La chasse aux requins est ouverte !                                                         17/12/04  

Une partie de chasse hors du commun a été lancée, ce matin, en Australie.

Les autorités ont permis à plusieurs propriétaires de bateau de traquer un requin responsable de la mort d'un skieur nautique au large d'Adélaïde.

Le requin blanc de cinq mètres de long a dévoré Nick Peterson, un adolescent de 18 ans dont les restes ont été retrouvés dans l'océan. Le grand requin blanc est une espèce protégée en Australie, mais une autorisation spéciale a été accordée aux chasseurs.

Il s'agit de la seconde attaque mortelle de requin à survenir en Australie depuis samedi dernier. Un plongeur avait alors été tué. En tout, huit personnes ont été tuées par des requins dans les eaux australiennes depuis l'an 2000.

 

Ces 10 dernières années, les requins ont attaqué très près des côtes.
Cela est dû en grande partie à la raréfaction de leurs proies naturelles en pleine mer.




Peu d’études ont été réalisées sur les causes réelles de ces attaques. Victor Coppleson
rédigea en 1958 une synthèse de ses observations. Elle reste toujours valable.

• La plupart des agressions se sont produites entre 14h et 18h
• La météo n’a aucune incidence sur les attaques
• Les attaques sont en général le fait d’animaux isolés
• La plupart du temps, le requin s’acharne sur sa victime, ignorant totalement les autres nageurs.

Plus d'infos

“Des inconscients jouent avec notre vie. On ne peut pas rester sans rien dire”. Le petit monde des surfeurs est en ébullition. L’attaque d’hier sur un jeune planchiste de 15 ans lui reste en travers de la gorge. Et pour cause, beaucoup sont persuadés que cet événement tragique ne s’explique pas seulement par la fatalité. Depuis quelques semaines, une information inquiétante circule chez les planchistes : des clubs de plongée pratiqueraient du “Shark feeding”. Cette pratique, consistant à attirer des requins avec de la nourriture pour satisfaire la curiosité de clients en mal de sensation, est répandue en Polynésie et dans certains pays comme l’Afrique du Sud, mais est parfaitement interdite en France et dans les Dom.
Les événements de ces derniers jours ne rassurent en tout cas vraiment pas les amateurs de glisse. Jeudi dernier déjà, deux personnes auraient fait une rencontre malencontreuse avec des squales. Il est huit heures ce jour là à Boucan Canot quand un maître nageur, hors de ses heures de service, ressent un choc violent sous son surf. Il rejoint rapidement la côte et observe sur sa planche des traces d’impacts similaires à ce que peut laisser un requin. Quelques minutes plus tard, un plongeur appelle au secours de la bouée située face à la zone de baignade. Il affirme que des requins bouledogues tournent autour de lui en se rapprochant, signe d’une attaque imminente. Il sera finalement secouru par un bateau de plongée passant non loin de là. C’est la première fois que de telles rencontres avec des requins sont signalées aux abords de Boucan Canot. Et pour les surfeurs, c’est d’autant plus étrange que plusieurs personnes ont déjà remarqué des faits étranges dans les parages.

Des poissons au comportement étrange.

“Des clubs de plongée en mal de clients essaient d’attirer des requins sur les épaves de l’Haï-Siang et du Navarra situées aux abords de Boucan Canot. Ils appâtent les prédateurs avec des restes de poissons. Plusieurs pêcheurs me l’ont confirmé. Résultat, de dangereux prédateurs s’habituent à tourner près des plages”, raconte un professeur de surf. Un plongeur habitué de ces sites de plongée confirme : “Ces derniers temps, les poissons ont des comportements étranges près de ces épaves. Au lieu de fuir comme ils le font normalement, ils viennent rechercher le contact avec les plongeurs. C’est complètement inhabituel. Ces animaux n’agissent ainsi que quand ils ont l’habitude d’être nourris par l’homme. Je me suis donc renseigné auprès d’amis plongeurs et l’on m’a confirmé que des clubs descendent des restes de poissons au fond pour appâter les requins.” Faits avérés ou simples rumeurs, les avis sont partagés. Du côté des surfeurs, beaucoup sont persuadés que des inconscients jouent avec leur vie. Mais chez les plongeurs, on parle évidemment de ladi-lafé. “C’est vrai que ce bruit court depuis plus d’un mois, reconnaît Arnaud, moniteur de plongée à l’Aress à Saint-Gilles. Mais personnellement, je reste sceptique. Je ne peux pas imaginer que des professionnels seraient assez bêtes pour appâter les requins. Tout le monde sait que c’est très dangereux.” Mêmes échos auprès d’Emmanuel Eby, responsable d’Aquabulle à Saint-Leu : “Il se disait effectivement il y a peu qu’il y avait du nourrissage sur ces deux épaves. Mais franchement, je ne vois pas qui pourrait bien faire ça.”
Pour expliquer la présence de requins, plus importante en ce moment que d’habitude aux abords de la Réunion, les professionnels de la plongée avancent d’autres explications.

Un phénomène naturel.

D’abord, un phénomène naturel qui se reproduit chaque année. “Il y a tout le temps plus de requins à cette période de l’année. Avec le retour de l’été, l’eau se réchauffe. Cela fait revenir les poissons vers la côte, ce qui attire les requins”, analyse Frédéric Cierco, secrétaire du Club subaquatique de la Réunion. Les plongeurs du club de Saint-Gilles renvoient aussi la balle aux pêcheurs : “Il est possible que certaines personnes aient retrouvé des carcasses près des épaves ou aux abords des côtes. Mais ce ne sont pas des appâts. Il faut plutôt regarder du côté des pêcheurs qui vident leurs poissons et rejettent leurs déchets à la mer avant de rentrer dans le port.”
Ces derniers, bien évidemment, nient avoir recours à ce genre de pratique. “On vide nos poissons en mer au fur et à mesure qu’on les vide. Jamais aux abords des côtes”, se défend Lucet July, le vice-président du Comité régional des pêcheurs.
Qui dit vrai ? Qui invente ? Difficile de trancher. Mais pour les surfeurs, une chose est sûre : si ce genre de pratiques a effectivement lieu, il est largement temps qu’elles cessent.

