hoped none of my friends believe otherwise, it inspired a long and interesting discussion. Someone asked why it matters if people believe in mermaids, as they felt that a sense of whimsy among the public is a good thing. Someone pointed out that scientists are discovering amazing new species all the time. More than a few people said “anything is possible.”

Sure, scientists discover new species all the time, but while finding a new species of monkey, orchid, or jellyfish can be interesting, it is not proof that “anything is possible” and it is not the same thing as finding a species of talking, thinking humanoids with fish tails on the lower half of their bodies. There’s a big and important difference between enjoying fantasy novels and wishing that certain fantastical creatures exist (i.e. having a sense of whimsy) and genuinely believing that those creatures really do exist.

These people don’t believe that in the vast and unexplored ocean, there may be some bizarre undiscovered species still out there. They believe that talking, thinking humanoids with fish tails on the lower half of their bodies exist and are acknowledged as existing by the scientific community. This displays a troubling lack of awareness of reality that likely is not limited to a belief in mermaids. For the benefit of those who have paid so little attention to what’s going on in the real world that they believe mermaids exist, here are five other things that you should, but likely do not, know about the oceans.

Traumatized animal radically changes diet and behavior in an unhealthy way: the real story of the “vegetarian shark”

May 18, 2012 David Shiffman 12 Comments

Science

Veggie_Shark_01 small — Florence the "vegetarian" nurse shark eating lettuce. Photo courtesy Jamie Turner, Sea Life Centre Birmingham

Between my well-documented love for sharks and my famously vegetable-less diet, a recent story about a “vegetarian shark” was destined to be e-mailed to me by friends and family. For those of you unfamiliar with the story, a captive nurse shark at an aquarium in the United Kingdom has been eating lettuce and celery, and refusing to eat normal nurse shark food (crustaceans and fish). As a result of this…no, wait, that’s pretty much the whole story. This animal has been dubbed “the world’s first vegetarian shark”, and my twitter and Facebook feeds have been full of people misinterpreting what this means even worse than the original media coverage did.

This is not a case of an animal “changing the reputation of sharks worldwide, and in the greenest way possible”, as reported on EcoRazzi. This is not a case of “even sharks realizing that vegetarianism is the most environmentally friendly diet”, as some have claimed. The reality is much more troubling. Following an incredibly traumatic experience (a 2009 surgical procedure to remove a rusty hook lodged in the digestive tract), an animal has radically changed its natural behavior in a way that isn’t healthy.

Yes, unhealthy- regardless of your views on the health benefits of a vegetarian diet, I’ve been assured by friends who do eat vegetables that lettuce and celery don’t have a lot of nutritional content. Fortunately, the aquarium staff at the Birmingham Sea Life Centre is aware of this and is working hard to get this animal the nutrition it needs. According to the press release (available online here), aquarium curator Graham Burrows said “we’re having to hide pieces of fish inside celery sticks, hollowed out cucumbers and between the leaves of lettuces to get her to eat them”. One could argue that the fact that the shark is still eating fish (although hidden among veggies) means that it isn’t a vegetarian at all, but that isn’t really the most important point here.

Shark fin bans: A storify of this week’s twitter discussion

May 8, 2012 David Shiffman 20 Comments

Conservation, Science

Earlier this week, I asked my twitter followers what they thought about shark fin bans, which prompted a long and stimulating discussion. What follows is my first attempt at “Storify”, shared in the hopes that the discussion can continue here.

As I’ve said before, I’m not a big supporter of shark fin bans because they don’t allow for sustainable, well-managed fisheries to supply the market. Additionally, they promote the common (and false) belief that shark fin soup is the only major problem facing sharks, and don’t address many of the other important issues associated with shark conservation.

Instead, I favor a comprehensive approach to shark management, including requiring that sharks be landed with fins attached (i.e. a ban on “finning” but the fins can still be used if the shark is landed whole), special protections for threatened and endangered species, science-based fisheries quotas for species that can sustain fishing, time/area closures or gear restrictions when necessary, and careful monitoring (including requiring that all fishing nations report the species composition of their catch).

Check out the great discussion if you missed it, and let me know what you think of this important issue in the comments of this post.

How severe are shark population decreases, and how do we know?

April 19, 2012April 19, 2012 David Shiffman 21 Comments

Conservation, Science

John Shepherd once said that counting fish is like counting trees, except that fish move and you can’t see them because they’re underwater. This is true with sharks as well. It’s basically impossible to know how many sharks there are. Fortunately, a variety of methods exist that can be used to determine population trends. In other words, even if we can’t know how many sharks there are, we can tell if there are more or less than there used to be. Presented here are brief descriptions of some of these methods and the conclusions of major shark conservation studies that used them. Though no one method is perfect, the fact that so many different methods have such similar conclusions is quite telling.

Bad news for whale sharks: The world’s largest fish are being killed for bait and billboards

April 5, 2012April 5, 2012 David Shiffman 17 Comments

Science

WhaleShark — WhySharksMatter and a whale shark at the Georgia Aquarium

The world’s largest shark eats only plankton, couldn’t bite a human if it wanted to, and is one of the few sharks that could be reasonably described as beautiful. Globally, SCUBA divers pay an estimated $50 million each year for the chance to swim with these incredible fish. Their long migrations through international waters makes international cooperation necessary to protect them, which is particularly important because the 30 years it can take for these animals to reach reproductive maturity means that populations will take a long time to recover if they are overexploited. They’re listed by the IUCN Shark Specialist Group as Vulnerable globally. Between their charismatic nature, their inability to harm humans, and their value to ecotourism, it should be easy to convince governments to protect whale sharks *, making two recent reports all the more shocking.

