Skip to content

Southern Fried Science

Over 15 years of ocean science and conservation online

  • Home
  • About SFS
  • Authors
  • Support SFS

Category: Conservation

Masquerades in Conservation

Posted on March 23, 2010April 4, 2010 By Bluegrass Blue Crab 6 Comments on Masquerades in Conservation
Conservation

Is it possible to mistakenly support a cause you disagree with?  Well, theoretically no, but it’s really all in the name.  There are a number of groups out there with clever titles, but are they misleading?  I’ll leave the obvious ones like the Discovery Institute and American Enterprise Association for Public Policy Research to your Google prowess, but here’s a great example from my personal experience: the Coastal Conservation Association.

What might at first appear to be a group supporting conservation biology and ringing the bell for endangered species and receding wetlands is really a group designed to advocate for recreational fishing at all three levels of our government: local, state, and national.  Their national website is fairly straightforward about this mission, but it is not so obvious when they’re testifying at a state fisheries meeting.

Read More “Masquerades in Conservation” »

Commercial Interests Trump Endangered Species

Posted on March 22, 2010March 25, 2010 By Andrew Thaler 7 Comments on Commercial Interests Trump Endangered Species
Conservation

The 15th United Nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species is meeting this week in Doha, Qatar to revise the current list of species protected under international trade agreements. On the proposed list for this year are Blue Fin Tuna, Nile Crocodile, Polar Bears, eight species of shark, and an entire family of red … Read More “Commercial Interests Trump Endangered Species” »

Four things everyone needs to know about sharks: A shark conservation documentary and lesson plan

Posted on March 20, 2010April 4, 2010 By David Shiffman 29 Comments on Four things everyone needs to know about sharks: A shark conservation documentary and lesson plan
Conservation, Science

One week after the world premier at the Benthic Ecology conference’s Beneath the Waves Film Festival, I am pleased to announce that my new shark conservation mini-documentary, “four things everyone needs to know about sharks”, is now available on YouTube.

Check it out here:

If you are an educator, the movie is intended to be part of a lesson plan about shark conservation. I have created a middle school version, a high school version, and a college version. Contact me at WhySharksMatter AT gmail DOT com with the subject “Shark Lesson Plan” and I’ll send you what I have, or we can discuss making a custom lesson plan that suits the specific needs of your class.

If you are not an educator but care about sharks, the movie can be a stand-alone way to educate your friends, family, coworkers, classmates, etc.

Please let me know what you think about the video by commenting on this blog post.

Thanks to all of my photographer and musician partners in this project!

Check out their websites:

Read More “Four things everyone needs to know about sharks: A shark conservation documentary and lesson plan” »

CITES update: Bluefin and crocodiles and polar bears? Oh my!

Posted on March 18, 2010April 4, 2010 By David Shiffman
Conservation, Science

The latest news out of CITES isn’t encouraging.  Marie Levine, President of the Shark Research Institute, is attending and made the following statement: “Animals did not fare well at CITES today. The USA’s bid to have the polar bear uplisted from Appendix II to Appendix I was defeated, as was  Egypt’s attempt to have the … Read More “CITES update: Bluefin and crocodiles and polar bears? Oh my!” »

Bluefin tuna fails to make UN’s list of protected fish

Posted on March 18, 2010 By Andrew Thaler
Conservation

Seriously, what the fuck? A proposal to protect the Atlantic bluefin tuna prized in sushi was rejected at a UN wildlife meeting today. The decision was reached after Japan, Canada and scores of poor nations opposed the measure on the grounds that banning exports of the fish would devastate fishing economies. Monaco introduced the proposal … Read More “Bluefin tuna fails to make UN’s list of protected fish” »

Shark conservation is not off to a good start at CITES

Posted on March 17, 2010April 4, 2010 By David Shiffman 6 Comments on Shark conservation is not off to a good start at CITES
Conservation

The first shark conservation proposal at CITES has been defeated. This was not a proposed appendix II listing that I wrote about yesterday, but rather a nonbinding measure that “called for increased transparency in the shark trade and more research into the threat posed to sharks by illegal fishing” (from the AP article linked to above). If a non-binding measure that doesn’t actually ban any trade in shark products can’t pass, that’s not a good sign. Why did some countries vote against this non-binding measure to support research and increase transparency?