 

L'association SOS Grand Blanc est une association de loi 1901 à but non lucratif déclarée à la préfecture de la Gironde en date du 2 juin 2003 et qui a pour mission de mener toutes actions en faveur de la protection des requins et principalement du Grand Requin Blanc.

Une plage varoise a dû être provisoirement fermée samedi du fait de la présence d’une quinzaine de requins bleus. Inoffensif en solitaire, cet animal peut être dangereux lorsqu'il évolue en banc.

La décision tenait plus de la mesure de précaution que de l’alerte rouge ; elle a en tout cas évité quelques belles frayeurs aux vacanciers. Une plage de Bormes-les-Mimosas, dans le Var, a été interdite à la baignade samedi après-midi en raison de la présence d'un banc de requins bleus à 300 mètres du rivage.

La plage concernée est celle de Cabasson, près du fort de Bregançon. Elle a été fermée de 12h30 à 16 heures sur décision de la municipalité, après que les pompiers du poste de secours, alertés par des baigneurs, eurent confirmé la présence d'une quinzaine de squales d'une taille variant de 1,50 à 2 m. La baignade a de nouveau été autorisée après plusieurs patrouilles nautiques, ayant constaté le départ de ce banc de requins.

Le requin bleu est présumé inoffensif en solitaire, mais peut se révéler dangereux lorsqu'il évolue en banc. De nouvelles patrouilles devaient être effectuées dimanche matin avant l'ouverture de la plage pour décider du maintien ou non de l'autorisation.

 

Hurghada- Beaucoup de choses viennent en mémoire dans une telle situation, et «comme mère, la seule chose à laquelle je pensais, c'était mes enfants », a déclaré la plongeuse miraculée. Mme Landuyt faisait partie d'un groupe de 12 plongeurs, cinq Britanniques dont un guide, cinq Portugais et deux Belges. Ils ont été secourus en pleine mer dimanche dernier, après avoir disparu pendant plus de 14 heures, victimes de courants qui les avaient emportés à plusieurs dizaines de kilomètres de leur bateau.

Pas découragés par leur mésaventure, les plongeurs avaient décidé de poursuivre leurs vacances et leur croisière pour rentrer jeudi soir à Hurghada, une station balnéaire égyptienne où ils ont reçu un accueil de héros. Les 12 rescapés sont repartis vendredi dans leurs pays respectifs par des vols différents.

Les plongeurs faisaient partie d'un groupe de 22 plongeurs ayant embarqué sur l' »Oyster », un bateau égyptien de plongée sous-marine, qui avait quitté Hurghada pour une croisière de routine en direction d'Al-Akhawayn (les Deux Frères), deux îles minuscules en pleine mer Rouge, au large de Qoseir, à quelque 800 km au sud du Caire.

La croisière s'est scindée en deux groupes pour une heure de plongée, mais seul un des deux groupes est revenu à la surface au point de rencontre prévu. Une heure plus tard, le groupe de Mme Landuyt n'avait donné aucun signe de vie.

En plongeant en direction des îles Akhawayn, le groupe avait soudain remarqué un banc de requins et décidé de s'en approcher pour prendre des photos.
«Nous avons fait demi-tour pour regarder les requins », a indiqué Patrick Vantorre, l'autre touriste belge du groupe. Mais le courant était trop fort et avant même qu'ils ne s'en rendent compte, les plongeurs avaient été entraînés au loin, à la dérive.

«Les courants dans cette région sont très forts », a souligné Alâa-Eddine Ali, membre de la société de plongée et d'activités maritimes de la mer Rouge.

Lorsqu'il a été retrouvé, le groupe avait dérivé de 47 kilomètres, a expliqué Riham Galal, dont le bateau a le premier repéré le groupe et s'est porté à son secours. Des dizaines des bateaux privés, des bâtiments de la Marine égyptienne et plusieurs hélicoptères ont participé aux recherches.

«Plus d'une fois, les hélicoptères ont survolé de près notre groupe sans nous voir », se souvient Jorge Correia, un Portugais père de deux enfants. «J'ai été prise de désespoir lorsqu'ils sont tous passés sans nous repérer », a renchéri Alexandra Douglas, l'une des Britanniques.

Pour survivre et accroître leurs chances d'être repérés, les plongeurs à la dérive ont gonflé leurs bouées, allumé leurs torches et formé un cercle. «Le plus important était qu'ils restent ensemble », a fait remarquer Amr Sami, patron de l'Oyster. Ils ont aussi continué à se parler pour s'empêcher de dormir et éviter ainsi l'hypothermie. «Nous avons discuté de tout et nous nous sommes raconté des tas de blagues », a dit un membre du groupe.

«Ils se sont parfaitement bien comportés, ils étaient solides », a jugé Riham Galal. Une fois secourus, les plongeurs ont réclamé de la bière et des gin-tonic. 

Plutôt que d'être entouré de ses amis, un couple italien a choisi de se marier au milieu des requins pour attirer l'attention sur la nécessité de protéger cet animal, selon les informations rapportées par l’agence de presse Reuters.

Vêtus de scaphandres, Daniela Consolaro, 31 ans, et Maurizio Andreosi, 40 ans, se sont dit "oui" dans une cage au fond du bassin à requins du Centre océanographique de Cattolica, sur la côte adriatique, en Italie.

L'échange des voeux des mariés auprès du maire, par liaison téléphonique, n'a pas semblé perturber le ballet des 14 requins venus assister à la cérémonie.

Ces deux Italiens souhaitaient profiter de leurs noces pour attirer l'attention sur la chasse dont sont victimes les requins pour leurs ailerons.

La soupe d'ailerons de requin est considérée comme un plat très raffiné en Asie. Selon les défenseurs des droits des animaux, la chasse aux ailerons de requins a fortement contribué au dépeuplement de l'espèce, conclut Reuters.

