David Shiffman

Charlie and the Adventure: June 23, 2010

June 23, 2010June 7, 2010 David Shiffman 1 Comment

Uncategorized

Charlie helps WhySharksMatter and South Carolina Department of Natural Resources scientists count, measure, and tag newborn sharks like this scalloped hammerhead pup. This data is vital for shark management plans. Charlie uses himself for scale to show how small these animals are when they are young. Scalloped hammerheads can grow to more than 10 feet … Read More “Charlie and the Adventure: June 23, 2010” »

Charlie and the Adventure: June 22, 2010

June 22, 2010June 7, 2010 David Shiffman 2 Comments

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Finally out on the water, Charlie learns about an important marine conservation issue: bycatch. WhySharksMatter and Charlie caught 43 horseshoe crabs in our net while sampling for sharks. All of them were released unharmed after being transported a few miles from the net.

Anti-shark stereotypes in “River Monsters”

June 21, 2010June 21, 2010 David Shiffman 44 Comments

Popular Culture, Science

Over Memorial Day weekend, Animal Planet aired a marathon of it’s new hit show “River Monsters”. The show focuses on self-described “biologist and extreme angler” Jeremy Wade’s attempt to find some of the largest freshwater fish on Earth. I’ve heard good things about the show in the past but had never seen it before. After discovering that there were two episodes that dealt with bull sharks, and I immediately DVR-ed them to make sure I didn’t miss anything. I was absolutely shocked at what I heard Jeremy Wade say about sharks:

Charlie and the Adventure: June 21, 2010

June 21, 2010June 7, 2010 David Shiffman

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Charlie learns about another endangered species to be on the lookout for while on the water. North Atlantic Right Whales pass by South Carolina’s shores every year as part of their migration route.

Charlie and the Adventure: June 20, 2010

June 20, 2010June 7, 2010 David Shiffman

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Before he leaves to catch sharks, Charlie learns that manatees use South Carolina waterways. He’ll be on the lookout while out on the boat. WhySharksMatter has seen several manatees in the area.

Charlie and the Adventure: June 19, 2010

June 19, 2010June 7, 2010 David Shiffman

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Charlie is ready to go catch sharks with WhySharkMatter!

Expedition Great White: A response from Dr. Michael Domeier

June 14, 2010November 16, 2011 David Shiffman 9 Comments

Conservation, Popular Culture, Science

Last week, I wrote about National Geographic’s Expedition Great White. In that post, I mentioned that the practice of removing great white sharks from the water for research was controversial, and that I would ask the lead scientist in the show about it. Here are answers to my questions from Dr. Michael Domeier and his colleague Nicole Lucas. They also wanted me to point out that their website has an FAQ page about this technique, which can be found here.

Sharks International: Day 3 and 4

June 10, 2010June 21, 2010 David Shiffman

Science

The last talk of Sharks International just concluded. Day 3 focused on genetic and molecular techniques, which have been used to answer all sorts of interesting questions about sharks. I presented my research for the first time, and it was very well received (which is part of the reason why I haven’t posted in a couple of days- I’ve been very busy answering questions and celebrating being done with my talk).

Sharks International: Day 2 Summary

June 8, 2010 David Shiffman 3 Comments

Science

The second day of Sharks International just concluded. This morning’s keynote address focused on how shark behavior research has changed in the last few decades, and how improved technology has made that possible. Scientists used to have to build their own acoustic tags and follow the tagged sharks around in a boat. Nowadays, tags can … Read More “Sharks International: Day 2 Summary” »

Sharks International: Day 1 Summary

June 7, 2010 David Shiffman

Science

The first day of talks is over here at Sharks International. In this morning’s keynote, we were treated to a summary of the last 20 years of great white shark research in Australia. Talks so far have mostly focused on tracking studies, and people have made some fascinating discoveries.