Read More “Shark conservation is not off to a good start at CITES” »

Sharks and CITES

Posted on March 15, 2010April 21, 2010 By David Shiffman 1 Comment on Sharks and CITES
Conservation, Science

The  15th meeting of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as CITES, has begun, and representatives of 175 countries are meeting in Doha, Qatar. CITES rules have the power to make international trade of plant and animal species illegal, which has enormous significance for their conservation. 8 shark species have been proposed for CITES protection under appendix II- oceanic whitetip sharks, porbeagle sharks, spiny dogfish (commonly used for fish and chips in the UK), dusky sharks, three species of hammerheads (great, smooth, and scalloped), and my study animal the sandbar shark.

Read More “Sharks and CITES” »

Summary of tweets from Benthic Ecology 2010

Posted on March 14, 2010 By Andrew Thaler
Conservation, Science

If you were follwing along on Twitter this weekend, you know that all three of us were at the Benthic Ecology 2010 meeting in Wilmington, NC. Below are some of the more interesting conversations that occurred while livetweeting the event.

Read More “Summary of tweets from Benthic Ecology 2010” »

Shark conservation news: Fisheries closures, fish and chips, and a new shark sanctuary

Posted on March 12, 2010 By David Shiffman
Conservation, Science

It has been an exciting week for shark conservation! We can only hope that this provides some momentum for CITES, which begins tomorrow. And now, for this week’s shark conservation news: The Indian Ocean Tuna Commission declared a ban on commercial landings of all thresher sharks (each of the three thresher shark species is considered … Read More “Shark conservation news: Fisheries closures, fish and chips, and a new shark sanctuary” »

Help Duke’s lemur center win $50,000 with just one click!

Posted on March 8, 2010 By David Shiffman
Conservation

Pepsi is trying to “refresh the world” by giving away grants to lots of non-profit groups. One of the categories is “the planet”, and the Duke University Lemur Center has been nominated! If they get enough votes, they could win $50,000. The Lemur Center promotes research, education, and conservation of some incredible (and endangered) animals. … Read More “Help Duke’s lemur center win $50,000 with just one click!” »

Posts pagination

Previous 1 … 43 44 45 46 Next

Popular Posts

Shark scientists want their research to help save threatened species, but don’t know how. Our new paper can help.Shark scientists want their research to help save threatened species, but don’t know how. Our new paper can help.December 1, 2025David Shiffman
Norway and Cook Islands put their deep-sea mining plans on pause.Norway and Cook Islands put their deep-sea mining plans on pause.December 3, 2025Andrew Thaler
What Ocean Ramsey does is not shark science or conservation: some brief thoughts on "the Shark Whisperer" documentaryWhat Ocean Ramsey does is not shark science or conservation: some brief thoughts on "the Shark Whisperer" documentaryJuly 2, 2025David Shiffman
What we know we don't know: impacts of deep-sea mining on whales, dolphins, sharks, turtles, and other migratory species.What we know we don't know: impacts of deep-sea mining on whales, dolphins, sharks, turtles, and other migratory species.November 20, 2025Andrew Thaler
2025: My year in writing, public speaking, and media interviews2025: My year in writing, public speaking, and media interviewsDecember 3, 2025David Shiffman
The Trouble with Teacup PigsThe Trouble with Teacup PigsOctober 14, 2012Andrew Thaler
Urea and Shark OsmoregulationUrea and Shark OsmoregulationNovember 15, 2010David Shiffman
How tiny satellites are tracking marine wildlifeDecember 1, 2025Andrew Thaler
Shark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine is a fake documentaryShark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine is a fake documentaryAugust 10, 2014Michelle Jewell
Build a dirt cheap, tough-as-nails field computer in a Pelican caseBuild a dirt cheap, tough-as-nails field computer in a Pelican caseJuly 21, 2015Andrew Thaler
Subscribe to our RSS Feed for updates whenever new articles are published.

We recommend Feedly for RSS management. It's like Google Reader, except it still exists.

Southern Fried Science

  • Home
  • About SFS
  • Authors
  • Support SFS


If you enjoy Southern Fried Science, consider contributing to our Patreon campaign.

Copyright © 2025 Southern Fried Science.

Theme: Oceanly Premium by ScriptsTown