David Shiffman

Nominations now open for the Oceana Ocean Hero award!

March 30, 2011 David Shiffman

Uncategorized

Oceana is accepting nominations for their Ocean Hero award until April 27th. There are two categories: adult (over 18) and junior (under 18). According to the contest rules: “Any individual who has volunteered, organized, cleaned up or otherwise acted in a way that benefits the world’s oceans, its inhabitants or the communities and peoples that … Read More “Nominations now open for the Oceana Ocean Hero award!” »

Severely injured great white shark found, are scientists responsible?

March 29, 2011May 3, 2011 David Shiffman 125 Comments

Conservation, Popular Culture, Science

[Editor’s Notice – Comments have been suspended on this post. Please visit “Full video of injured shark shows numerous natural injuries” for an update on this controversy]

Last summer, I reviewed National Geographic’s “Expedition Great White” and interviewed the lead scientist. Several researchers and conservationists were concerned about the methods that Dr. Michael Domeier uses to study great white sharks, particularly after one shark was “foul hooked” through the gills. These methods (removing captured great white sharks from the water to study them using a forklift-like structure) make for excellent television, but may be harmful to the sharks. As I reported last year:

Shark Science Monday: Matt Baronio discusses using ROVs to study shark behavior

March 29, 2011 David Shiffman

Science

In this week’s edition of Shark Science Monday, Matt Baronio of Southern Cross University discusses using Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) to study shark behavior. If you have a question for Matt, please leave a comment on this post and I’ll make sure he gets it.

Beneath the Waves Film Festival: Spectacular When Spotted

March 27, 2011March 28, 2011 David Shiffman

Science

This year’s Beneath the Waves Film Festival was a huge success, and we’ve already started planning for next year. In the meantime, I’ll post some of the 2011 entries. “Spectacular when spotted” follows a spotted eagle ray research project in Bermuda. It has some great footage of these amazing animals, and shows some field scientists … Read More “Beneath the Waves Film Festival: Spectacular When Spotted” »

Indian Ocean Tuna Commission Rejects Shark Conservation Policies

March 24, 2011 David Shiffman 1 Comment

Conservation, Science

Last week, the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission held their annual meeting in Sri Lanka. As one of the few international fisheries policy organizations in the region, the IOTC is also responsible for management of billfish and sharks. Several new shark conservation policies were proposed this year. These included species-specific protections for hammerhead and oceanic whitetip sharks, closing loopholes in existing policies that ban finning sharks and discarding the bodies at sea, and requiring fishermen to collect and report more types of data on their shark bycatch. All of these proposals were rejected.

Biodiversity Wednesday: South Carolina’s Santee Cooper Lake System

March 23, 2011March 23, 2011 David Shiffman 3 Comments

Conservation, Science

As part of our Biodiversity Wednesday series, we’ve discussed amazing ecosystems all over the world. This week’s post will focus on an area a little closer to home (at least a little closer to my home). The Santee Cooper lake system, home to unique fish and a fascinating history, is less than an hour from Charleston. If you’ve ever driven on I-95 through South Carolina, you’ve gone right over it.

SanteeCooper — The Santee-Cooper system is marked with a white arrow. Image created with Google Earth

Beneath the Waves Film Festival starts tomorrow!

March 16, 2011March 16, 2011 David Shiffman

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The Beneath the Waves Film Festival begins tomorrow night. The lineup includes films by students, conservation organizations, and professional filmmakers. Topics include overfishing, biodiversity, marine mammals, sharks, and more. In the coming weeks, we’ll post some of our favorite movies on Southern Fried Science. In the meantime, here is the introductory film.

Shark Science Monday: How you can help WhySharksMatter tag sharks!

March 14, 2011September 6, 2017 David Shiffman 7 Comments

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EDITOR’S NOTE: THIS OPPORTUNITY IS FROM 2011, AND IS NO LONGER VALID

Those of you who follow me on twitter know that in addition to being a grad student, I work with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources coastal shark survey. This summer, we will be catching and tagging sharks, and we need your help! From mid-May through August, we’ll take the boat out 2-4 times a week for single-day surveys. We leave around 6 or 7 in the morning and return mid to late afternoon. There is often room for a volunteer or two, and the help is always appreciated.

Since I started advertising this opportunity last week, I’ve received over 150 e-mails inquiring about it. Many of you are asking the same questions, and while I”m always happy to answer questions about sharks, I’m instead going to answer the most common questions in this post.

Light bulbs on the Colbert Report

March 10, 2011March 11, 2011 David Shiffman 2 Comments

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Last year, we wrote about the bizarre “save the light bulb” movement. The issue hasn’t gone away. Far Right politicians continue to actively resist energy efficiency. This Wednesday’s episode of the Colbert Report covered the light bulb “controversy”.

Help protect sharks in the Bahamas

March 9, 2011March 8, 2011 David Shiffman

Uncategorized

Last week, I summarized shark conservation laws and policies from around the world. In the wake of recent successes, several shark conservation NGOs are hoping to get similar laws passed in the Bahamas. Guy Harvey is heavily involved in this project, and explained why protecting sharks in the Bahamas is so important:

“These magnificent animals have been admired for years by divers visiting The Bahamas and revered by people around the world as one of the great wonders of the ocean.”

Read More “Help protect sharks in the Bahamas” »