Science Saves Sharks

Science Saves Sharks A science-based platform to raise awareness, foster links and point to resources about sharks & rays.

Battle for the Blue - Round 1 🥊 The Silky Shark vs The Sea Otter!! Hop over to our Instagram to cast your vote!
03/06/2026

Battle for the Blue - Round 1 🥊 The Silky Shark vs The Sea Otter!! Hop over to our Instagram to cast your vote!

🌊🐋🦈 Welcome to Battle for the Blue! 🦈🐋🌊Ocean Month is here, and we're kicking it off with a friendly competition featuri...
01/06/2026

🌊🐋🦈 Welcome to Battle for the Blue! 🦈🐋🌊

Ocean Month is here, and we're kicking it off with a friendly competition featuring some of the ocean's most incredible animals.

Throughout June, you'll help us crown the 2026 Ocean Champion by voting in head-to-head matchups right here on our Instagram. Along the way, we'll share fun facts, unique adaptations, and conservation information about each species.

From sharks and manta rays to whales, sea turtles, octopuses, and more, every creature in this bracket plays an important role in keeping our oceans healthy.

Check out the bracket, make your predictions, and head to our Instagram to tell us who you think will take the title! 👑🌎

Who are you rooting for? Let us know below ⬇️

Computer Skills in Conservation 🖥️Nobody warned me about this part of marine science 🌊 Swipe to see what they don’t show...
25/05/2026

Computer Skills in Conservation 🖥️

Nobody warned me about this part of marine science 🌊 Swipe to see what they don’t show you, and how to fix it 🐠💡

Any resources that helped you? Leave them in the comments below👇

21/05/2026

Storytelling is not about perfection, it’s about your perspective. It’s about using what you have to share your passion. So create and share what conservation means to you! 📸🎞️🎨

This is something that I’m sure many of us can relate to, myself included. With this being such a highly competitive fie...
12/05/2026

This is something that I’m sure many of us can relate to, myself included. With this being such a highly competitive field and most jobs receiving often 100’s of applications rejection is part of the process. But rather than dwelling we can turn it into something positive.

Here are some helpful tips on dealing with job rejection:
-send a follow up email thanking them for their time
-ask for feedback on your interview or CV
-build upon your skill set; adding things such as getting your drivers license, maybe even a qualification
-utilise platforms like LinkedIn
-follow positive social media accounts within your field
(Some good ones to follow):





Sir David Attenborough just turned 100. His latest film, Ocean, features Liberian artisanal fishermen facing industrial ...
11/05/2026

Sir David Attenborough just turned 100. His latest film, Ocean, features Liberian artisanal fishermen facing industrial trawlers that fish illegally in waters reserved for small-scale fisheries. He calls it “modern colonialism at sea.”

This resonates with a broader challenge in West African marine science: productive fisheries facing mounting pressure, but critically limited data to manage them sustainably.

West Africa represents one of the largest knowledge gaps in global shark and ray research. It is something that has been on my mind since spending some time on the Namibian coast where there is limited elasmobranch research. Ghana, Senegal, Mauritania, and other nations face similar challenges: limited baseline catch data, few genetic studies, poorly monitored small-scale fisheries, and lack of capacity for spatial tracking.

We can learn a lot from local ecological knowledge. In Guinea-Bissau, fishers’ knowledge combined with landing surveys reconstructed over 40 years of catch trends - revealing declining catch rates, smaller individual sizes, and shifting species composition. This data would not have existed through formal systems alone.

Progress is happening. Namibia’s Rays and Sharks project is establishing baseline data. Ghana is deploying BRUV systems and acoustic telemetry. Senegal and Mauritania are assessing exploitation at processing sites. But these efforts need sustained support.
Every genetic sample represents collaborations across borders. Every fisher interview captures decades of ecological knowledge. Every monitoring program builds local capacity. Data-scarce doesn’t mean knowledge-scarce - it means under-resourced.

You can’t protect what you don’t understand. And understanding requires investment where it’s needed most.