 

A Palau, dans le Pacifique sud, des chercheurs vont équiper des requins de caméras vidéo dans le but de mieux les protéger de leur plus dangereux prédateur : l'homme.

La Fondation pour les requins de Micronésie a fait appel à un membre de l'équipe du magazine américain, National Geographic, qui a mis au point un équipement vidéo à même de pouvoir enregistrer ce que fait l'animal quand il n'y a personne autour de lui.

Ce dispositif permet également de fixer des récepteurs acoustiques sur la queue des squales pour évaluer la distance qu'ils parcourent durant environ six mois.
« Pour gérer une ressource naturelle, il faut d'abord la connaître », a déclaré Philip Lobel, professeur de biologie marine à l'Université de Boston et responsable scientifique de la fondation de Micronésie.

Tandis que ces prédateurs préhistoriques captivent depuis longtemps l'imaginaire collectif, la difficulté de les étudier et de produire des résultats fiables a conduit les scientifiques à renoncer à élaborer des projets de recherches, a-t-il ajouté.
Les requins sont pourtant une espèce largement menacée.

A Palau comme ailleurs, les requins font l'objet d'une pêche en constante augmentation pour alimenter les marchés du sud-est asiatique, où la soupe d'ailerons de requin constitue un mets à la fois onéreux et très apprécié. De nombreuses populations de requins ont été décimées à cause de cette pêche à outrance, souligne M. Lobel.

Palau attire chaque année des plongeurs sous-marins du monde entier, qui viennent admirer ses nombreux requins de récif, et figure parmi les rares pays insulaires à s'être engagé dans la protection de l'espèce.

Situé à environ 850 km à l'est des Philippines, cet archipel de 20.000 habitants a voté une loi contre la pêche des requins et a saisi l'an dernier plusieurs navires dont les cales étaient pleines d'ailerons.

Les scientifiques estiment cependant que pour mettre en œuvre une véritable stratégie de conservation, il est indispensable d'en savoir plus sur les lieux de reproduction des requins, sur leur migration, sur la prise en compte d'éventuelles menaces inconnues et sur le déclin ou non de la population de requins.

Un surfeur australien est mort samedi après avoir été attaqué par un ou deux requins au large des côtes occidentales du pays, a annoncé un porte-parole des services de garde-pêche.

Le surfeur, âgé de 30 ans environ, a été mordu au niveau des jambes et du torse, a précisé un porte-parole de la police australienne.

Il surfait sur la plage de "Left-Handers", fermée au public, qui se situe à proximité de Margaret River, l'un des endroits d'Australie les plus prisés par les surfeurs amateurs de grandes vagues.

Malgré la mauvaise réputation des côtes australiennes, la majeure partie des attaques de requins qui ont été recensées en 2003 dans le monde se sont déroulées le long des côtes de la Floride, soit 31.

 

The big fish — some as long as 20 feet — came in close to the shore at Enniscrone and were also seen quite close to the pier on two mornings last week.

And just in case would-be swimmers are getting worried this species of shark has no teeth and are what are known as filter feeders.

The pictures were taken by Ballina man John Curry who is a keen amateur wildlife photographer and who said, on this occasion, he was ably assisted by boatman Pat Colleary, Enniscrone, on board Saoirse.

John Curry says that basking sharks have been in Killala Bay in the past but fishermen told him they usually only got one or two in recent years.

“I photographed four of them but fishermen told me there were nine in the bay. They just cruise under the surface. It is amazing to see them, not to mind photograph them,” he said.

The biggest was in excess of twenty feet and the smallest about fourteen feet.

“Pat Colleary was brilliant in anticipating where they would swim to and he just left the boat in line and they came quite close to it,” he said.

The sharks swim under the surface with their mouths open and they filter plankton from the water. John Curry said one of the big fish was feeding in three or four feet of water and must have been belly scraping on the bottom.

Atlantic révèlait une réduction comprise entre 50% et 90% des populations de requins sur une période de 50 ans a fait grand bruit, on murmurait que les requins pourraient être menacé d'extinction.

Cette nouvelle étude ciblant spécifiquement des requins pélagique (carcharhinus longimanus et carcharhinus falciformis) indique une réduction de population comprise entre 90 et 99% sur 50 ans ; tout en sachant que les États-Unis ont depuis la fin des années 1990 place une loi interdisant le finning...
Sachant que l'ONU a émis la résolution A/RES/58/14 qui là aussi ne peut que constater l'étendue des dégâts et solliciter que le plan IPOA Shark de préservation des requins de la FAO soit mis en place très rapidement.

Il commence à y avoir beaucoup d'espèces de requins (et de raies) qui font partie de la "red list"c'est-à-dire la liste des espèces menacées d'extinction (cette liste est loin d'être exhaustive par manque de données).
 
La Polynésie représente 4,5 millions de km², protéger les requins sur une zone aussi vaste et soumise à une même législation est certainement un moyen de contrer l'extinction inexorable des requins.

 

A new plan released today is aimed at saving sharks from Australians. The national shark plan, launched by federal Fisheries Minister Ian Macdonald, aims to raise national awareness about the importance of sharks and their vital role in the food chain.

It also aims to encourage better fishery practices to prevent the taking of sharks when other fish are being targeted.

Australia catches about 8,500 tonnes of shark a year, low on world scales but about five per cent of the nation's total fish market.

The total catch has been slowly dropping, with concerns that over-fishing in previous years and the practice of shark-finning have contributed to a sharp fall in numbers.

Shark-finning is the practice of removing a shark's fins and then returning it alive to the water. The shark then drowns.

Under the shark plan, better information on the size of the Australian shark catch will be sought, while Australia will work with neighbouring fisheries to catch sharks at a sustainable level.

Senator Macdonald said world shark populations were under pressure, largely because of over-fishing. He said the shark plan was an effort by Australia to ensure sharks had a future.

"(The plan's) long-term success will depend on better cooperation between state and Australian government agencies and a range of stakeholder groups," he said in a statement.

