Posts

‘More than just teeth’: Shark Deck inspires respect for sharks

/in /by

Spotting a shark while snorkelling as a child then, in a flash, realising it was gone was an early lesson on these supposed ‘monsters of the deep’ for marine biologist Dr Charlotte Birkmanis.

“I was 10 when I first saw a shark and I remember thinking that here was an animal that I’m supposed to be afraid of, but it couldn’t get away fast enough,” Dr Birkmanis said.

It fuelled a passion for ocean life in the scientist, who recently released Shark Deck, featuring 50 species of sharks with images of sharks on one side and information, including their diet, size, and one of her ‘fin facts’ on the back.

When the Director of the philanthropic Jock Clough Marine Foundation wrote Shark Deck, she made a point of including lesser-known species as well as the better-known tiger and great white sharks.

“There are more than 530 species of sharks in the world, yet we commonly only hear about a handful of them,” she said.

The variety is extraordinary —there is the bus-sized whale shark, the yellowish lemon shark and the tiny ‘glow in the dark’ pocket shark.

“The more I have learned about sharks, the more I am fascinated by them and I love sharing this with others through books, radio and television,” Dr Birkmanis said.

“I do a lot of public talks and interviews about sharks and our oceans, and I try to get people to think about sharks as more than just their teeth. I like to remind them the largest sharks eat plankton.”

Despite the facts about the animals, headlines scream about sharks stalking, lurking, attacking and prowling. They are described as rogues and monsters.

Many have alarmingly low populations and are threatened so Dr Birkmanis was delighted when The Washington Post recommended Shark Deck as “engaging” with “cool facts about the shark’s biology, habitat, range and more”.

Dr Birkmanis, an Adjunct Research Fellow at The University of Western Australia’s Oceans Institute, said the interest shown for the animals when she gives talks to schools and community groups and shares information on television and in social media was encouraging. So much so she’s been given the title of ‘PR Manager for sharks’.

“I think there is a genuine interest in sharks, but a lot of the scientific material is inaccessible,” she said.

Dr Birkmanis has tagged and dived with sharks across the Indian Ocean, in places such as the Chagos, Mozambique and South Africa, including white sharks.

“The way they move is incredible,” Dr Birkmanis said.

She is now continuing her research on sharks as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Max Planck Centre, looking at shark movement, behaviour and how they may even be able to help us heal.

The Shark Deck follows Dr Birkmanis’ children’s book Little Shark Lulu is sleeping, a fun fact-filled fable about what goes on in the ocean when the sun goes down, told through the eyes of a little shark named Lulu. Notably Lulu has no teeth.

Indigenous led research vessel launched with dockside cultural smoking ceremony

/in , , /by

A newly-refurbished vessel was launched today to be used for a landmark research, training and environment rehabilitation collaboration in Shark Bay – an area which has been hit hard by devastating marine heatwaves.

The 23-metre ‘Marine 2’ is owned by The Jock Clough Marine Foundation, which offered it to the Indigenous-owned and operated Tidal Moon for its exclusive use. The event took place with a dockside cultural smoking ceremony at Fremantle’s Sardine Jetty.

Tidal Moon has a sea cucumber harvesting business and has applied for a license to help rehabilitate up to 1,000 square kilometres of seagrass in Shark Bay. The meadows were lost just over a decade ago in a series of marine heatwaves.

‘Marine 2’ will enable the training and employment of local Malgana People, as well as marine research delivered by the Western Australian Marine Science Institution (WAMSI) with its partners.

“Seagrass provides a vital habitat and breeding area for marine animals,” Mr Wear said.

“It also prevents the release of thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide and is regarded as the ocean’s lungs.”

“Myself and Malgana Elders are honoured that Shark Bay’s Traditional Custodians will lead this exciting collaboration which brings together important marine research and innovative projects that benefit the environment.”

“We are combining Western marine science and Indigenous Sea Country knowledge.”

“This is also going to create new private sector job opportunities and give our young people new opportunities to care for Sea Country,” Mr Wear said.

WA philanthropist, businessman and Jock Clough Marine Foundation Co-Trustee, Jock Clough said he was looking forward to supporting the collaborative effort.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for Tidal Moon, with its Traditional Owners and custodians, WAMSI and the Jock Clough Marine Foundation to work together, and really make a difference to the knowledge of a very special place,” Mr Clough said.

WAMSI CEO Dr Luke Twomey said the organisation had developed a Science Plan for Shark Bay (Gathaagudu) and further research would provide essential data to help inform the way local and global marine ecosystems were managed. “Shark Bay is like the canary in the coalmine for climate change and our partner scientists will be able to make a real difference through this initiative,” Dr Twomey said.

Tidal Moon has been working with scientists from WAMSI’s partner institutions and with CSIRO to better understand the role of seagrass in Shark Bay’s ecosystem and the best ways to prevent future losses.

WAMSI manages major marine science projects through its partnership with Curtin University, Edith Cowan University, Murdoch University, The University of Western Australia as well as the Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions, the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, the Western Australian Museum, Australian Institute of Marine Science and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development.