Expedition Week premieres tonight, Shark Men next Sunday

Posted on By David Shiffman 1 Comment on Expedition Week premieres tonight, Shark Men next Sunday
Popular Culture

Expedition Week 2011 starts tonight on the National Geographic Channel. This year, there are 13 premieres on seven straight nights, and they promise “extreme treks, new discoveries, and bold investigations” featuring topics as diverse as conservation, exotic human cultures, archaeology, geology, and maritime history. In other words, there’s plenty for science geeks like us to enjoy.

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Shark shooter identified, but has he broken any laws?

Posted on By David Shiffman 18 Comments on Shark shooter identified, but has he broken any laws?
Conservation, Popular Culture, Science

Earlier this month, a video of fishermen shooting a rifle at sharks appeared on YouTube and caused quite a stir. The video has since been removed, but not before shark conservation activists  made copies (warning: the videos are extremely graphic and have inappropriate language). Apparently some computers can access the site with the videos and others can’t, if you can’t access the site and want a copy of the videos just let me know. All images in this post are screenshots from the video.

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Nominations now open for the Oceana Ocean Hero award!

Posted on By 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?

Posted on By David Shiffman 125 Comments on Severely injured great white shark found, are scientists responsible?
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:

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