Bad news for sharks in the South China Sea

Posted on By David Shiffman 1 Comment on Bad news for sharks in the South China Sea
Conservation, Science

While a large percentage of the world’s shark fins pass through Hong Kong fish markets, most come from far-away countries and little attention has been paid to shark populations in adjacent waters. An important new paper, appropriately titled “The sharks of South East Asia – unknown, unmonitored and unmanaged” provides new insight into this problem.

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Help “A Sea Change” get on Netflix!

Posted on By David Shiffman 2 Comments on Help “A Sea Change” get on Netflix!
Uncategorized

The fantastic ocean-acidification documentary “A Sea Change” needs your help! They have just become a “saved film” on Netflix, which means that the DVD-rental website is waiting to see how many people add the movie to their queue before deciding whether or not to buy copies of it. If you or anyone you know has … Read More “Help “A Sea Change” get on Netflix!” »

Finding Melville’s Whale: Chapter 16 – The Ship

Posted on By Andrew Thaler 6 Comments on Finding Melville’s Whale: Chapter 16 – The Ship
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Chapter 16 of Herman Melville’s classic – Moby Dick. Read along with us and discuss this chapter or the book as a whole in the comments. The Ship Pequod, the ship Ishmael has selected garnished in the bones of the whales she’s killed. A skeletal tent rises from her deck. And within, one third the … Read More “Finding Melville’s Whale: Chapter 16 – The Ship” »

Top Posts for September, 2010

Posted on By Andrew Thaler
Uncategorized

Top posts (by page views) for the previous month: How to build a canoe from scratch on a graduate student stipend Anti-shark stereotypes in “River Monsters” Shark Science Monday: Aleks Maljkovic discusses whether shark feeding dives harm sharks Greenwashing – Is there really a sustainable Orange Roughy fishery? It’s an Ocean of Pseudoscience Week! The … Read More “Top Posts for September, 2010” »

Democrats support shark conservation, Republicans do not

Posted on By David Shiffman 13 Comments on Democrats support shark conservation, Republicans do not
Conservation

I’ve written about the Shark Conservation Act several times. Though it passed the House of Representatives, it keeps stalling in the Senate, and bills need to be passed by both in order to become law. The SCA would close many existing loopholes in United States shark management policy, and is endorsed by many conservation organizations.

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Should South Carolina’s public colleges freeze new construction projects to save money?

Posted on By David Shiffman 5 Comments on Should South Carolina’s public colleges freeze new construction projects to save money?
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Rising tuition costs are a problem at institutions of higher learning around the country. When it is more expensive to go to college, fewer people can afford it. Various strategies have been tried to fix this problem, but the latest hits close to home for me. This week, South Carolina governor Mark Sanford proposed strict new spending rules for public colleges. From the Charleston Post and Courier article:

“The state’s Budget and Control Board could decide this week whether to place a moratorium on new building projects on public college and university campuses as a way to reduce the cost of tuition.”

Statewide, school administrators have greeted this announcement with strong resistance. Fundamentally, it all comes down to different philosophies of government. Conservatives like Mark Sanford support lower taxes and lower spending, while liberals favor a “tax and spend” strategy. Which is more appropriate for state-funded colleges?

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Shark Science Monday: Eric Clua discusses the economics of shark feeding tourism

Posted on By David Shiffman 4 Comments on Shark Science Monday: Eric Clua discusses the economics of shark feeding tourism
Conservation, Science

Continuing the discussion about shark feeding dives started last week by Aleks Maljkovic, Eric Clua discusses the economics of this practice and concludes that a living shark can be worth much more than a dead shark. If you have any questions for me or the subject of this week’s interview, please leave them as comments … Read More “Shark Science Monday: Eric Clua discusses the economics of shark feeding tourism” »