"As well as providing a more secure base for the long-term management and conservation of Australia's shark populations, it will help raise awareness, here and overseas, of our commitment to sustainable resource use."

Humane Society International (HSI) congratulated the government on the shark plan, saying it was a good step towards protecting the fish.

The society's Nicola Beynon said the plan offered hope that practices now damaging sharks would cease.

"HSI hopes the plan will help halt the declines in a number of Australia's shark species, ensure habitat protection is put in place for threatened species and give impetus to the development of threat abatement plans for recognised key threats to sharks such as line fishing and shark netting," she said in a statement.

The society had been campaigning against shark finning, which was banned last year when the Northern Territory stopped the practice. Ms Beynon said the taking of sharks by trawlers and tuna longliners was the next most important area to target.

"It is estimated a staggering 50,000 sharks are caught on Australian longlines every year, when they are supposed to be catching tuna and billfish," she said.

"The new shark plan must see techniques developed to ensure these fisheries are more selective in targeting the species they have quotas for.

 

Reuben Walker, a team leader at Granite Island's Below Deck Oceanarium, contacted both National Parks and Wildlife as well as the SA Research and Development Institute.

"It's a male and it only died hours before being found on the beach.

"We only just got it into the ute to take it to a freezer for examination and it was then two metres and 15 mm long." Mr Walker said.

Research officers from SARDI visited last Friday and took the shark back to Adelaide for research.

"They were pretty happy to see it because they don't see Porbeagle sharks very often Reuben," said.

He said that SARDI officers believe a large Great White shark bit the smaller shark in Encounter Bay.

"The chunk taken out of its tail area is 40cm across so that fits," he added.

Tourists lined up to have their photo taken with the dead shark as Reuben opened its jaws to retrieve its last meal, a sizeable crab.

Mr Walker has much experience with various fish species and sharks at the underwater aquarium off the island.

A spokesperson for SARDI says the shark is being examined at West Beach and information will be passed onto a CSIRO researcher in Hobart who is doing research into some of the lesser known shark species.

She said that biological data is being collected for researchers here and in Tasmania.

MANCHESTER'S trendy noodle bar Wagamama has removed shark from its menu amid fears that the species could be wiped out by 2017.

Bite-Back, the marine conservation organisation, says that while the mako shark is not a threatened species, its inclusion on Wagamama's menu potentially promoted the misconception that eating all shark was all right.

Wagamama has now removed mako shark from it 24 restaurants across the country.

Bite-Back says that 270,000 sharks a day are being slaughtered to keep up with worldwide demand.

It is predicted that if shark landings continue at current levels, 20 species could be wiped out by 2017.

This could bring causing catastrophic consequences to the marine eco-system.

Adrian McCormack, Wagamama's executive chef, said: "Working with Bite-Back, we were quick to learn and appreciate the possible implications our actions could have.

Abhorrent

"Understanding the issues, we are happy to remove shark from our menu and help set a positive example to our customers and the restaurant industry."

Graham Buckingham, campaign director for Bite-Back, explained: "The abhorrent and unsustainable number of sharks being slaughtered is dictated purely by consumer demand.

"Only when we remove demand for shark meat and fins can we have a positive effect on lowering the number of sharks that are needlessly slaughtered every year.

"We are genuinely indebted to Wagamama for turning a commercial decision into a compassionate conclusion."

It is estimated that 3,300 tons of shark meat and fins were consumed in British restaurants last year, contributing to the rapid demise of some species.

As well as its Manchester restaurant Wagamama has 17 outlets in London, plus others in Bristol, Kingston-upon-Thames, Nottingham, St Albans, Guildford and Glasgow.

Council decided to rescind a decision it took on November 25 to lease one hectare of land near Rooibank to Microzone International for three years for its shark fin operation.

Council received nine objections following an advertisement placed by the applicant as required by Council.

The objections were taken as valid and motivated the decision to stop the transaction.

The objections included a petition with 173 signatures, as well as a letter from the administrators of the UK Shark Tagging Programme and a European Parliamentarian, who all strongly condemned the unsustainable practice of shark finning.

In his letter of objection, Nigel Farage, Member of the European Parliament, pointed out there had been an 80 per cent reduction in stocks of six shark species between 1986 and 2000.

The main cause for the decline was overfishing as between 40 to 70 million sharks were caught for their fins every year.

Jeri and Sue Drake of the UK Shark Tagging Programme, who assisted the National Marine Research Institute at Swakopmund in 2001 with the establishment of a shark tagging project for the bronzy shark, expressed grave concern over the proposed project.

They indicated that it could lead to an ecological disaster.

Sharks are slow to mature, breed infrequently, have a long gestation period and produce few young.

"There are no sustainable shark fisheries anywhere in the world," they said.

Council further motivated its decision by saying that the financial input on the part of Microzone International would have been too small to have a significant impact on the local economy.

"The opinion is held that it would be to the benefit of our marine resources if Council supports the efforts of all concerned role players to ban this practice.

One cannot over-emphasise the fact that Namibia's burgeoning angling industry will be seriously jeopardised if this destructive practice is encouraged by making land available for the drying of shark fins," it was stated in the agenda.

Namibia's Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks came into force on March 3.

The plan is based on the United Nations Food & Agricultural Organisation (FAO) International Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks and includes specific actions on data collection, research, management measures, shared stock management and capacity building.

On Monday, the day Lakeside teenager John Paul Andrew was attacked by a Great White shark at Muizenberg beach, a ragged tooth shark pup was caught by an angler further up the beach.

The hook was cut out of its mouth and it was left to die on the beach, just one of the estimated 100 million sharks, rays and skates killed every year around the world, mostly by long-line fishermen and the finning industry.

Lesley Rochat, founder of the Afri-Oceans Conservation Alliance, said it was a tough day for shark conservation. She said the attack on the young surfer, while devastating for him and his family, made people rush to find someone or something to blame.

