Friday, February 10, 2012

“Sharks create oxygen”: A scientific perspective

The entire planet can all breathe easier now!
 Huzzah!

Thankfully the world is not "going to run out of oxygen to breathe if we run out of sharks".

So says David Shiffman, an actual shark scientist.

It took an actual shark scientist to put the final rusty nail in the coffin of the Oxy Shark Myth. A myth created out of whole cloth by a guy trying to sell a shark film a few years ago, a myth that has since taken on an almost 1950's Radioactive Monster feel and scope since it was first uttered.

This myth was the worst of shark conservation filtered through the meat grinder of Facebook hype.

It was also an issue that we swore, up and down, that we would not get involved with unless someone paid us a bunch of money to do so, and yet was so compelling that we just had to jump in with our own brand of "pseudo science snarkery".

Let's face it, it's been a lot of fun.

So now, thanks to The Shiffman and his out of the park, take no prisoners science lashing directed at  the last few hold outs of the Oxy Shark Myth, (Erik Brush we're looking at you pal), we say, victory.

It is over, the end, now we can all go back to the challenges of real shark conservation letting this amusing side show pass. What are we going to do about Latin American shark fin treaty sliding, and what to do about the Maldives and a new government who are pro business and pro shark fin?

About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.

Rethink the Shark - Cute Messaging!

If you want to get an entire generation of youth behind shark conservation, hit them with some first rate animation in the style of PIXAR.

That's what the folks from AfriOceans did this month and we like it:

Every time someone is bitten by a shark it gains international attention. We at AfriOceans therefore remain committed to dispelling the myths and setting the records straight. We did it with our original award winning RETHINK THE SHARK Public Service Announcements (PSA) and now we bring to you our latest RETHINK THE SHARK PSA  which we have called 'Meet Wilson', produced by a highly talented group of final year students from the Cape Town Animation School - a very BIG THANKS to this talented team and in particular to the nephew of our Founder, Lesley Rochat, namely Andrew Mc Nally!




About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.