📚 Key sources:

Pina et al. (2024) “Reconstructing historical catch trends of threatened sharks and rays based on fisher ecological knowledge” - Conservation Biology
Leeney et al. “Sharks, Skates, Rays and Chimaeras of Namibia” - NaRaS/Namibia Nature Foundation
AquaLife Conservancy (2024) - Ghana elasmobranch research
Ocean with David Attenborough (2025)
Landscape photos from Sandwich Harbour, Namibia - Jess Winn

09/05/2026

Doing a science communication master’s taught me that facing fears, exploring the wild, and sharing conservation stories is pure joy 🐾🌊 From South Africa to Belize to Mongolia, everyone I meet reminds me why this niche, challenging field is worth it.

Continuing on our storytelling theme with a mini review of some children’s books 📚
18/04/2026

Continuing on our storytelling theme with a mini review of some children’s books 📚

Media coverage shapes public understanding of shark conservation - but what happens when that coverage is systematically...
15/04/2026

Media coverage shapes public understanding of shark conservation - but what happens when that coverage is systematically biased?📰

Analysis of nearly 2,000 news articles by Shiffman et al. (2020) reveals a troubling pattern:

68% focus on finning & fin trade
Only 41% mention overfishing (the actual biggest threat)
Shark meat trade: 20% coverage (despite being comparable to fin trade)
Critically endangered species: mentioned just 20 times
Climate change: 4.2% of articles

The result? A well-intentioned public that believes finning is the only threat sharks face and bans are the only solution.

What gets lost: Scientists overwhelmingly support sustainable fisheries management, not total bans. Evidence-based solutions like bycatch reduction and science-based catch limits work - they just don’t generate headlines.

This matters because misinformation misdirects conservation resources and political will away from effective solutions.

The good news? Positive messaging is powerful 💡- research shows it increases positive attitudes by 70%, acceptance by 130%, and conservation behaviors by 46%.

As conservation-aware followers, we can demand better: question sources, support evidence-based policy over flashy campaigns, and amplify credible science.
Media literacy is conservation action🌍

Shiffman et al. (2020) Inaccurate and Biased Global Media Coverage Underlies Public Misunderstanding of Shark Conservation Threats and Solutions - iScience

Beall et al. (2022) The influence of YouTube videos on human tolerance of sharks - Animal Conservation

Le Busque et al. (2021) The impact of news media portrayals of sharks on public perception of risk and support for shark conservation - Marine Policy

Media coverage shapes public understanding of shark conservation, but what happens when that coverage is systematically ...
15/04/2026

Media coverage shapes public understanding of shark conservation, but what happens when that coverage is systematically biased?

Analysis of nearly 2,000 news articles revealed:

68% focus on finning & fin trade
Only 41% mention overfishing (the actual biggest threat)
Shark meat trade gets 20% coverage (despite being comparable to fin trade)
Critically endangered species were mentioned just 20 times
Climate change was mentioned in 4.2% of articles

The result? - A well-intentioned public that believes finning is the only threat sharks face and bans are the only solution.

What gets lost? - Scientists overwhelmingly support sustainable fisheries management, not total bans. Evidence-based solutions like bycatch reduction and science-based catch limits work, they just don’t generate headlines.

This matters because misinformation misdirects conservation resources and political will away from effective solutions.

The good news? - Positive messaging is powerful. It increases positive attitudes by 70%, acceptance by 130%, and conservation behaviors by 46%.

As conservation-aware followers, we can demand better: question sources, support evidence-based policy over flashy campaigns, and amplify credible science.

Media literacy is conservation action.

Shiffman et al. (2020). Inaccurate and Biased Global Media Coverage Underlies Public Misunderstanding of Shark Conservation Threats and Solutions. iScience

Beall et al. (2022). The influence of YouTube videos on human tolerance of sharks. Animal Conservation

Le Busque et al. (2021). The impact of news media portrayals of sharks on public perception of risk and support for shark conservation. Marine Policy

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