"Shark attacks are incredibly rare - there is more chance of being struck by lightning - but the perception of sharks as man-eating predators persists."

'Shark attacks are incredibly rare' Rochat said that close to where John Paul had been bitten, she saw a half eaten seal bobbing in the water.

"It was obviously a case of mistaken identity with the shark mistaking him for a seal."

Rochat has been fighting for ragged tooth sharks to get the same protection afforded to Great White sharks.

She was instrumental in getting Maxine, the ragged tooth shark from the Two Oceans Aquarium, released at Struisbaai near Cape Agulhas recently.

There has been no sign of Maxine as yet but but no news is good news, according to Rochat.

She said that the first of the satellite tags fitted to Maxine was expected to pop up on June 15 which would give researchers a fix on her position.

If it popped up earlier it would mean either the tag had malfunctioned or that Maxine had come to grief - been killed by an angler or eaten by a bigger shark.

Before being captured, Maxine had already had two brushes with death.

She was trapped in shark nets in KwaZulu-Natal and later caught by an angler who contacted the aquarium.

Rochat said that about the time Maxine was released, a 167kg ragged tooth shark caught by an angler in a catch and release competition died while waiting to be weighed.

Earlier this month Marine and Coastal Management authorities raided storage facilities in the Cape Town docks and seized 7,3 tons of shark fins valued at about R5-million which were headed for Eastern markets where shark fin soup is regarded as a delicacy. The sharks are thrown back into the sea to drown after their fins have been hacked off.

Ulladulla man Kevin Clapson is set to break a long-standing 44-year-old Australian record and two world records with his astounding catch.

Kevin hauled the massive man-eater, which weighed almost a tonne in on Saturday morning after a less than fitting hour and a half battle. "Surprisingly it was the shortest shark fight I've had," Kevin said.

"The shark certainly didn't perform for his mates. "It was as if it kind of gave up," Kevin said.

Kevin and his brother Barry set out in their boat in the early hours of Saturday morning and knew they had something special when Kevin initially hooked the shark on a 37-kilogram line at 7:30am.

Fishing off the continental shelf around 30 kilometres off shore the brothers fought the beast for an hour and a half before tying the line off and towing the shark into shore.

It wasn't until they got the shark close to the boat that they realised the true size of their catch.

The trip back to Ulladulla Harbour taking the two men more than four hours to complete with the shark in tow.Barry Clapson said the huge shark wreaked havoc on the 25-foot boat he and his brother were fishing from.

"The shark was really strong," Barry said. "The sheer size of it meant it was able to throw the boat around a bit. "It really played up when we got it close to the boat," he said.

"We didn't know we had a world record until some of the Ulladulla club members mentioned it."

Kevin Clapson caught the record breaker and is now making a claim on the official world record.

The shark, an 810-kilogram tiger shark, was so big it could not be weighed at the Fishing Club and had to be taken to the Ulladulla recycling centre to be weighed on the weighbridge.

"The shark had to be taken to the tip in a box trailer and the next day we took the trailer back empty to get a correct weight," Kevin said.

The shark is more than 200 kilograms heavier than the Australian men's 37-kilo line record, 591.4 kilograms set in 1959. Kevin's catch smashes the world record for the 37-kilo line, which is 591.94.

He could also have a second world record to his name with the all tackle world record beaten by three kilos.Kevin said he plans to have the shark mounted but will have to keep it at his brother's house as he doesn't have a wall big enough.

Both Kevin and Barry should know if they have secured the world and Australian records in a month or two."To say I am pleased is a huge understatement," Kevin said.

A rare two-year-old bright yellow Port Jackson shark was unveiled at the Sydney Aquarium to bedazzled spectators today.

The result of a rare genetic mutation, the male baby shark known as Mango was a big catch for the fisherman who picked him up in a net on the Hawkesbury River about five months ago.

The fluorescent sea creature was an even bigger catch for the aquarium, his new home, where he is the first of his kind to be seen in 15 years.

The chances of finding a shark like Mango are about one in a million.

"With the shark being such a bright colour its chance of survival in the wild would be slim, the animal would not camouflage itself and hide from predators," said aquarist Hamish Tristram.

"In the future, hopefully we will be able to breed from him."

Mr Tristram said Mango could reach up to 1.4 metres in length. The prized shark is not expected to change colour.

Despite the large publicity over his rarity though, there has been very little feedback from around the world about other sharks of this type that could exist.

A "fairly-well adjusted shark" according to staff, Mango "tends to swim for a bit and then rest" but was happy to pose for photographers once prodded.

Sharks get a bad rap. The Monterey Bay Aquarium is trying to change that.

The exhibit ``Sharks: Myth and Mystery'' opening Friday explores the ingrained Western fear of sharks as demons of the sea.

``People don't like sharks because we fear them,'' says Jeff Hoke, the aquarium's exhibit designer. ``But people's stories about them also attract us to them. We want to know, are they all dangerous? Are they all monsters?''

The exhibit combines live animal displays with natural history, anthropology and art. Almost two dozen species are on display, including skates and rays, which are related to sharks. The animals were gathered from the aquarium's own collection, borrowed from other marine institutions and captured in the wild.

Visitors can wind their way through seven small galleries, each with its own mood and music, and explore various cultures' relationships to the creatures. The mythology of other cultures reveals a more enlightened view of sharks.

``There's a broader range of images of sharks in countries around the world,'' says Ava Ferguson, exhibit developer. ``People are awestruck, fearful, reverent and respectful of them. We wanted to bring in that full range of emotions.''

Hawaiians created a contemporary hula dance about a legendary shark god Kamohoali'i, who brought volcanoes from Tahiti to Hawaii. In Amazonia, people pass down a folk tale, ``Mother Stingray,'' about a river spirit that punishes fishermen who kill rays. In Africa, coastal peoples wear shark masks for traditional dances in festivals honoring the spirits of sharks and rays. And in northern Australia, the Yolngu people paint shark images on eucalyptus bark depicting stories of sharks helping to create the earth.

