An interesting article from National Geographic highlights a surprising yet substantial source of demand for shark products: the manufacture of vaccines, in particular those used against swine flu. Shark livers have high concentrations of an organic compound called squalene, which happens to be an effective immunologic adjuvant. Adjuvants stimulate the immune system to increase the response to a vaccine, meaning that less of the vaccine’s active component is required in order for it to prove effective. Consequently the use of adjuvants is recommended by the World Health Organisation, and they are primarily harvested from commercially fished shark species, including those listed as vulnerable to extinction by the IUCN Red List. (more…)
Comments (0)31 December 2009
29 December 2009
News catch-up: from Copenhagen to China’s Yao Ming
Apologies for the notably infrequent posts over the festive period. Rest assured news updates should now return to something approaching regularity, but here’s a brief catch up of stories from the past week or so.
The troubled Copenhagen Climate Change Conference in Denmark concluded on December 18th, yielding what has been reported internationally as a disappointing outcome. Although a deal was eventually reached (essentially aiming to prevent global temperatures from rising more than 2C and pledging financial aid to developing nations) it lacked actual targets for cuts in carbon emissions and there was no agreement on an international, legally binding treaty. The details of the agreement can be found here, whilst more information on how climate change is affecting our oceans can be found here.
More positive news is that the European Commission has elected to close all fisheries for the endangered porbeagle shark, following scientific advice given at the recent European Fisheries Council meeting. Porbeagle sharks, a close relative of the great white, have been heavily targeted both for their fins and meat, but North Atlantic populations have been observed to collapse in recent years. Hopefully effective enforcement will follow this legislation and permit the recovery of porbeagle populations. (more…)
Comments (0)25 December 2009
a R.A.V.E to save Mexico’s mangroves
When most people think of mangroves, they unfortunately envisage smelly malaria infested swamps full of dangerous and deadly beasts. The mangrove’s bad reputation, which dates back to the age of Victorian explorers is tragic because these tidal forests, which effortlessly straddle the realm between land and sea are one of the most important ecosystems to grace our planet. They act as nurseries and are the ocean’s kindergarten for many species of fish, mollusks and crustaceans. Without mangroves coral reefs for example, so adored by the public would be shadows of their riotous diverse selves. Mangroves also protect against coastal erosion and are our first line of defense against sea level rise. During the 2004 Asian Tsunami mangrove forests even presided over who lived and died. Coastlines with intact and healthy mangroves experienced a less savage death toll than areas where they had been cleared. Despite these glaringly vital roles that mangroves play they are exploited with great vigor . Their formidable wood, largely resistant to wet rot and termites is much sought after to build boats and houses, but the greatest danger to mangroves is coastal development. Their prime seafront location is often a death sentence as large-scale clearing goes hand in hand with the development of tourist infrastructure, shrimp farming ponds and agriculture projects in many parts of the world.
As chief photographer of the Save Our Seas Foundation I have had the great privilege of exploring many mangrove ecosystems around the world. Photographing the tidal forests of Aldabra’s giant lagoon in 2008 rewarded me with a feeling of having traveled back in time to when our planet’s seas were still healthy and intact (Visit SOSF Aldabra Expedition Blog). Unfortunately however very few mangroves are as pristine as those on this remote Indian Ocean atoll. Halfway across the world on Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula the development of the resort town of Cancun laid waste to large tracts of mangroves in the 1970s. More recently tourist development began to expand south and today some of Mexico’s wildest tropical coastal landscapes are under threat. (more…)
17 December 2009
How hard can it be to study turtles?
More so than you might think.
Amongst marine researchers, the critically endangered hawksbill turtle is notoriously difficult to study in its natural habitat. Like tortoises, turtles are often viewed as slow, lumbering reptiles, but any scuba diver fortunate enough to see one in the wild will appreciate that encounters tend to be fleeting. These skittish creatures are usually seen darting into the blue, wary of any unfamiliar presence. Hawksbill turtles are typically cautious of anything larger than themselves due to the associated risk of predation, hence their tendency to avoid people and the subsequent problems faced when trying to study them.
Although their reproductive cycle is reasonably well understood from being so accessible when tirelessly digging their nesting pits on the beach, the difficulty of locating hawksbill turtles underwater, and crucially being able to observe them for any length of time, has meant that their feeding methods, prey preferences, social interactions and impact on their environment all largely remain a mystery.
Once used to his presence, these hawksbill turtles treated Rainer like any other marine denizen.
15 December 2009
SOSF Basking Shark Research Featured on BBC One
Today the ongoing research into basking sharks off the coast of Scotland by SOSF scientists Dr Mauvis Gore and Dr Rupert Ormond was featured on BBC One programme Animal 24:7. Their work aims to build a comprehensive photographic database of UK observed basking sharks, while simultaneously using satellite tracking to observe and investigate their migratory movements into international waters. Last year Mauvis and her team revealed that basking sharks in British waters do in fact undertake transoceanic migrations, when one individual with a satellite tag was recorded to travel between the Isle of Man, UK, and the waters off the Newfoundland shelf, 9589km away. Mauvis emphasised that this result meant that: ‘International collaboration with governments and scientists and the protection of basking sharks across all ocean regions is essential if this species is to survive.’
If you missed the programme and are from the UK you can view it again on BBC iPlayer here. For more information on the SOSF basking shark project you can view its homepage here.
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