Victory for Sharks! After years of hard work, Congress has finally passed the Shark Conservation Act, which will end shark finning in US waters. Each year commercial fishing kills more than 100 million sharks, and tens of millions just for their fins to be used in shark fin soup. Sharks play an important role in our marine ecosystems and we must continue to fight for their protection.
Measuring manta rays with paired-lasers. HAMER researchers have recently developed a method to measure the size of a free-ranging manta ray without disrupting the animal. The study was recently published in the journal of Aquatic Biology.
Humpback whales in Hawaii observed lifting a bottlenose dolphin out of the water. Two unusual sightings of a humpback whale lifting a bottlenose dolphin completely out of the water were observed by HAMER researchers. Interpretation of the behavior was recently published in the journal of Aquatic Mammals.
Law passes to protect manta rays in Hawai'ian waters. On June 5th, 2009, Governor Lingle signed Hawaii bill 366 making it illegal for any person to knowingly capture or kill a manta ray within state marine waters. A big thank you to the thousands of people who submitted testimony and helped to make this happen!
Population structure of island-associated dolphins: evidence from
photo-identification of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops
truncatus) in the main Hawaiian Islands. Baird, R.W., A.M. Gorgone, D.J.
McSweeney, A.D. Ligon, M.H. Deakos, D.L. Webster, G.S. Schorr, K.K.
Martien, D.R. Salden, S.D. Mahaffy. Marine Mammal Science, 22(3):251-274
False killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) around the main Hawaiian
Islands: long-term site fidelity, inter-island movements, and association
patterns.Baird, R.W., A.M. Gorgone, D.J. McSweeney, D.L.
Webster, D.R. Salden, M.H. Deakos, A.D. Ligon, G.S. Schorr, J. Barlow and S.D.
Mahaffy. Marine Mammal Science, 24(3): 591-612
