MAGICAL, MYSTICAL SEAHORSES ~ MUST SEE VIDEOS

Animal World – Sea Horses | Storyteller Media ~ Published on Jan 23, 2012 ~ The mystical sea horse. Very graceful, very beautiful, very endangered and very strange. It’s the male who gives birth with this species. We join the team at the London Aquarium to see what they are doing to help save them from extinction.

The destruction of coral reefs, trawling and the use of seahorses in Chinese medicine is leading to their decline. How do we stop this near-mythical sea creature from becoming extinct? – Uploaded on Jun 23, 2010 to YouTube.

Male seahorse giving birth at The Deep Hull, Uploaded on Jun 21, 2010

http://www.thedeep.co.uk Filmed at The Deep, Hull, Yorkshire, United Kingdom  The world’s only submarium is home to over 3500 fish, including sharks and rays… There are many illegally imported seahorses. When they are discovered by Customs and Excise, London Zoo aquarium at ZSL help out by housing and taking care of them … We were able to help out by taking this mature breeding pair. Many seahorses are on the IUCN Red list classified as VULNERABLE and have shown population declines of 20% over the last 10 years. Many species haven’t enough information about them to be able to manage their exploitation.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocampus_%28genus%29 

SHARK WEEK 2012 ~ SWIM WITH GREAT WHITE SHARKS!

To observe Shark Week 2012, I’ve found two incredible videos to share with you that I know you will find to be entertaining and educational.

Why ‘Shark Week‘ Sells

The terror of the deep swims onto television screens this week as the Discovery Channel’s beloved ‘Shark Week’ kicked off Sunday evening. Executive producer Brooke Runnette explains the 25-year success of the Discovery Channel event ~ “The Discovery Channel works with scientists across the world to produce the programming that has made Shark Week the staple of every shark enthusiast’s summer. Runnette says marine biologists often pitch ideas to her and the network provides funding for their projects. Discovery Channel also works with the Ocean and Pew Charitable Trusts to sponsor legislation and public service announcements to promote shark conservation.”  ~ excerpt from: http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/08/14/why-shark-week-sells

You will probably be amazed by the wealth of information about the great white sharks shared in the following video ~ CNN’S Anderson Cooper on Assignment for 60 minutes ~ YouTube video, “The Sharkman”  Uploaded by CBSNewsOnline on Jul 24, 2011.

Anderson Cooper dives unprotected with great white sharks and Michael Rutzen, known as “The Sharkman”, a South African who’s spent more time up close with the ocean’s most feared predator than anyone else.

According to Rutzen ,”the great white sharks are far from mindless killing machines – great whites are smart, curious and not out to kill humans.”  He says that when looking for a great white shark he can swim with, he needs one who is calm, curious and one he refers to as a ‘player’ – so relaxed, has a nice personality and woke up on the ‘right side of the reef’.

Another amazing video from YouTube ~ “THE SHARKMAN – Micheal Rutzen Hitches Ride On A Great White Shark“.

Michael Rutzen plunges freely with a great white shark. Rutzen eats, sleeps, breathes and dreams of sharks and is on a one-man crusade to prove that rather than being the crazed man-eater from Jaws they are in fact sociable and approachable creatures to anyone who understands their body language. Uploaded by halitkiraz on Aug 22, 2009

I trust that you enjoyed these videos and will share. Let’s hear from you ~ we appreciate your feedback.

25TH ANNUAL SHARK WEEK AUG.12 – 18

Shark enthusiasts world wide know that this week is the 25th celebration of SHARK WEEK,  and for those who didn’t ~ now you do.  Why not let us know how you’re celebrating the event. 

Philip De Franco is Discovery Channel’s host for Shark Week, 2012 and was asked, Why are we so fascinated with sharks? “Sharks are the last ‘wild’ thing. The power and the general awesomeness make them near the top of the food chain, and there is something interesting in all of that.”  “They’re smooth. They’re iconic. They’re a lot of species,” De Franco says of sharks. “They’re just awesome.”

“Great Whites of the Serengeti | Great White Highway” – Shark Week 2012, on the Discovery Channel ~Catch the premiere of SHARK WEEK 2012 Sunday, August 12, 2012 at 9PM e/p on Discovery. | http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/shark-week/#mkcpgn=ytdsc1 | The Pacific Ocean is like a Blue Serengeti, teaming with wildlife, great migrations and sharks. Very big sharks. “Great White Highway” is part of theShark Week

Check out the Discovery channel Shark Week’ viewing for this week:

http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/shark-week/#mkcpgn=ytdsc1

On Tuesday, Aug. 14th” you can watch, “Adrift: 47 Days with Sharks” (10 p.m., Discovery). The true story of soldiers who survived being in shark-infested waters for weeks is revealed in this documentary.

On Thursday, Aug.16th at 9 p.m. you can see, “Great White Highway” (9 p.m., Discovery). California‘s sharks don’t always swim around Hollywood deals. They can be found nearby in the ocean, too.

