Marine Life & Conservation
St Helena National Trust launch Whale Shark ID App
Whale sharks are found in tropical oceans all over the world. In St Helena’s Island’s Marine Protected Area, (nearly the size of France), the Whale sharks – locally known as Bone sharks, are the only known population where an almost equal number of both mature male and female sharks come to feed and recuperate.
As part of the St Helena National Trust’s annual bone shark research, the Marine Team documents and observes behavioural encounters of individual bone sharks throughout the season. The data collected over time, together with historical island data, creates a clearer picture of how many sharks migrate to the island every year, when and where they visit, and just maybe… to discover if they come here to breed.
Over the years, it has increasingly became evident that one of the island’s premium tourism attractions is the Bone Shark, and Trust Marine Team has been progressing a number of initiatives which are focused on promoting the Island as the No.1 destination for both research and visitor experience in relation to these “gentle giants”.
“With St Helena’s Fibre Optic Cable Project advancing, new technology being introduced and the majority of the population owning a mobile phone, our island has started a new digital age and because of this, we are so proud to be able to launch our brand new, ‘St Helena Whale shark ID App’” says Marine Research Coordinator, Kenickie Andrews.
In collaboration with app designers, CRITTER, (funded by Blue Marine Foundation and Enterprise, St Helena), the Trust Marine Team has been working this mobile app for over a year. Found both on Apple App store and Google Play store, the new, free app allows anyone to submit their bone shark sightings and encounters to the Trust, contributing to an important effort to further understand these secretive and endangered marine species.
“Our app enables not just the Marine Team, but, also our local citizen scientists, enthusiasts, visiting tourist and members of the public to contribute to local bone shark encounter data, track individual sightings, and learn more about our Islands unique marine megafauna in the palm of their hand”, continues Kenickie.
“For environmental projects such as this, high quality on going field research is an incredibly important tool and the data collected, helps local researchers such as our team to maintain an understanding of the current demographics of our bone sharks, who and where have the sharks been and how long are they here for. When we can understand why these sharks come to the Island, their behaviours and what they do here, we can do more to better protect them and help identify management objectives to ensure that the world biggest fish remains safe”.
The app allows the user to also keep up with all recent shark encounters found, learn more about the individuals that the user has submitted via their own user portal and or others that have been found, displays of an island map to discover the teams research and sighting hotspots of the season, document behaviour observers and injuries and using their uploaded ID photo of the sharks, help to identify any sharks, possibly new to science or those that have returned back to the Island.
Through this input, the Marine team can review and monitor all encounter data submitted via the main app portal to help inform the research conducted and directly support the well-being of our visiting shark population.
For more information about the work of St Helena National Trust visit their website.
After a two-year tour of UK art galleries, community spaces and aquariums, the Shark Trust’s acclaimed Oceanic31 exhibition takes its final bow at the Royal Geographical Society later this month. And the unique collection of artwork, depicting 31 species of oceanic sharks and rays, donated by 31 artists, is now open for bids from art lovers and shark enthusiasts. The online auction, launched today, will close on the 7th December at 8pm (BST). The money raised will support the Shark Trust Oceanics Programme.
People can now bid on 27 of the artworks by visiting this website:
https://superstars-auctions.com/sharktrustauction
It is a chance to own a beautiful piece of original art and to support the Shark Trust. The timing of the auction also means that these would make a very special Christmas gift for any shark-lover.
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- Bigeye Thresher Shark by Janina Rossiter
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- Carcharodon carcharias by Jimmy Higgs
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- Croc VR 2030 by Tom Mead
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- Oceanic Whitetip by ATM
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- Silky Street by ScapaJoe
The diversity of pieces mirrors that of the sharks and rays they represent. You can bid on paintings, digital creations, sculptures, mixed media and more. You can pick your favourite artist or species of shark. Or you can select the perfect artwork to make a statement in your home or office. Whichever you choose, you will be supporting the work to protect these amazing animals.
One of the pieces of art has been selected to be auctioned live by Steve Backshall at the For the Love of Sharks event at the Royal Geographical Society in London on the 29th November. In addition to this, two further pieces will be raffled at this event, giving people a chance to win an incredible piece of shark art. For the Love of Sharks is the Shark Trust’s flagship evening. A night to celebrate sharks. Steve Backshall is the headline speaker at this event that will see other prominent shark advocates join him on stage.
Tickets for the event can be snapped up here:
https://thesharktrust.org.uk/Event/flos24
Those that would like to see the Oceanic 31 exhibition have one final chance. It is being displayed at the Pavilion at the Royal Geographic Society from 26th November until the 7th December. Entry is free.
Find out more here:
https://www.rgs.org/events/upcoming-events/oceanic-31
Paul Cox, Shark Trust CEO, Said “This exhibition has given us the opportunity to reach out to a new audience. And inspire more people with the wonderful sharks and rays on which our Big Shark Pledge campaign is based. We are immensely grateful to the 31 artists who have worked so hard to create these works.”
Bid for your favourite Oceanic 31 artwork here:
https://superstars-auctions.com/sharktrustauction
Banner Image: Smooth Hammerhead by Alicia Hayden
Until 28 November, prizes worth a massive £10,000 – including experiences, products and tuition – feature in a line-up of items that can be won for £5 in an online prize draw to celebrate Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation’s 20th anniversary and help generate crucial funds for the future.
Top of the list of prizes is the chance to spend time with adventurer and wildlife expert Steve Backshall, a workout session with Nat Geo star Aldo Kane, a kayaking trip alongside white-water expert and diver Sal Montgomery and a Zoom call with ‘shark whisperer’ Cristina Zenato.
On top of that, some of the most admired companies in the diving and scuba industry have been quick to support the charity with fabulous prizes that make the £5 ticket price worth more than just a flutter.
Master Liveaboards, BSAC, Midlands Diving Chamber, Go Freediving and Blue Shark Snorkel have all generously donated experience prizes, while celebrated photographer Alex Mustard has donated a print and artists Scott Gleed and Olivier Leger have donated a sculpture and illustration to help boost the fundraising pot.
Fourth Element has donated Ocean Positive gear and LA watch company Nodus has gifted the charity a stunning dive watch. For land lovers, the charity has included a five star London hotel stay at Bankside Hotel plus a family visit to Longleat Safari Park in the roster of prizes.
Campaign director for Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We’ve been overwhelmed with support from companies and individuals that we truly admire and who have supported us on our 20 year journey and we’re truly grateful to them all. While we feel incredibly proud of our achievements over the past two decades – and we are super excited about the next chapter – this prize draw isn’t a vanity project. It represents a real lifeline to our work and important advancements in the global protection of sharks. So we hope divers, dive clubs and even bargain hunters grab some tickets to make this a massive success.”
The charity hopes that the prize draw will generate crucial funds to launch a brand new, ground-breaking, campaign to enrol the public and increase support for the protection of sharks around the world.
To enter the competition visit www.bite-back.com/prizedraw. The prize winners will be announced on 1 December 2024.
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