Marine Life & Conservation Blogs
Sharks: The Oceans Greatest Mystery – Part 1
The word ‘Shark’ can instill a mixture of emotions in the human psyche, they are referenced in human cultures throughout the world, and stories of Sharks were commonplace on the decks of Ships for millennia. They have been represented in myth as both powerful guardians and vicious villains, in the 16th Century sailors and whalers of the time referred to sharks as “Sea Dogs” and are referenced in the Bible as being manifestations of the devil, even the word Shark is translated from the German word Schurke which means “scoundrel”. However, in French Polynesian and Hawaiian cultures they are revered as powerful gods and guardians who watch over fisherman and their families.
With such huge differences in how we view them, it is no wonder how inaccurately Sharks are portrayed in modern day media, therefore throughout this three-part blog series I am hoping to help you to better understand what a Shark truly is, and I will be covering subjects such as: What is a Shark? What we know and what we do not know about them, what is threatening them, and how we can be better ambassadors to Sharks worldwide.
What is a Shark?
In this first blog I want to give you a better idea as to what a Shark is and how they have become our oceans top predator. What a lot of people think of when they first imagine a shark is that they have sharp teeth and tend to always have ominous music following wherever they go, however there is much more to these animals than their teeth. Recent discoveries have shown that the Greenland Shark can live to be up to 500 years old, and the Bonnethead Shark is the first known Omnivorous Shark where up to 60% of its diet consists of Sea Grass. These are just two of many recent exciting discoveries, and scientists predict that we are about to enter the golden age of Shark discovery!
Sharks are a part of the fish family, although they are part of a distinct group that separated from Bony fish around 306 million years ago. Early relatives of Sharks have existed on our planet for as far back as 400 Million Years, they have been around longer than Humans, Dinosaurs and even trees. Throughout time sharks have taken many shapes, sizes and forms, but all have one thing in common, the makeup of their skeleton. The skeletons of Sharks and their relatives (Rays & Ratfish) all have a skeleton made of cartilage which is the same substance as your ears and nose, this allows them more flexibility in their movements and gives them an edge over their prey by allowing faster turns and giving them access to tight spaces and crevices.
Sharks, like other fish, also have Hyostylic jaws which means that the upper jaw isn’t connected to the skull, this allows more movement and flexibility in their strike when hunting. Sharks are also accompanied by two additional senses compared to humans, they have a lateral line which allows them to detect movements over 100 metres away and can detect frequencies as low as 25 Hertz, they also have their Electroreceptors which can pick up minute amounts of electricity given off by their prey’s muscles, such as the heart, and Sharks use this to help find prey buried in the sand, or to help pick off individual fish in the dark.
When it comes to sharks and what they eat, the best way to sum it up would be to imagine that for every animal in our Earth’s Oceans, there will be Shark that is designed and capable of eating it. This means that Sharks have become an incredibly diverse group, and as it stands there are over 500 species of Sharks, which range from the 14-Metre-long Whale Shark, all the way down to the Dwarf Lantern Shark, which is the smallest known shark species and it can fit into the palm of your hand. In between these we have large species such as White Sharks that breach from the water whilst trying to capture Seals, and smaller species such as the Dark Shy Shark that curls into a doughnut and covers its eyes with its tail when it is startled.
Another interesting point about Sharks is that they have come up with many different ways of tackling prey and have specially adapted teeth that match their diet, Sharks that have very needle like teeth such as the Sand Tiger Shark or Mako feed mainly on fish or other slippery prey, if the teeth are large and triangular like those of the White Shark or Tiger, then they prey on larger animals such as marine mammals, and if the teeth are flat like that of Nurse Sharks or Port Jacksons it generally means they feed on hard shelled and tough animals such as Shellfish and Snails. Teeth are not the only adaptation Sharks have evolved to use to their benefit, their differences in body shape or design can also indicate to us the hunting techniques they use, a good example of this would be the Hammerhead Sharks, which use their unique shaped heads to pin their prey against the seabed.
Sharks are often thought of as cold blooded, however this isn’t true for all species, some Sharks, such as White Sharks and Makos, are able to warm their bodies a few degrees warmer than the water, Scientists have predicted this is caused by the movement of the muscles generating heat. This heat has most notably been found around the eyes and brain; this may be an adaptation to help their eyes and brain react faster whilst tracking prey during high-speed chases.
