Sharks decline by 97 percent in Mediterranean

by Heiky | June 11, 2008 at 01:32 pm
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A report released on Wednesday showed that the number of sharks in the Mediterranean has declined by 97 percent over the past 200 years. This affects the entire ecological balance of the underwater world.

The report by the Lenfest Ocean Program, which is based in Washington, used records like fishermen's logs, museum specimens and sightings to estimate the number and size of Mediterranean sharks over the past two centuries.

There was only enough data on 5 of the 20 big shark species present in the Mediterranean to be useful to the study: the hammerhead, thresher, blue and two species of mackerel shark, which averaged a decline of 97 percent.

"It will have a major impact on the ecosystem because large predatory sharks are at the top of the food chain," said Francesco Ferretti, the lead author of the report. Losing the top of the food chain can mean smaller fish thrive and consume more of their prey, upsetting the ecological balance.

"If we lose these sharks, we are going to lose this important portion of the ecosystem functioning," Ferretti said.

The International Union for  Conservation of Nature found that 11 kinds of sharks faced extinction due to over fishing in a report last month. This was partially caused by an exponential increase in demands for sharkfin soup in Asia.

Further details can be found here:  http://www.nowpublic.com/environment/sharks-swim-closer-extinction

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lcherry
lcherry
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 13:52 on June 11th, 2008

Heiky, I like this story. About 100 million shark are killed each year - many for their fins for shark-fin soup.

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bigeye bubblefish

A magical moment in Red Sea, diving a school of hammerheads (Daedalus reef, egypt, June 2004)
Save the sharks, save the oceans!!!

bigeye bubblefish has contributed a photo to this story.

Chimerico
Chimerico
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 03:43 on June 12th, 2008

Heiky, I like this story. It's good stuff.

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allexs1302

There's no denying that sharks have an image problem. The serial-killer stare, the obscene grimace of warped teeth, the bloody feeding frenzies—it's no wonder they've been difficult to love as long as we've known them. And writers haven't always helped their cause.

Sharks are in decline worldwide !! whe have to do something to help them !they are animals to!

allexs1302 has contributed a photo to this story.

jordan
jordan
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 04:15 on June 12th, 2008

For more sharky info,check out the Natal Shark Board.

Veritas1911
Veritas1911
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 04:40 on June 12th, 2008

I feel with media stories of shark attacks and movies like Open Water and Jaws, etc., the general perception of sharks is negative.  That said, any awareness of the positives is half the solution.  That said, nice work.

The photo I took of a shark listed in the blog (http://www.flickr.com/photos/veritas1911/2568789925/) was my first real up close experience.  I must say that I was in awe with their sleek beauty and ominous presence.

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Versatile Aure

There are some initiatives aiming at protecting sharks and the wildlife overall. They need funds.

Versatile Aure has contributed a photo to this story.

april418
april418
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 06:35 on June 12th, 2008

Heiky, I like this story. It's good stuff.

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janssend

This photo was taken at the Manila Ocean Park. I hope they take good care of the sharks in captivity.

janssend has contributed a photo to this story.

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steve.k

This was taken at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The piece is called "The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living " and is by Damien Hirst.
http://www.metmuseum.org/Press_Room/full_release.asp?prid=%7B3687750C-3006-4D83-8BD6-8FC5CB67FCA6%7D

steve.k has contributed a photo to this story.

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Jimothy12

332 pound Thrasher Shark caught off the coast of Ocean City, MD USA. Body messured 7 ft, tail was an additional 7 ft in length.

Jimothy12 has contributed a photo to this story.

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brownscorpios

This 12 foot Hammerhead shark came within a foot of our boat as I was reeling in a tarpon a mile off of Key West. Shocking that such a large shark was that close and in such shallow water.

brownscorpios has contributed a photo to this story.

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cmlis06

Taken in the Las Vegas Mirage Shark Experience aquarium, with crowds of school kids tapping at the glass.

cmlis06 has contributed a photo to this story.

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El Pistolero

This small shark was caught and released on the Padre Island National Seashore. Removing the hook is more fun than catching the shark. Long pliers are a must.

