Center for Oceanic Awareness, Research, and Education

Sharks in the news... and not just playoff hockey . . .
Wednesday, 30 April 2008

-------------------------------------
Contents:
  - MLPA Progress
  - Sharkwater DVD launch
  - Sherman's Lagoon
  - Shark deaths
  - World Ocean Day
  - Charity Status 
-------------------------------------

Hello, fellow ocean lovers!

April has been packed with news and events....

As we mentioned in our last newsletter, things are
starting to wrap up for the North Central Coast region
of the California Marine Life Protection Act.   The 
Blue Ribbon Task Force met last week to review the three
proposals put forth by the Regional Stakeholders Group,
to hear public comments, and to make a recommendation
for the Fish and Game Commission.

The task Force decided to forward all three proposals,
intact, to the Commission, but also included a preferred
alternate of their own design.  Compromising between the
various interests, the Task Force chose MPA shapes and 
levels of protection from each of the three proposals 
designed by the Stakeholder Group.

Most of the work is now done, but the ink is not yet dry
on the maps, and the decisions are not yet final... so 
it's still possible to voice your opinion and preference 
to the Fish & Game Commission.  The task force 
recommendations are scheduled to be delivered to the
Commission in June.

Stay tuned to http://coare.org/act/mlpa/  or 
http://caloceans.org/

 ---

Sharkwater is wrapping up its European tour and is
heading "Down Under".  The Austrailia/NZ release is
scheduled for 15 May.  In the meantime, here in North
America (US and Canada), Sharkwater is now available on
DVD and Blu-Ray.  

 ---

Our favorite cartoon, Sherman's Lagoon, has dedicated
recent strips to raising awareness of shark finning and
the need for shark conservation efforts.  If you aren't
already familiar with Sherman, you're missing out!
Check out Sherman's Lagoon in the Links section of our
website (http://coare.org/links/) 

On April 20th, the Sunday strip was a cutout "postcard" 
to send into the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) 
as part of a campaign to show that the public cares
about shark conservation.

Download the "mail-in" strip here:
   http://coare.org/downloads/Sherman_SOS.pdf

Read more about the campaign, and the artist's call 
for action here: 
   http://coare.org/news/detail/sl2008-0414.php

 ---

Sharks have been in the news a great deal lately,
especially here in California.  Late last week, a
man was bitten by a shark while swimming off Solana
Beach (San Diego County).  He was rescued and brought to
shore, but later died from loss of blood.  Although the
media sought to sensationalize the events, those close 
to the situation, including the victims family, affirm 
that it was an accident, and that the shark was not 
"after" the man.

The second accident occured earlier this week in Mexico, 
where a San Francisco man was bitten while surfing off a 
remote beach.  The man was brought to shore, but because 
he was not able to receive medical attention in a timely
manner, he died at the hospital from loss of blood.
Unfortunately, this event has triggered an "official"
hunt for sharks in nearby waters, as officials think
killing sharks is the best approach to preventing these
types of accidents.

Both events are classic cases of mistaken identity,
where the shark briefly mistook the person for a seal or 
sea lion.  Sharks have incredible sensory abilities, but
they sometimes make mistakes.  We can reduce that
already infinitessimal risk by being careful and
avoiding times and places where sharks are likely to
feed.   Let's be careful out there.

In the meantime, please, take the opportunity to correct
people if they speak about sharks in a negative manner.
Familiarize yourself with and/or refer them to COARE's
soon-to-be expanded Shark Myths page: 
   http://coare.org/know/sharkmyths.php

 ---

World Ocean Day is coming up.... it's June 8th, which
falls on a Sunday this year.  We'll be participating in
(and filming) a beach cleanup that day in San Francisco.
COARE is planning other events for that weekend (Friday
and/or Saturday), but they're still under wraps.  We'll
announce details in our next newsletter, but you can
also keep an eye on our WOD event site: 
   http://oceandaysf.org/

 ---

Lastly, we'd like to note that we finally received
certification of our tax-exempt status from the IRS.  
Donors will be receiving an official receipt-letter
acknowledging the deductibility of his/her/their gift.

All donations to COARE are fully tax-deductible.

 ---


Well, that's it for this month.  

Please feel free to share this newsletter with friends, 
family, and colleagues.  If you received this newsletter 
second hand, we encourage you to subscribe directly by 
visiting http://coare.org/subscribe/


Wishing you 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.