Sharks are different with other fishes

  • Sharks and rays do not have true bones like other fishes. They have cartilage instead which is lighter and much more elastic and allows them to bend in very tight circles.

  • Sharks do not have swim bladders. A swim bladder is a gas filled sack inside the body of bony fishes that allows them to stay still without sinking. Sharks compensate by having a very big liver that is filled with oil. Even so, sharks sink unless they keep swimming forward. The exception is the Sandtiger Shark which swallows air to make itself more buoyant.

  • A shark’s upper jaw is not fused to its skull like most animals. When a shark bites a large object, it is able to move its upper and lower jaw forward in order to take a bigger bite.

  • Unlike other fishes, sharks are able to replace their teeth constantly. New teeth grow from the inner surface of the jaw and rotate forward when the old teeth get worn out or lost during feeding.

  • Sharks and rays do not reproduce like other fishes. Most fish release clouds of sperm and eggs into the water column where they mix together. The fertilized eggs then float around until the fish larvae hatch and form schools of tiny fish. Male sharks have two organs called claspers attached to their anal fins. They insert one of these into the female shark’s cloaca (the entrance to the uterus) to transfer sperm (just like in mammals). Some sharks and rays incubate the eggs in their uteruses until the baby sharks are ready to be born. Other sharks and rays (i.e. skates) lay eggs and attach them to the reef.

  • Sharks have between 5 and 7 gill slits on each side of their body in front of their pectoral fins. Bony fishes only have one pair. Having many exposed gill slits probably helps transfer more oxygen into their blood faster which allows them to swim very fast when they need to.

  • Most shark’s skin is covered in small denticles instead of scales. Denticles are a lot like teeth. They have dentine in the centre and enamel on the surface. This makes shark’s skin very tough and abrasive like sandpaper. The shape and position of some shark’s denticles also helps reduce friction so that they can slip through the water easier.

  • Sharks have an extra sense that is able to detect tiny electric fields. They can use this to find food that is buried or to search for animals to eat in the dark or in turbid water.

  • Sharks and rays make up the sub-class of fishes called elasmobranches. This sub-class is part of a class of cartilaginous fishes called Chondrichthyes which also includes chimaeras (ratfishes).

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White Shark Trust

The South African based White Shark Trust is “a non-profit organization founded in 2002 to promote and conduct research, education and conservation projects on the endangered Great White Shark”

It is the brain child of Michael Scholl (founder and trustee) who has been conducting research on Great White Sharks since 1997.

The goals of the White Shark Trust are as follows:

  1. To establish a fund in the Republic of South Africa for the purpose of receiving grants and donations from international sources as well as sources within the Republic of South Africa;

  2. To manage and disburse such funds in the furtherance of the objectives of the Trust;

  3. To promote dialogue between various research, conservation, education and Government bodies concerned with management, research, conservation and education concerning the Great White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias);

  4. To assist in providing relevant advice on the management of the Great White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias);

  5. To obtain the support for the objectives of the White Shark Trust from local residents living around concentration hotspots for the Great White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias), including Mossel Bay, Dyer Island / Gansbaai and False Bay in particular;

  6. To obtain the support for the objectives of the Trust from the established tourism industry involved with the Great White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) located at Mossel Bay, Dyer Island / Gansbaai and False Bay in particular;

  7. To ensure that effective action is taken in all matters affecting the welfare and preservation of the Great White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias);

  8. To promote educational opportunities for the general public, schools and the tourism industry;

  9. To conduct and support scientific research projects and field expeditions with regards to the Great White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias).”

In connection with other like-minded South African organizations, the work of the White Shark Trust is of primary importance in order to better understand the critical role that White Sharks play in balancing the marine environment. Without their joint efforts we are unable to identify the need for better shark protection.

Sea Shepherd

Sea Shepherd is best known for its frontline work protecting marine mammals but its broader mandate is to protect all ocean creatures. Styled on the more widely publicized organization Greenpeace, Sea Shepherd continued to grow teeth where Greenpeace lost them through inactivity. Sea Shepherd’s founder Captain Paul Watson has a reputation for pursuing illegal whalers and longliners, harassing seal cullers, organizing rallies, and generally irritating governments that would rather turn a blind eye, and infuriating fishing consortiums who would rather go about their illegal and often cruel practices unnoticed.

