Divernet News, dateline 3 July 2006
Hammerhead had 55 pups
A hammerhead shark caught off the Florida coast was pregnant with 55 pups – a marine life tragedy but, scientifically, a notable find for marine biologists.
Experts have generally believed that hammerhead sharks produce anything between 20 and 40 pups. The figure of 55 is probably the highest ever recorded.
According to US media reports the shark was caught by a Port Charlotte fisherman, who passed it on for examination by scientists at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota.
With all its pups the shark, estimated at between 40 and 50 years old, was found to weigh 1280 pounds. Heartrendingly, all bar three of the pups were reported to be full-term and due to be born within days.
The fisherman is reported to have said that he did not realise the shark was pregnant, otherwise he’d have let it go. Since the catch he had put three other caught sharks back into the sea.
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Snakes alive!
Spectacular footage of sea snakes hunting in the coral reefs of the Banda Sea, Indonesia, will be among the underwater action in the second helping of the BBC documentary Planet Earth.
6 October 2006
Hoax diver escapes prosecution
The Channel Islands diver who set off a three-day £250,000 air and sea search after faking a diving accident in September has avoided facing a criminal prosecution, according to a report in the Guernsey Press & Star.
5 October 2006
Octopush worlds in UK
Britain has hosted a successful Underwater Hockey World Championships in Sheffield.
5 October 2006
Walk, paddle or hop for the MCS
The Marine Conservation Society has launched an imaginative fundraising programme - by offering people a near-infinite choice of sponsored journeys to undertake.
3 October 2006
MCS fish guide
The Marine Conservation Society has updated its online guide to buying fish in an eco-friendly way.
3 October 2006
1000th DCI patient for DDRC
Plymouth's Diving Diseases Research Centre treated its 1000th diver for decompression sickness in late September.
29 September 2006
Extended protection for Cornish wreck
The wreck of the St Anthony, near Helston in South Cornwall, has been redesignated so that a bigger protected area will be out of bounds to divers.
29 September 2006
Euro shark group launched
The Shark Alliance is a new conglomerate of conservation organisations, intent on pushing for more effective shark protection measures in Europe.
28 September 2006
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