You’ll find many additional videos to watch with the same link above.

CANADIAN SHARKS THREATENED PLUS AWESOME VIDEO

Please read, “Help Save Canada‘s Sharks” Posted by staffblogger By Jarrett Corke, Shark Project Coordinator, WWF-Canada May 14, 2012

http://blog.wwf.ca/blog/2012/05/14/dear-general-shark-scientists-of-the-world/?utm_source=panda_mail&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=panda_mail_June_2012

At the end of this topic I’ve included Jonathan Bird‘s video, “Shark Biology” (Webisode 45) as I’m utterly amazed to learn so many astonishing facts, as Jonathan swims among the sharks.  What an incredible insight into this endangered species!   This is a 10 minute video and is definitely worth watching – A MUST SEE!!

 – Jonathan swims with blue sharks and tries to pet one – will he get bitten?…

 – an underwater cave hold a deep surprise…

 – Jonathan swims with the largest toother animal on earth, the sperm whale…

       PROTECTING CANADIAN SHARK POPULATIONS

http://www.wwf.ca/conservation/species/sharks/

Most sharks are vulnerable to overexploitation due to their slow growth, late maturity, low reproductive rates, and long life. Globally, sharks…are among the most threatened marine vertebrates on Earth. Large open-water or ‘pelagic’ sharks, such as great whites, are among the most threatened. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, it is estimated that 60% of pelagic sharks are currently threatened with extinction. As many of these species are wide-ranging top predators, their loss may have far-reaching consequences for marine ecosystems.

Twenty-eight species of shark have been reported in Canadian waters … Close to half of these species are considered to be globally threatened; still most Canadians remain unaware that sharks regularly occur in our waters…

 

http://www.blueworldtv.com/webisodes/watch/shark-biology

 

WHAT ARE THE MAIN THREATS TO SHARKS IN CANADIAN WATERS?

In Canada, unsustainable fishing practices, in particular the unintentional capture of sharks in fisheries targeting tunas, swordfish or groundfish have caused shark populations to drastically decline.

Bycatch – ‘Bycatch’, or the unintentional capture of non-target species in commercial fisheries, is perhaps the single most significant threat to sharks in Canadian waters. Little is known about the distribution of sharks in Canadian waters and ways to minimize the incidence of bycatch and overall shark mortality…

Demand for shark fins – Shark ‘finning’, the removal of only the fins from sharks and dumping the remainder while at sea, is illegal in Canada; however, Canada is importing unsustainable shark products, including fins, for consumption and, globally, the growing trade of shark fins has become a threat to many shark species. The fin trade today is considered to be a primary driver in shark exploitation.

Changes in the marine environment – Destructive fishing activities, marine waste and coastal developments can have serious impacts on marine habitats which sharks depend on. Climate change impacts on the marine ecosystem can also be a cause of concern for sharks, particularly in terms of how population distributions and habitats for sharks, as well as their prey, may be affected.

VIDEO OUTLINE of Jonathan Bird’s, “Blue Sharks“:

Jonathan joins Charlie Donilon on his shark charter boat in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and learns about how shark tagging has shed light on the biology of and behavior of Blue sharks. Tagging has shown that these incredible swimmers actually migrate completely across the Atlantic ocean. Jonathan tries his hand at tagging a shark and then swims with Blue sharks. We also learn that Blue sharks are not nearly as vicious as they have been reputed to be, and the divers are actually able to pet the sharks!

GREAT USE ~ AQUARIUM WATER TO FERTILIZE PLANTS

If you have both an aquarium or a garden (or just a few houseplants) you should consider using the waste water from the aquarium on your plants. In addition to fish wastes and decaying fish food particles the water also contains helpful bacteria and trace nutrients that can help your plants thrive.
Gardening weblog Dave’s Garden shares that after applying wastes from the author’s 55-gallon aquarium his flowerbed has outperformed the prior flowerbed by 200%. The author also points out that if you lose fish you should dig them into your garden soil rather than flushing them away for even more natural fertilizer.
http://lifehacker.com/5867013/use-dirty-aquarium-water-to-fertilize-plants
See also:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/2218/#b
…As you siphon out fish waste and decaying food particles, you are also siphoning out incredible amounts of helpful bacteria along with all the trace nutrients all plants need to survive (Phosphorus, Nitrogen, Potassium, iron, etc.) Until I read about it during some other unrelated research, I had never really thought of it before. I have been watering my vegetable garden and my winter flowerbeds and have noticed INCREDIBLE results. I cannot compare the vegetable garden to last year but the flowerbeds are outperforming those planted last year by about 200%. The foliage is a perfect green and the flowers are abundant. Same flowers, same planting location but this time a lot of aquarium water was used and the result was amazing. Further, if you happen to lose some fish, do not flush them. Dig them into your garden soil instead…