August 30 is International Whale Shark Day! This day was established to raise awareness around the importance of whale sharks to marine ecosystems and their dwindling population numbers, and to encourage conservation efforts to protect these gentle sharks.
Read MoreIt’s Shark Week. What’s on the Menu?
Sure, the photography is incredible and the content is exciting on Shark Week, but most of us who actually spend our time in the ocean already know that sharks are cool, and humans are the ones to be feared, not the sharks.
Read MorePetition to Protect Great Hammerhead Sharks Under Endangered Species Act
Shark Stewards joins the Center for Biological Diversity calling for increased protection for Great Hammerhead Sharks under the ESA and in their complete range. We are also asking NMFS to support the motion to uplist this species and the scalloped hammerhead to Appendix I at the Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species in Panama, 2022.
Read MoreNew Hawaii Shark Regulation Implemented To Protect Pacific Sharks
A new regulation prohibiting the use of wire leaders in longline fisheries is expected to increase the survival of hooked oceanic whitetip sharks by up to 30%.
Read MoreSharks: The King of the Sea
Sharks are killed at an alarming rate, their death affects the sea population around them, and they are lacking support based on false man-eating narratives. In an article by Global
Read MoreShark Stewards News and Events February 2022
I’m writing you to thank you for your past engagement in our California community conservation and education, or joining us on our Sharktober Farallon Sanctuary expeditions. In 2021 we resumed […]
Read MoreOver 20,000 Shark Fins Seized, Canadian Importer Fined
On September 25, 2017, Hang Hing Herbal Medicine Ltd. imported a shipment containing 22 bags of processed shark fins, declared as fish bone, into Richmond, BC. The Canada Border Services Agency noted that the shipment contained wildlife products and referred it to ECCC Enforcement. Wildlife enforcement officers inspected the shipment and concluded that the products, declared as fish bone, were in fact shark fins. DNA testing was used to determine that the shipment contained two species of shark, one being a CITES Appendix II-listed species, Carcharhinus longimanus (oceanic whitetip shark). An importer must obtain a permit from the country of export before importing an Appendix II species into Canada. No permit to import the 12, 984 Oceanic Whitetip Shark fins had been obtained.
Read MoreBan The Shark Fin Trade
A ban on the shark trade would help keep the ecosystem stable. The low level of sharks
in the oceans has a detrimental effect on the ecosystem as a whole. For instance, the University
of Miami’s organization SRC (Shark Research and Conservation) led by marine biologist Dr
Neil Hammerschlag says that “Our research team found that across reefs where sharks have been
depleted, prey fishes had significantly smaller caudal fins and eyes compared to the reefs with
intact shark populations (up to 40 and 46% relative difference in standardized means).”.
Overfishing to Shark Fins: Blue Sharks Get the Blues
An estimated 20 million blue sharks are killed every year and enter the shark fin trade. Save this species form overfishing and the fin trade by protecting them under CITES Appendix II .
Read MoreSharktober: Why We Need Great White Sharks
On September 28, 2021, the ACS San Francisco Bay chapter was honored to host an exciting presentation by David McGuire, Founder and Director of Shark Stewards, National Geographic Explorer, and Emmy award-winning filmmaker.
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