Center for Oceanic Awareness, Research, and Education

Busy month - thank goodness for that extra day . . .
Friday, 29 February 2008

-------------------------------------
Contents:
  - Shark diving accident
  - Shark Angels trailer released
  - More sharks listed as endangered
  - New Senate proposal
  - Sherman's Lagoon - the Musical
  - San Francisco Ocean Film Festival
  - COARE's Birthday
-------------------------------------

Hello, and happy leap-year day, fellow ocean lovers!

The big topic of conversation this week is the tragedy 
that took place in the Bahamas.

For those who do not yet know, on Sunday, February 24th,
Markus Groh (visiting from Austria), was participating 
in an organized shark dive aboard the M/V Shear Water in
the Bahamas, when he was accidentally bitten by a bull 
shark.  

Groh was evacuated by Coast Guard helicopter to a
hospital in Miami, where he later died due to blood loss
from the laceration on his leg (flesh was not removed by
the bite).

There has been a great deal of press coverage on the
matter, but most articles seem to confuse facts,
exaggerate the occurrences, and generally demonize
sharks.   Moreover, a number of articles disparage Jim
Abernethy and call into question his safety practices 
and judgment.

The media coverage has been horrific.  Seeing blatant
fabrications of "facts", reports, and quotations has
made me ashamed to have ever called myself a journalist.

Whether you are a fan of Jim, or are a critic...
whether you believe in cageless diving or oppose it...
whether or not you believe in baited diving, or feed dives
(there is a big difference between the two), the truth
of the matter still remains:   Sharks do not eat people, 
and sharks do not target people.  
I'll repeat that: 
    SHARKS  DO  NOT  EAT  PEOPLE.

This event was a terrible, but freak accident.  Roughly
40 people die each year in parachuting accidents in the 
US alone.  An equal number die in skiing accidents, again, 
just in the US.  In 2007, there was only ONE shark related 
fatality... worldwide.  Yet, we managed to kill more than 
100,000,000 of them.  =(

This isolated incident also marks the very first fatality
ever to result from an organized shark dive.

Whether you are a colleague or fan of Jim Abernethy, or 
are critical of the event, this is unarguably a time when 
many negative stereotypes and misconceptions about sharks 
come to the forefront...  and into the public eye.

Let's keep in mind how the less-knowledgeable perceive
such things... and how they react negatively in
mindset, or even in "retribution".

It's up to us - the people that know and love these
animals - to do what we can to save them.  If you help
convince even ONE person that the media hype is
undeserved or sensationalized, you will have made a
difference.

Please, if you hear people talk about this event, or
about sharks in a negative manner, please interject and
help enlighten them to the truth about sharks.

If you'd like to follow the media, and get a sense for
the crazed hype, our colleagues at Wetpixel have done a
great job of keeping up with available information and
tracking the media coverage at the following URL:

   http://wetpixel.com/i.php/full/bahamas-shark-bite-aboard-shear-water-official-thread/

They also include links to related items like the
petition to the BDA (Bahamas Diving Association) to 
resist overreacting and urging them to continue to 
allow shark diving in the Bahamas:

   http://www.sharksavers.org/content/view/172/36/

If you support sharks and shark diving, please consider
adding your name to the petition.

 ---

In our December newsletter, we introduced the Shark
Angels project, which was shot in the Bahamas aboard
(and under!) the M/V Shear Water.  The production team
met in San Francisco this past weekend to review the
latest version of the film and to continue editing.
The Shark Angels seek to demystify sharks and undo much
of the demonification they have suffered.  These
messages have never been needed more.

You can view the Shark Angels trailer from the COARE
website at http://coare.org/videos/sa-trailer/ and you
can learn more about the Shark Angels project by
visiting www.sharkangels.org (clickable through our 
links section at http://coare.org/links/)

 ---

The American Association for the Advancement of Science
(AAUS) held its annual meeting earlier this month, and 
decided to add nine more species of shark to the IUCN
(World Conservation Union) Redlist, commonly referred to
as the Endangered Species List.

In addition to adding to the Redlist, they also went on
record stating that establishing Marine Protected Areas
(MPAs) in key places where migratory species gather, would 
help protect them.  This may seem obvious, but it has been
argued heavily in many forums and processes, including
that of the California Marine Life Protection Act.  (MLPA)

There were already 126 species of shark on the IUCN's list.

 ---

And speaking of Marine Protected Areas, U.S. Senators
Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein (both D-CA) introduced 
legislation that would permanently protect the coastal waters
and estuaries of Sonoma County and portions of Mendocino
County by extending the boundaries of the Gulf of the 
Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries.

Eyes nationwide, and worldwide, are on how we're
handling MPAs in California.

 ---

Still on the topic of sharks.... our favorite comic strip
Sherman's Lagoon (www.slagoon.com) was recently adapted
into a musical.  The Bently School, a local high school,
had the honor of holding the world premiere of "Sherman's 
Lagoon - The Musical" with its production.

Artist Jim Toomey was on hand to sign autographs, and
was well received by a loyal fan base.

 ---

The fifth annual San Francisco Ocean Film Festival took
place February 1st-3rd at the Cowell Theater at Fort 
Mason.  With one of the larges turnouts ever, it was a
tremendous success.  COARE shared table space with
The Ocean Conservancy and Oceana, and we were able to
connect with many festivalgoers as well as fellow
festival volunteers.  We're already looking forward to
next year's events.

 ---

Although it's been around in spirit and concept for more 
than 6 years, COARE was officially incorporated just in
2007.  On February 12th, we celebrated our first birthday.  =)

Like any youngster, we enjoy gifts.  =)
If you'd like to contribute, please visit http://coare.org/give/ 
for a variety of ways that you can help.

 ---


Yes, this month was chock full of stuff.  Please feel
free to share this newsletter with friends, family, and
colleagues.  If you received this newsletter second
hand, you can subscribe by visiting http://coare.org/subscribe/


We hope that you enjoyed your Leap-Year Day as well as
the lunar eclipse earlier this month!

Wishing you happy and healthy oceans,
 - Your friends at COARE

==========================

P.S.: We've heard reports that our mailings sometimes
      end up in users' Bulk/Spam folders, especially 
      with Yahoo and Gmail.  Please add info@coare.org 
      to your addressbook to help prevent that.