About the Shark Research Committee


Guest Speaker
         and
Media Consultant

Pacific Coast
Shark News

Sharks of the Pacific Coast

White Shark Biosketch

Distribution and Diet of Pacific Coast White Sharks

Predatory Behavior of Pacific Coast White Sharks

Shark/Human Interactions Along the Pacific Coast

Pacific Coast
Shark Attack
Statistics


Fatal Pacific Coast Shark Attacks
1900  —  Present

Shark Attacks Along the Pacific Coast - 2000 —

Shark Attacks Along the Pacific Coast - 1990s

Case Histories of Unprovoked White Shark Attacks:

  Divers
  Kayakers
  Surfers
  Swimmers

White Shark Interactions with Inanimate Objects

Publications

Shark Encounters:

White Shark Encounters Along the Pacific Coast

Soupfin Shark Encounter

Reporting Forms:

  Shark Attack

  Shark Encounter

  Shark Predation

Shark Web Sites:

Recommended Links

'Save the Sharks — Save the Oceans' ™
Save the Sharks

Conservation & Education

In March 2013 the Shark Research Committee will celebrate 50 years of Biological and Behavioral Research of the sharks indigenous to the Pacific Coast of North America. Our research objectives from inception have been multifaceted with public education, shark conservation and ecology, and the analysis of shark/human interactions our top priorities. It has been our goal to present the shark's crucial role in the marine ecosystem, and its interactions with humans, in a more realistic and scientific setting.

It is estimated that 70 to 100 Million sharks are killed annually, most for their 'prized fins.' The sharks are brought onboard ship, and usually while still alive, their fins are cut off and then they are summarily dropped back into the ocean. Alive, but without fins, they cannot swim or navigate, so they sink, ever so slowly into the black abyss of the oceans depths. Once on the ocean floor they lie, wrenching from side to side, trying to move forward, to irrigate their gills with life sustaining oxygen. Finally after hours, or in some cases maybe days, they die from asphyxiation.

Sharks are slow growing and have litters with few young. Some sharks give live birth, some lay eggs. Some are carnivores and others survive on phytoplankton and zooplankton. Some sharks do not reach maturity until they are more than 10 years of age. But all fulfill an arduous task, keeping the Oceans healthy, while ensuring survival of their own species. As an Apex predator, sharks play a critical role in the ecosystems they inhabit. If you remove the sharks, populations of crustacean, fishes, and marine mammals could increase dramatically setting off a 'cascading' effect whereupon the entire ecosystem could collapse.

Shark fins are financially rewarding to the fishermen with one-pound of dried shark fins retailing for $300 US or more. It is a billion dollar industry that is widespread, and largely unmanaged and unmonitored. The annual senseless slaughter of sharks for their fins must stop immediately. In a report issued by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, a third of the world's 64 species of pelagic sharks face extinction�....like the dinosaurs ......gone forever.

Pledge your support today. The health and future of the World's Oceans, and their sharks, is in your hands. Make a commitment to support the Shark Research Committee's Conservation, Education, and Research programs. Please help 'Save the Sharks - Save the Oceans'.

 

If you would prefer, you can mail your donation to;

  Shark Research Committee
Post Office Box 3492
Chatsworth, CA 91313
 


Your financial assistance will allow us to continue our public service and research programs, which include:

  • Shark Conservation and Education
  • Analysis of Shark Attacks Along the Pacific Coast of North America
  • Pacific Coast Shark News (web site public service)
  • Distribution of the White Shark along the Pacific Coast of North America through Satellite Tagging
  • Predatory Behavior of the White Shark
  • Functional Morphology of the White Shark
  • Ecology of the White Shark along the Pacific Coast of North America
  • Social Behavior of the White Shark
   


The material contained on this Web site is shared as a public service and to further the scientific goals of the Shark Research Committee.  All text and images on this Web site are the exclusive property of the Shark Research Committee.  Information on this Web site may be used for private study, but may not otherwise be published, duplicated, or modified in any way without the prior written permission of Ralph S. Collier.