El Pistolero has contributed a photo to this story.

Jarrett Martineau
Jarrett Martineau
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 11:39 on June 12th, 2008

Heiky, thanks for this. Great pics!

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firestormo

Stuart Cove's Shark Feeding Dive in the Bahamas.. it was a great experience..

firestormo has contributed a photo to this story.

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diylibrarian

Hammerhead shark at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.

diylibrarian has contributed a photo to this story.

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And From The Ashes

This is a hammer-head shark from the Atlanta Aquarium. He was absolutely amazing. I'm awe-struck by their beauty,

And From The Ashes has contributed a photo to this story.

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PeachEye Photography

This is a great white shark I snapped having a go at a seal decoy off the coast of Hermanus, South Africa. The point of the trip was shark cage diving under the guidance of Brian MacFarland (featured on Discovery Channel). I never went into the cage, being that I'm a complete pansy, but I got plenty of great snapshots of the beautiul great whites in action.

PeachEye Photography has contributed a photo to this story.

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niknik7387

Sharks are my biggest fear. My family set up a shark feeding tour while visiting Tahiti...one of the scariest days of my life, but worth the pictures.

niknik7387 has contributed a photo to this story.

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lecou

i only took this picture in one of new zealands biggest auqariums. i had to go there cause i actually broke my camera during my first diving trip in the ozean, where i "met" a shark ...

it was just amzazing to see these beautifull and scaring animals so close as a diver ... i look forward to do it again ^^

it doesnt metter how many humans they have (and will) kill, they dont deserve any of such silly treatments like we humans do to them ...

i think we killed more of our one race than they can do in millions of years !!! :

lecou has contributed a photo to this story.

futureprogress
futureprogress
flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 14:17 on June 12th, 2008

97% is a very large number -- it will be interesting to see how the ecosystem adapts to the void.

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sexycan_puss

The Monterey Bay Aquarium was cleebrating the addition of their new shark exhibition. it was fantastic! I've never seen anything so cool. It's sad that people fear these animals.

sexycan_puss has contributed a photo to this story.

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pats0n

this is photo of hammerhead school from Alcyone point at Cocos Island, there shark population declined 70% percent during last 20 years.

pats0n has contributed a photo to this story.

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Chunky_K

Natures equivalent to the iPod...A design classic.

Chunky_K has contributed a photo to this story.

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altsaint

The hammerhead shark photographs I have posted accompany those published with an article about The Galapagos Islands, featured in the June edition of Diver magazine (UK). The Galapagos is one of the earth's most fragile ecosystems, and the whole area is a marine reserve. Despite this, shark fin trawlers still frequent these waters, and decimate the shark populations there. If we can't protect an endangered species within a marine reserve, what hope is there?

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Haole63

If the shark population is declining world wide you wouldn't have been able to tell on this particular day.
I went on a "Shark Watching" adventure four miles of the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii. No sooner had the crew dropped anchor, the 21' boat we were in was literally surrounded by sharks. The particular species we encountered that day was the Galapogas shark. By my best estimation there were at least 12 individuals circling the boat all between 6-10 feet long. These sharks were obviously conditioned to come running for dinner when they sensed the boat was near. Thank goodness people are not on the Galapagos menu, if we were, there would be a lot less of us swimming and surfing in Hawaii.

Haole63 has contributed a photo to this story.

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memorylane

this photo was taken at a port in salalah in Oman. These were cought by local fishing boats.

memorylane has contributed a photo to this story.

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Shell_Indialantic

Dead thresher shark, near Point Conception, California. August 2006. Something much larger was feeding on it.

Shell_Indialantic has contributed a photo to this story.

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samui13coconut13

this image was taken 300 miles off the coast of Costa Rica at the island of Cocos. The water around Cocos is very nutrient rich which brings in a lot of sharks. sadly though the long line fishermen know this and target this area. speaking to the guides on our dive boat about this , they inform me that this long lining practice has had a dramatic effect on the numbers of sharks around the island.

samui13coconut13 has contributed a photo to this story.

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