Masquerades in Conservation

Posted on By Amy Freitag 6 Comments on Masquerades in Conservation
Conservation

Is it possible to mistakenly support a cause you disagree with?  Well, theoretically no, but it’s really all in the name.  There are a number of groups out there with clever titles, but are they misleading?  I’ll leave the obvious ones like the Discovery Institute and American Enterprise Association for Public Policy Research to your Google prowess, but here’s a great example from my personal experience: the Coastal Conservation Association.

What might at first appear to be a group supporting conservation biology and ringing the bell for endangered species and receding wetlands is really a group designed to advocate for recreational fishing at all three levels of our government: local, state, and national.  Their national website is fairly straightforward about this mission, but it is not so obvious when they’re testifying at a state fisheries meeting.

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Commercial Interests Trump Endangered Species

Posted on By Andrew Thaler 7 Comments on Commercial Interests Trump Endangered Species
Conservation

The 15th United Nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species is meeting this week in Doha, Qatar to revise the current list of species protected under international trade agreements. On the proposed list for this year are Blue Fin Tuna, Nile Crocodile, Polar Bears, eight species of shark, and an entire family of red … Read More “Commercial Interests Trump Endangered Species” »

The Growing Consensus of Global Draining

Posted on By Andrew Thaler 13 Comments on The Growing Consensus of Global Draining
Science

Since my initial post of the new phenomenon of Global Draining, there has been an outpouring of support and a trickle of criticism (mostly stemming from hydrologists in the pockets of Big Flood Insurance). Dr. M of Deep Sea News kicked it of with an advanced mathematical model of the effects of Global Draining. Micheal Bok from the blog, Arthropoda, chimed in with his personal observation of Global Draining. Jeff Ives has been tweeting his thoughts on the big drain over the last month @thejives.

But my detractors have raised valid criticisms. Primarily that my original study covered too short a time frame and was biased to only a small period of the tidal cycle. To remedy these concerns, I have conducted a new study, tracking the draining of the sea over an 8 days period, by measuring the maximum high tide of each day. The results are shocking.

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A cry for reason at CITES

Posted on By David Shiffman
Uncategorized

Edward Dorson, the Director of Conservation Strategies for the Shark Research Institute, has published an excellent editorial about CITES in the Gulf Times, which describes itself as “Qatar’s top-selling English daily newspaper”. The editorial can be found here. Here are some highlights, though I recommend reading the whole article. “All trade in a species vanishes … Read More “A cry for reason at CITES” »

Four things everyone needs to know about sharks: A shark conservation documentary and lesson plan

Posted on By David Shiffman 29 Comments on Four things everyone needs to know about sharks: A shark conservation documentary and lesson plan
Conservation, Science

One week after the world premier at the Benthic Ecology conference’s Beneath the Waves Film Festival, I am pleased to announce that my new shark conservation mini-documentary, “four things everyone needs to know about sharks”, is now available on YouTube.

Check it out here:

If you are an educator, the movie is intended to be part of a lesson plan about shark conservation. I have created a middle school version, a high school version, and a college version. Contact me at WhySharksMatter AT gmail DOT com with the subject “Shark Lesson Plan” and I’ll send you what I have, or we can discuss making a custom lesson plan that suits the specific needs of your class.

If you are not an educator but care about sharks, the movie can be a stand-alone way to educate your friends, family, coworkers, classmates, etc.

Please let me know what you think about the video by commenting on this blog post.

Thanks to all of my photographer and musician partners in this project!

Check out their websites:

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Ethical Debate: Captive whale sharks

Posted on By David Shiffman 81 Comments on Ethical Debate: Captive whale sharks
Science

WhySharksMatter beneath a whale shark

Following the deaths of two whale sharks in 2007, many animal rights activists harshly criticized the Georgia Aquarium for keeping these animals captive in the first place.  I recently visited the Georgia Aquarium for blogger day, and the aquarium’s Chief Science Officer Dr. Bruce Carlson agreed to answer my questions about their whale sharks. I know that many of you have strong opinions about shark issues, but I wanted to provide the Georgia Aquarium’s side of the story.

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