Book review: man and shark

March 28, 2012March 28, 2012 David Shiffman 3 Comments

Uncategorized

If a picture is worth a thousand words, than Man and Shark is a must for anyone interested in shark fisheries and conservation issues. This book by Alex Hofford and Paul Hilton features a collection of incredible photographs of sharks and shark fishing from all over the planet, from the fishing ports of the developing … Read More “Book review: man and shark” »

Beneath the Waves Film Festival is this Friday, check out the official list of films

March 20, 2012 David Shiffman 1 Comment

Uncategorized

I am really excited to announce that our friends over at the Beneath the Waves Film Festival have made their official selections for the 2012 event to be held this Friday at the 41st Benthic Ecology Meeting in Norfolk, Virginia.Now in its third consecutive year, this unique student run science communication event solicits films from … Read More “Beneath the Waves Film Festival is this Friday, check out the official list of films” »

March conservation madness: endangered species mascots in the NCAA basketball tournament

March 12, 2012 David Shiffman 8 Comments

Uncategorized

Final4 — WhySharksMatter at a previous Final 4 (in the midst of the Great Darwin Beard Challenge)

This weekend was Selection Sunday, the annual revealing of brackets for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament and the official start of “March Madness”. This year’s field of 68 teams features some incredible basketball talent, some heartwarming stories of individuals and teams overcoming adversity… and quite a few schools which use threatened or endangered species as mascots. As I am a huge college basketball fan in addition to being a conservationist, I couldn’t resist a quick tour.

South region:

#11 Colorado
Mascot: Buffaloes. Considered “Near Threatened” by the IUCN Red List, American bison are iconic of the U.S. conservation movement.
First game: Thursday at 9:57 vs. the #6 UNLV Running Rebels
Expected outcome: Though 6/11 games are often popular picks for upsets, we can expect that not too long from now, Colorado’s fans will speak fondly about the time that their team used to roam the plains of the NCAA tournament in huge numbers.

#3 Baylor
Mascot: Bears (specifically black bears), which Baylor University keeps several of in captivity. According to the bear program’s website, ” Texas [where Baylor University is located] has a population of 50 North American Black Bears, and is an endangered species within the state of Texas. Nationally, bears are not endangered and have a strong, viable population.”
First game: Thursday at 7:27 vs the South Dakota State Jackrabbits (species not specified, though most North American jackrabbits are IUCN “Least Concern”.
Expected outcome: About what you’d expect from a fight between a bear and a rabbit (when running away isn’t an option).

Wolf conservation and negative media portrayals: A panel discussion about “The Grey” with wolf experts

February 29, 2012February 29, 2012 David Shiffman 3 Comments

Conservation, Popular Culture

The recently-released movie “The Grey” tells the story of a pack of wolves that hunts the survivors of a plane crash. In addition to both being the subject of inaccurate and negative media portrayals, wolves and sharks share many ecological similarities (sharks have been called “the wolves of the sea”). A panel of wolf scientists and conservation experts agreed to answer my questions about these animals and their thoughts on how “The Grey” might impact their conservation.

Dr. Sylvia Fallon is a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council. She has worked for the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Park Service.

DeLene Beland is an independent science writer whose work has been featured by the Charlotte Observer, Earth Magazine, and Wildlife in North Carolina. She blogs at Wild Muse, and is the author of an upcoming book about wolves in the Eastern United States.

Cristina Eisenberg is a Ph.D. student at Oregon State University. Her dissertation focuses on the ecological effects of the loss of wolves from forest ecosystems.

Florida angler catches (and likely kills) Endangered great hammerhead shark

February 13, 2012February 14, 2012 David Shiffman 158 Comments

Conservation, Science

Update: The angler who originally caught the shark has responded. Please see below.

On February 5th, while standing on a beach in Miami, a fisherman caught a 14 foot great hammerhead shark. According to his account, “we had it beached within an hour of hooking it. The fish weighed too much her girth was huge. Just the 2 of us wasn’t enough to get it out of the water….We snapped some pictures with our dying camera, measured it at 170 inches and spent the next hour walking back and forth with HER reviving her…it swam off slow and steady”

While this might appear to be a simple case of catch-and-release recreational fishing, it is not. My lab and I are supporters of sustainable catch and release fishing. However, it is important to note that since January 1, 2012, great hammerheads (an IUCN Red List Endangered species) have been a protected species in Florida state waters and have additional legal protections. The Florida code indicates that:

“(1) No person shall harvest, possess, land, purchase, sell, or exchange any or any part of these species:
…(k) Great hammerhead – Sphyrna mokarran.

…(3) “Harvest” means the catching or taking of a marine organism by any means whatsoever, followed by a reduction of such organism to possession. Marine organisms that are caught but immediately returned to the water free, alive, and unharmed are not harvested”

…(5) “Land,” when used in connection with the harvest of marine organisms, means the physical act of bringing the harvested organism ashore” Florida code section 68B-44 (Emphasis mine)

In this incident, the shark was brought ashore. We can infer from the statement “the fish weighed too much her girth was huge. Just the 2 of us wasn’t enough to get it out of the water” that the fisherman attempted to pull it all the way out of the water, but was unable to do so (an important legal distinction) . Instead, he ended up beaching it, bringing it so far out that it could not move or breathe. The angler did not immediately release the animal. According to the angler’s account, it was measured and photographed prior to the attempt to resuscitate it. The shark was not released alive and unharmed. By the angler’s own admission, it took over an hour of resuscitation before the animal was able to even swim away slowly.