In addition to other textiles, paintings and stories from around the world, the exhibit includes a 20,000-gallon coral reef exhibit, a fertile shark egg, a touch pool and a Web shark cam that streams footage of the tropical Galápagos shark, the only one on display outside Hawaii in 20 years, on the aquarium's Web site (www.montereybayaquarium.org). The exhibit cost $2.5 million and took seven months to build.

While the Western fascination with sharks has mostly to do with fear of shark attacks, conservation is also infused into the exhibit's international theme. Although most people see sharks as a threat, it's humans who threaten sharks.

``The real story in sharks is conservation and fishery management, not attacks,'' says George Burgess, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research. ``Sharks are being captured and killed at an alarming rate around the world.''

Sharks are hunted for their fins in Asia and sold as a pricey food delicacy. They are also caught accidentally by fishermen hunting for other fish, Burgess says. Yet because they grow slowly, reach sexual maturity at a late age and reproduce slowly, their populations are threatened.

``We will always be fascinated with an animal that can do us harm,'' Burgess says. ``Our fascination with sharks and shark attacks is almost genetic. It goes back to our cave-man days when we kept our eyes open for bears and saber-toothed cats. In today's world, we don't face those same risks, but it's an inherent fascination we have with animals that do.''

Organizers expect the sharks exhibit to be on display for at least three years, with the hope that people who knew little more about sharks than ``Finding Nemo'' and ``Jaws'' will come away with a better sense of their important ecological role in the world.

``Sharks have been maligned in our culture,'' says Ken Peterson, aquarium spokesman, ``We hope people will be moved by what they see and that they'll want to do something to protect them.''

Shark facts

Fastest shark: shortfin mako, which can swim 20 mph.

Largest shark: whale shark, which reaches lengths of over 60 feet; it's also the largest fish in the ocean.

Smallest shark: deepwater dogfish shark. Found in the Caribbean, it's less than 8 inches long at maturity.

True class: Sharks and all other fishes belonging to the class chondrichthyes lack true bones and instead have skeletons made from cartilage.

Shark skin: Feels like sandpaper because it's made up of tiny toothlike structures called placoid scales.

National Shark Research Consortium at the University of Florida

Sharks: Myth and Mystery Where Monterey Bay Aquarium; 886 Cannery Row

WhenOpens Friday. 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily; summer hours: 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m.

Tickets Included in aquarium general admission: $19.95, $17.95 seniors, $15.95 students with ID, $8.95 children 3-12, free for children under 3.

Information (831) 648-4888,

www.montereybayaquarium.org

SHARK FACTS

Number of non-fatal shark attacks last year worldwide: 51

Number of fatal shark attacks last year worldwide: 4

Number of non-fatal shark attacks in California from 1926 to 2003: 74

Number of fatal shark attacks in California from 1926 to 2003: 6

Number of fatal shark attacks last year in California: 1

Number of shark species: 375

The stolen merchandise — live sharks — was recovered, still swimming, after a Marathon theft earlier this month.

A former employee of a Marathon fish-collecting and marine-life firm faces charges of stealing five Wobbegong sharks from the business and selling them to a pet store in Miami.

Wobbegongs, native to Australia and the South Pacific, can grow up to 10 feet in the wild. Wobbegong sharks are a relatively harmless bottom-dwelling shark, similar to locally common nurse sharks, but more colorful.

The Marathon fish collector alerted state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission enforcement officers on March 11 that he believed a Miami pet store was selling a couple of sharks, stolen several days previously.

Lt. Pat Reynolds found the sharks, labeled as “cat sharks,” selling for $140 in the shop.

The rightful owner said the imported and regulated sharks were worth $1,000 each.

The pet-store owner denied knowing the sharks were valuable imports, and said he bought them off a South Florida marine-life collector who claimed to have taken them locally. The merchant could produce no record of the purchase.

The sharks were recovered, and the store owner was cited for buying fish from an unlicensed person.

Names of the suspect and the business were not immediately available.

President Tommy Remengesau says the next step for his administration is to ask the court to administer the maximum penalties, which can reach $US500,000 and include the forfeit of the vessel.

It is the third case relating to illegal shark finning in Palau's waters since January.

The attorney general's department in Palau says in the recent case customs officers found nearly 300 kilograms of shark fins and half a tonne of bodies and filleted shark meat.

President Remengesau says the substantial profits in the shark fin trade outweigh fears of prosecution for those involved in the illegal business.

He says Palau will continue to fully enforce stringent anti-shark fishing laws.

“It was like seeing a dinosaur,” said Brad Smith of Jacksonville Beach, who took photographs of the fish as it circled Braden Pursell’s 22-foot “Watershed Down” about 5 feet below the surface.

“The girth of the thing was incredible,” Smith said. “My knees were shaking when it left.”

Smith and Pursell, both deputies with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, were fishing at Blackmar’s Reef (BR) about 32 miles offshore when they stopped for lunch and began drifting. That’s when the shark approached and circled the boat.

“It circled long enough for me to get my disposable camera,” Smith said.

Although Smith estimated the fish’s length at 18 feet, a shark expert who viewed his photographs said the actual length was likely 12 or 13 feet.

“It’s a nice-size fish,” said George H. Burgess, director of the Florida program for shark research and the International Shark Attack File.

“That looks like a white shark,” Burgess said when viewing Smith’s two photographs e-mailed to Burgess Thursday at his office in the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida, Gainesville.

He said the water’s magnification often causes inflated estimates of a fish’s length.

Burgess said that although it is somewhat unusual to see the great white off the Northeast Florida coast, “it’s not unusual to see them this time of year.”

The great-white, a cool-water shark, moves south in January, February and March and in very cold winters may go as far as the Florida Keys and the Gulf of Mexico, Burgess said.

Considered to be a tropical species, the mighty sea-fish are becoming regular summer visitors to the northeast North Island, says Department of Conservation marine ecologist Clinton Duffy.

