Conservation – Page 48 – Southern Fried Science

Commercial Interests Trump Endangered Species

March 22, 2010March 25, 2010 Andrew Thaler 7 Comments

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

March 20, 2010April 4, 2010 David Shiffman 29 Comments

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:

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

March 18, 2010April 4, 2010 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

March 18, 2010 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

March 17, 2010April 4, 2010 David Shiffman 6 Comments

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?

Sharks and CITES

March 15, 2010April 21, 2010 David Shiffman 1 Comment

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.

Summary of tweets from Benthic Ecology 2010

March 14, 2010 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.

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

March 12, 2010 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!

March 8, 2010 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!” »

Hawaii’s shark fin bill: Public comment period closes Monday

March 6, 2010April 4, 2010 David Shiffman 3 Comments

Conservation, Science

The government of Hawaii has proposed a bill banning the sale of shark fins within their state. It currently has the catchy title of “SB 2169: A bill for an act relating to shark fins”, and you can read it here.

This bill is progressing much faster than my shark conservation friends working in Hawaii suspected. The public comment period closes Monday at 8:00 a.m. Hawaii time! If you have something you’d like to say about this bill, please do it soon.

You do not need to be a Hawaii resident to submit a comment!

Here’s how to submit a comment: