I recently saw what I thought to be a warm, fuzzy story about the increase in population of the grey seal in Cape Cod. The story made me smile for two reasons: who doesn’t love a grey furry seal? But more importantly, as a result of this seal explosion, the shark population has increased. Why? Due to the almighty food chain, sharks feed on seals. Considering sharks are the apex of the underwater ecosystem, one would assume shark and seal conservation efforts are equally important to their co-existence. As I delved deeper into the internet what I found surprised me. Despite its importance, peo ..read more

Rubber Reefs By Tamra Werner Author of Koli, The Great White Shark books What sounded like a good idea turned into a disaster. “Let’s toss used tires into the ocean to create artificial reefs. The tires will replenish the dying reefs and give the fish a new playground!” Sadly, the idea backfired big time. Two million tires later, Florida has had a tire graveyard to resurrect from seventy feet below. Back in the seventies, bundles of tires were dropped in the ocean creating 34 acres of old tires positioned between two natural reefs. The positioning made the natural reefs susceptible to collisi ..read more

By Tamra Werner MS, MM Children's Marine Life Author Coral Reefs have hundreds to thousands of living organisms and live in symbiosis. The life cycle of the coral is a complex food web of nutrients recycled in symbiotic relationships. Coral grow their food with organisms like fungi, algae, and bacteria in the coral body. The algae produce sugar that the corals eat, causing the release of CO2 necessary to harvest more sugar. The growing coral then supports other reef organisms and is eaten by larger organisms. Healthy coral produces an overabundance of sugar that turns into a slimy mucus cover ..read more

by Tamra Werner Are you afraid to dip your toes in the ocean? Shark myths with tips will hopefully clarify some common questions and score you some big points in trivia games. Here goes: Myth: Sharks are man-eaters and killers. Tip: Bees kill about 800,000 people a year compared to about 10 deaths from sharks. Sharks are apex predators, but most fatalities are mistaken identities. Myth: A woman menstruating should not swim in the ocean because it will attract sharks. Tip: Menstruating women worldwide swim in the ocean without any known incidents. Myth: If you cut yourself in the ocean and ble ..read more

by Tamra Werner Shelters take in all kinds of strays. Some stray dogs crave attention, and others come with emotional issues and are afraid of humans. Rescue centers have foster families that slowly work with the abandoned animals teaching them good manners and trust. We have all seen the videos of a scared dog tied to a post underfed and defensive who transforms into a happy family dog after a little love and training. Did you ever think sharks could be underwater stray dogs? Touch is therapeutic. It helps premature babies thrive, and people pay a lot of money to get massages. So maybe shark ..read more

For centuries, Scandinavian folk medicine has used Shark Liver Oil (SLO) to treat various ailments, including cancer, heart disease, wounds, and infertility. But does it work, or could it cause more harm than good? According to WebMD, shark liver oil is an ingredient used in medicine to boost the body’s immune system, fight colds and flu, prevent radiation sickness, and treat leukemia and other cancers. Although the Mayo clinic deems shark oil supplements generally safe, the fishline is still out on their validity to fight major diseases. The American Cancer Society has reported shark oil can ..read more

By Tamra Werner Baby shark dodododo… We have all heard the song. Maybe even sang it. It’s catchy, and some would say, annoying, but little kids love it. The great thing is the tune puts sharks in a good light, just like Koli. When my older kids were young, we told nightly stories about their fictional puppet friend Koli, The Great White Shark. The stories revolved around the adventures of this innocent little pup who was finding his way in the ocean world. Koli was never ferocious or attacked people, as we see in the movies. We know sharks are imperative in the ocean, and I vowed to write a b ..read more

"Don't Fear the Fin" Tamra Werner What do astronauts and sharks have in common? Both could help solve medical mysteries like curing cancer. Believe it or not, shark DNA appears to be resilient to cancer, and while we have this information, not enough research has been conducted to understand why. Therefore, the federal government needs to allocate more dollars to shark research to uncover this medical mystery. Government funding of the world above is not equal to the world underwater. NASA budgeted $21 billion for space research in its 2020 fiscal year. Much of the focus was on sending astron ..read more

https://youtu.be/HOrw6KtV2YE Kudos to Georgia Aquarium for their exhaustive efforts to educate the public on the importance of sharks in our environment. According to an article published in Atlanta-Journal Constitution (AJC), Georgia Aquarium reveals its new shark experience today! Several years ago the project got underway with its main goal of educating people not only on the importance of these majestic creatures, but also to diffuse the popular understanding that they are bad or dangerous. In an interview with AJC Chis Coco, Georgia Aquarium’s senior director of fish and invertebrates, ex ..read more

Surfers subject themselves to the risk of encountering a shark every time they go into the ocean. As small as a risk it really is, it’s still substantial when you consider the fact that blood loss is the leading cause of death when it comes to a shark bite. A new wet suit material tested by Flinders marine researchers might just be the answer to reducing injuries and blood loss in the unlikely event of a shark encounter. In a study published in Plos One, a notable peer-reviewed journal covering latest science and medical research, two types of protective fabrics that incorporate ultra-high mo ..read more