Sea Shepherd’s flag ship The Farley Mowat has harassed shark fishing boats in Costa Rican waters and sent sailors sprawling over their decks after being hit by The Marley Mowat’s water cannons.

Captain Watson also manages to fit a lecture circuit into his busy schedule, during which he educates anyone willing to listen on the plight of whales, dolphins, seals, and sharks.

Sea Shepherd’s second vessel is on permanent patrol in the Galapagos area where Park Rangers are virtually helpless against the Ecuadorian fishing boats that brazenly ignore the protection afforded to the park by its world heritage site status. Even with Sea Shepherd’s vigilant patrols the rangers are so out numbered that fishermen have an almost unimpeded run of the islands and the Galapagos Sharks that once schooled in vast numbers around Darwin Island have all but vanished.

This kind of hard line activism is not for everyone. The Sea Shepherd crew have been deported, locked up, threatened, and roughed up on many occasions. Violent confrontations at sea may not fit with your particular code of behavior or ethics but what makes you more uncomfortable: sponsoring Sea Shepherd’s activities that achieve direct results in the protection of endangered creatures, or lobbying deaf government officials while the wholesale slaughter of our oceans sharks and whales continues unchallenged?

If Sea Shepherd seems like a worthwhile organization with which to take a stand, you can help them in a variety of ways. Joining Sea Shepherd with a modest contribution, helps with the provisioning, fueling, and maintenance of their ships. As a member you may also have the chance to sign on as a volunteer for a tour of duty on one of their campaigns. On their website they list what skills they are looking for in new crew members but they also take unskilled deckhands that are willing to work hard.

The Shark Trust

The Shark Trust was established in 1997 to study, protect, and manage the elasmobranch species found in UK waters and internationally. It is a member of the European Elasmobranch Association and works with other EEA organizations to counter the enormous fishing pressure that European shark and ray stocks are under.

The Shark Trust’s mandate includes:

  • Introducing effective management on a regional basis to regulate shark and ray fisheries and ensure that they are sustainable.

  • Reducing shark and ray bycatch and mortality in other fisheries.

  • Increasing research efforts on the biology of sharks and rays and their fisheries, including the promotion of a collaborative tag and release program.

  • Improving records of catches, landings, and international trade in species of sharks and rays.

  • Improving management of critical habitats, including nursery grounds, under threat.

  • Increasing the amount of information available to the public and decision makers.

The Shark Trust encourages scientists, divers, fishermen, anglers, and the general public to join the growing number of ST members that currently lend their support.

Your membership in The Shark Trust adds to the pressure that it is able to be put on governing and regulatory agencies, and helps spread awareness on the plight of sharks and rays in general.

Subscription to The Shark Trust carries no obligation on your part unless you wish it to. However, if you would like to help educate or raise funds your added contribution will be most welcome.

Shark Trust members receive the trust’s magazine/newsletter ‘Shark Focus’ 3 times per year. This is a glossy publication that chronicles the latest work of the trust and has articles on a variety of shark and ray subjects. Upon joining the trust you will also receive i.d. posters of British shark and ray species and other Shark Trust goodies.

The Shark Trust also hosts a highly informative website with sections on all aspects of sharks and rays. The site also contains a good image database of elasmobranch species and an active and well moderated forum for anyone wishing to talk sharks.

The Shark Safe Network

The Shark Safe Network provides a framework to combine and focus the efforts of committed individuals and shark conservation groups towards specific shark conservation campaigns. If you have a passion to protect sharks, Shark Safe Network helps you to get involved and make a difference – by participating in a current campaign or by launching your own campaign in your community.

Shark Safe Network provides the information, tools, raw materials and support. You provide the passion!!

The goal of every Shark Safe Network campaign is to reduce and ultimately eliminate wasteful and unsustainable activities and products that threaten sharks’ survival. Shark Safe Network invites and welcomes participation from any and all organizations and individuals, provided that all campaigns are conducted according the Shark Safe Network campaign principles.

And we always keep in mind that helping sharks = helping people. When you consider any of the issues that threaten sharks today, there is also a corresponding negative impact on humans and the planet.

Shark Safe Network is all about getting involved and doing something that counts. Join the Shark Safe Network and you will make a difference!

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