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Tag: hammerhead shark

  • Hammerhead Sharks Make Appearances in Florida and YouTube

    Florida has been the location of two YouTube videos of students catching hammerhead sharks. Viktor Hluben of Florida Atlantic University posted a video of his live catch and release of one just last week.

    “It was extremely exciting, an adrenaline rush. It’s two apex predators going at it,” he told the Sun Sentinel, describing how they hauled it 50 yards of the beach, “We saw a giant dorsal fin. Then it made another run out.”

    After dragging it close enough, they attached a rope to the shark’s tail, shot the video, and cut it loose: “The only thing running through my mind is as soon as the shark lands on the beach we’ve got to be diligent and get it back into the water fast. We are all about releasing them.”

    Just a few days ago, another Florida Atlantic University student was towed in his kayak by a hammerhead shark for two hours and twelve miles after hooking it with fishing line. Adam Fisk, the 22 year old student, posted a video of his adventure to his YouTube account:

    “Adam has reported in with a good one this time!” Fisk’s company’s website, Team Rebel Fishing posted, “Adam Fisk has set the bar pretty high once again, after being towed for 2 hours and 12 miles by an estimated 10-11ft hammerhead in his KAYAK. That’s right, in the kayak! Kudos to Fisk on his accomplishment.” The company also posted an instragram photo of the event:

    Others, like NOAA Fisheries’ research biologist John Carlson, were less enthusiastic. “I’m sure he had the best intentions in mind … but I would predict the animal was stressed out,” he told the Palm Beach Post, “For what? Two hours. That’s quite a long time, especially for a species like a hammerhead that has to swim to breathe.” He added that animals that struggle with fishing line for over 85 minutes are at risk of death from stress hormone overdose and lack of oxygen.

    Image via Adam Fisk, YouTube

  • Hammerhead Shark Species Found Off South Carolina Coast

    With the growing list of animal species doomed to extinction, and many already extinct, it’s thrilling finding a brand new species, especially an ocean genus. Amazingly a team of biologists found this new hammerhead shark species just off the coast of South Carolina hence the name given, the Carolina Hammerhead.

    The University of South Carolina research team, led by Joe Quattro, made this amazing discovery after collecting 80 sharks, all resembling the scalloped hammerheads. After analyzing their DNA, they found they were not actually scalloped hammerheads, but a distinct cousin.

    Although they resemble their distant relative and are difficult to distinguish because of visual similarities, and most likely what took so long to discover, this newfound and rare shark is definitely a new species, and now scientifically known as the Sphyrna gilberti.

    There are subtle differences than the more common species upon closer inspection, they are a bit smaller and they have 10 fewer vertebrae than the scalloped hammerhead.

    What is astonishing is how few exist, and the rarity of this find, according to Quattro, a biology professor in USC’s College of Arts and Sciences, stating, “Outside of South Carolina, we’ve only seen five tissue samples of the cryptic species and that’s out of three or four hundred specimens.”

    Many different female species of shark, including the hammerhead, give birth (pup) along the coast of the Carolinas and live in an estuary for about a year before moving out to the ocean to live out their lives.

    “Through its rarity, the new species underscores the fragility of shark diversity in the face of relentless human predation,” said USC writer Stephen Powell.

    Unfortunately, with the rise in demand for sharks slated for shark fin soup, known to be a Chinese delicacy and in high demand, 100 million sharks are killed each year. Sadly, the population has dropped substantially; science determined it dropped by 90 percent due to this insensitive desire for the fins of sharks, many times leaving the rest of the animal to die.

    The upside to this disturbing news is that the consumption of the soup is declining, in China at least, by an estimated 50 percent over the past few years. Perhaps these mammals will have the chance to increase their population and avoid extinction.

    Image via Wikipedia Commons