Only three to five sightings a year were reported in the mid to late 1990s. This year, 11 had been seen at Waiheke Island, Rangaunu Bay, the Bay of Islands, Tutukaka and the Western Bay of Plenty.

On January 28, Whangarei freelance photographer Pete Atkinson took the first known underwater photographs of a whale shark in the seas around New Zealand, off Tutukaka, in Northland.

In 28 years of photographing fish, he had never seen one before.

Mr Duffy, who has published a paper on whale shark sightings and would like more information, said the species had been seen from the Three Kings Islands to Te Kaha.

In the Eastern Bay of Plenty, the area off Whakatane between Rurima and Motuhora (Whale) Islands and White Island seemed to be a favoured location.

Several had been seen feeding on schools of anchovies there.

Those sighted in New Zealand ranged from 3.5m to 15m long. Most were between 6m and 9m. Whale sharks, which are harmless to humans, reach a maximum length of about 18m and can weigh more than 15 tonnes.

Most were spotted in February, but sightings ranged from November to April, said Mr Duffy, who is researching the presence of whale sharks around New Zealand to help develop a better understanding of them.

He would like anyone who sees one to let DoC know.

Divers were in a position to provide valuable information on the species, he said.

Details such as the estimated date, location, length, sex (males have a pair of elongated claspers on the inside of their pelvic fins), water temperature and behaviour were particularly useful.

Photographs of distinctively marked or scarred whale sharks could also be used to identify fish seen more than once around New Zealand or elsewhere in the Pacific.

The false catshark, identified by Queensland Museum ichthyologist Jeff Johnson, was caught by a commercial fisherman at Frederick Reef, about 400km east of Mackay off the central Queensland coast.

The shark has cat-like eyes and special breathing openings at the back of the head so that it can stay motionless on the sea bed waiting for its prey of crustaceans and small fish, which it grinds up in its 200 rows of tiny teeth.

Mr Johnson said the shark was found regularly in the northern hemisphere but this was only the second one caught off Australia, after a catch off the southern tip of Western Australia.

He said the shark was rarely found in water less than 200m deep, and had been caught only because fishermen were using new deep-drop methods of fishing for snapper.

Mr Johnson said the flabby, soft-bodied shark was distinctive because of a long low dorsal fin that extended a third of the length of the body.

"It's also the largest male of this species ever recorded at 2.8 metres," he said.

"It has extremely large spiracles, which are respiratory openings behind the eyes that allow the shark to breathe while it's laying on the bottom," Mr Johnson said.

Queensland Arts Minister Anna Bligh, whose portfolio includes the museum, said the find was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the museum to study an animal from a deep sea habitat.

 

Environment Minister Dr. David Kemp said Friday that scientific evidence suggests the great white shark is rare, and the global population of this species has declined by at least 20 percent over the last three generations, and even more in some areas.

The shark made famous by the film "Jaws" is vulnerable to fishing vessels hunting it for fins and teeth, and also vulnerable to being caught in nets and lines set for other species.

"Products derived from the great white shark include trophy items such as jaws and teeth, and fins for foods like shark fin soup," said Kemp. "Increasing demand for these products has increased their value. Recent reports have identified sums of up to $50,000 paid for jaws from South Africa and $600 for individual teeth."

A CITES listing would make it illegal for any of the 161 countries that are Parties to the CITES convention to trade in great white shark products.

"Great white sharks mature very slowly and females give birth to a small number of young only every two to three years, so that the international trade in shark products can have a major impact on population numbers," Kemp said.

As a highly migratory species, this shark needs global protective action to escape extinction.

The great white shark is classified as vulnerable by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, which documents species that are facing a high risk of global extinction. But the IUCN notes that "a global status of endangered may prove more accurate for this shark as further data are collected."

"While we don't know how many great white sharks remain in the world's oceans, all the scientific evidence points to a decline in the abundance and average size of the species," Kemp said.

Australia successfully lobbied for the listing of the great white shark on the Convention for Migratory Species in 2002. The species is fully protected in Australia under the Commonwealth's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

While it also receives protection in the United States, South Africa, Namibia, Malta and the Maldives, "only a global trade ban will give the great white a fighting chance of survival," Kemp said.
 

But a major scientific study to be released Wednesday says sharks are to the oceans what buffalo were to the Great Plains -- a dwindling species on the brink of extinction.

The study, funded by the Miami-based Pew Ocean Institute, says the number of sharks are in steep decline, and that the declines are far worse than previously thought.

"A lot of people are afraid of sharks, but the statistics show sharks have more to fear from us than we do from them," said the institute's Ellen Pikitch.

The study also says less than 1 percent of the population remains of one key kind of shark: the oceanic white tip.

Renowned biologist Ransom Myers, who co-authored the study, said research from the Gulf of Mexico shows the population of the oceanic white tipped shark has declined by more than 99 percent over the last 50 years and that there are now just seven white tips for every 1,000 that once existed.

"Fish declines have been observed throughout the world," Myers said on Tuesday. "What's remarkable about this is the extent, and how rapid the decline was."

Most ocean-going sharks are targets of shark fishing, fueled by the market for shark fin soup. Myers believes the main cause of the sharks' decline is over-fishing, especially sharks caught up in long line fishing, even though they're not the intended catch.

"What we're seeing here with oceanic white tips and silky sharks is symptomatic of what's happening around the world ... basically that there's no management," Pikitch said.

"In Florida, shark fishing is prevalent and we enjoy an abundance of fish," said Myers, adding that sharks, who sit atop of the food chain, are important in keeping the balance.

"You cannot expect the diversity of fish in the waters around Florida to remain in good condition and the numbers to remain in good condition if you lose your top predator," Myers said. "This is one of the top predators you've lost."

The Pew Institute is calling for more protections and better management of shark populations around the world.
 

Both events were international news, but they were the exception.

For the third consecutive year, the number of shark attacks worldwide dropped, according to a study released Tuesday by George Burgess, director of the International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History.

Last year's total of 55 unprovoked attacks worldwide was down from the 63 attacks in 2002, the 68 in 2001 and the 79 in 2000.

Florida retained its title as shark attack capital of the world with 31 reports last year. But even that was somewhat lower than the 2000-02 average of about 33. There were 29 attacks in 2002, 34 in 2001 and 37 in 2000.

The highest number of attacks in Florida (14) occurred on the central East Coast in Volusia County, and surfers were the most frequent victims, followed by swimmers and waders, and divers and snorkelers.

The cause of the decline, Burgess said from his Gainesville office, may be the result of a long-term trend, such as the possibility there are fewer sharks and people in the water together. The number of shark attacks in any given year is directly related to the amount of time humans spend in the water as well as the number of sharks living there, Burgess said.

But it could be just as likely there are simply fewer sharks.

And that, he said, is troubling.

Shark populations have declined worldwide in recent years because of overfishing, Burgess said, and because most sharks don't reach sexual maturity until age 8 or older, they are especially vulnerable.

"In many ways, sharks grow somewhat like humans," Burgess said. "They can live to be 40 or 50 years old, they are slow to reach sexual maturity, have a limited number of young, and are slow growing.

"So when a population gets in decline among these animals, recovery time is very slow, even if you stop all fishing mortality. In the case of sharks along the East coast, because of overfishing, recovery will take probably 30 years even with strong fishery measures that are in place."

The study also showed that there were four deaths worldwide from shark attacks last year, compared with three in 2002, four in 2001 and 11 in 2000.

Still, the number is small when compared to deaths involving other animals. The average number of fatalities per year in the United States is greater for deer (130, mostly through vehicular collisions), dogs (18), snakes (15) and mountain lions (0.6), than it is for sharks (0.4).

But a shark attack is usually far more dramatic than a dog bite.

"When sharks bite people, they get a lot of attention. A disproportionate amount of attention," said Sonja Fordham, a shark fisheries specialist with the Ocean Conservancy in Washington, D.C.

The conservancy doesn't use shark attacks as a measure of shark population. "We tend to look toward scientific workshops convened by the government," Fordham said, "But they include people like George Burgess, and they are alarming enough.

"We already know our coastal sharks are overfished, and that some species are severely threatened. These are some of the most vulnerable animals in the ocean. Things are changing, but not fast enough."

So while the decline in attacks is encouraging for surfers, bathers and swimmers, it could be more unwelcome news for those who track shark populations.

"The bottom line," Burgess said, "is that sharks are paying a heavier consequence than are humans. Each year humans kill about 60-million sharks worldwide. But sharks kill between three and 10 people a year worldwide.

"You can make your own decision as to who is the winner and the loser."

 

The good news is they generally don't like to eat people.

"In the 20th century, there were 108 authenticated, unprovoked shark attacks along the Pacific Coast of the United States," said Ralph Collier, president of the Shark Research Committee in Canoga Park, California, and author of Shark Attacks of the Twentieth Century.

Of those, eight attacks were fatal. "When you consider the number of people in the water during that hundred year period, you realize deadly strikes are very rare," said Collier.

Films like Jaws propagate the image of great whites as mindless hunters prowling dark, coastal waters for hapless swimmers—an animal whipped to frenzy by the scent of human blood. Yet not only do most people survive their encounters, many suffer only moderate injuries. Swimmers dragged underwater by great whites are sometimes left with puncture marks, but the animals often don't inflict more severe wounds.

A great white shark can reach 20 feet (6 meters) in length and weigh up to 5,000 pounds (2,270 kilograms); survivors' explanations of their escapes amplify misconceptions about the nature of this beast.
 

These docile big fishes, measuring 14-15 meters and weighing 8-10 tons, have had a history of being slaughtered in large numbers when they visit the Gujarat coast between March-May, said Pradeep Khanna, chief wildlife warden of Gujarat told newspersons here on Tuesday. They were killed mainly for meat and oil, he said.

It is believed that these fish undertake huge migrations from Australia, Mexico, South Africa and breed in tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, Khanna said.

Official figures before 2001 reveal, every year, over 150 whale sharks are poached along the Gujarat coast. Independent figures, however, show this figure to be close to 500, he said.

Poaching of whale shark has reduced after the government banned its trade and fishing in May 2001 by placing the endagered fish in schedule-I of the wildlife (protection) Act. But legal protection is not enough. It is humanly impossible to continously police the state's large coastline and therefore awareness is the only future key to protect and conserve this endangered species, Khanna opined.

"Based on a survey conducted by TNS Mode, we found that the awareness regarding these fish is as low as two per cent and so our first intiative will be to create general awareness among the locals about this fish. We can then use this awareness to create a potential for whale tourism on the lines of Australia and South Africa where whale watching is an organised business", said Aniruddha Mookerjee, Director of Programmes, WTI.

Through this tourism, local fishermen can be roped in on the constructive side to take visitors for whale watching expeditions which will earn a handsome income for them, Mookerjee opined.

"To increase the knowledge levels we have intiated poster campaigns and major awareness drive in villages across the Gujarat coast. We are also planning to rope in coast guard officials who have better knowledge about deeper seas. Plans to appoint some of Coast Guard officials as wildlife wardens are also on the cards", Khanna revealed.

Speaking on the occasion the religious leader and the 'ambassador for the whale shark' Morarji Bapu said, "these sharks come to Gujarat coast to breed and so we are their parents. The people should therefore aim to protect these sharks as their children", he added.

The campaign is being funded by Tata Chemicals Ltd and Gujarat Heavy Chemicals Ltd, which also have industrial units on the Gujarat coast. Whale sharks along with Asiatic lions should become the twin pride of Gujarat, asserted the chief wildlife warden of Gujarat.

 

Quel paradoxe quand on sait que plus de 100 millions de requins sont massacrés annuellement.
Cette activité devient profitable face au commerce des ailerons achetés aux pêcheurs 40 dollars le kilo et revendus dans les restaurants jusqu'à 120 dollars le kilo.

Espérons que cet écotourisme devienne rapidement le début de la réhabilitation des squales !