Are Sharks Maneaters?
Sharks have been negatively portrayed in the media for as long as we’ve been swimming in our oceans and it is only recently that we’re starting to discover the positive impacts of Sharks and just how important they are to our Oceans and our Planet. Sharks have been represented as maneaters, but in fact sharks are only accountable for an exceedingly small number of incidents relating to a Shark bite, Sharks are in fact more likely to avoid human interaction and encounters with wild Sharks are a lot rarer than you would once think. To put things into perspective you’re more likely to be killed by a falling coconut or vending machine than you are to be bitten by a shark.
Even the age-old myth that Sharks are attracted to Human Blood has been proven to be false, after it was recorded that Human Blood and other bodily fluids have no effect on a shark’s behaviour or heart rhythm, this is due to our blood having a higher iron content than that of their regular prey. Even the way we look and move doesn’t resemble the prey of Shark. But the question people always ask is why do Sharks bite if they do not view us a food item? This is due to Sharks curious nature, Sharks have to be curious to discover what is and isn’t edible and, in our case, when Sharks bite it tends to be very quick lasting mere seconds before it lets go of us and swims away this is due to the animal realising that we aren’t a part of its regular diet and releases us.
If you want proof that Sharks aren’t what media would have you believe just look for any image with a Sharks and Diver, Snorkeler, or Swimmer if the media or movies have any ounce of truth then these people would’ve been killed a long time ago but these images solidify how wrong we’ve been looking at Sharks throughout the years.
So that’s it, an introduction to the Oceans Greatest Mystery, I hope that you have a greater understanding into what a Shark actually is and to how fascinating this amazing group of animals are but stay tuned for the next entry in this series where we dive deeper into the strange world of Sharks and discuss what we do and don’t know about them.
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Blogs
The Ocean Cleanup Launches 30 Cities Program to Cut Ocean Plastic Pollution from Rivers by One Third by 2030
The Ocean Cleanup, the international non-profit with the mission to rid the world’s oceans of plastic, has announced, at the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC), its plan to rapidly expand its work to intercept and remove ocean-bound plastic pollution.
The 30 Cities Program will scale the organization’s proven Interceptor™ solutions across 30 key cities in Asia and the Americas, aiming to eliminate up to one third of all plastic flowing from the world’s rivers into the ocean before the end of the decade.
This evolution follows five years of learning through pioneering deployments across 20 of the world’s most polluting rivers and represents a key next step in the organization’s mission and the global fight against ocean plastic pollution.
With the 30 Cities Program, The Ocean Cleanup will transition from single river deployments to citywide solutions, tackling the main plastic emitting waterways within each selected city. This follows a key learning from deployments in Kingston, Jamaica, which showed it is possible to scale faster when projects encompass whole cities, as the same set of partners can be involved with all deployments.
To date, The Ocean Cleanup has already prevented 29 million kilograms of trash from reaching the ocean. The organization currently intercepts an estimated 1–3 percent of global river-borne plastic emissions. With the first 20 river deployments close to being fully operational, it is now poised to reduce the plastic pollution flowing into the ocean from rivers by up to a third.
“When we take on an entire city, instead of individual rivers, we can scale faster, reduce costs, and maximize impact,” said Boyan Slat, Founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup. “Our analysis shows that strategically deploying Interceptors across just 30 carefully chosen cities can stop up to a third of river plastic pollution worldwide. This is the next big leap toward our ultimate goal of a 90 percent reduction in global ocean plastic pollution.”
City-by-city: a Faster Path to Scaling
Using the latest scientific modeling and on the ground experience, The Ocean Cleanup identified 30 major plastic polluting coastal cities which include:
• Panama City, Panama – First deployment to go live in the coming months.
• Mumbai, India – Mapping of all waterways completed; preparations for first deployments underway.
Furthermore, the organization is developing plans to expand on its existing work to all polluting rivers in:
• Manila, Philippines; Montego Bay, Jamaica; Jakarta, Indonesia; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Bangkok, Thailand and Los Angeles, U.S.A.
Other cities will be announced once the necessary partnerships and agreements are in place. Planning and fundraising activities are underway for all 30 cities. To realize these ambitious plans, the organization is currently also expanding its engineering and operational capacity.
Data Driven Restoration at Scale
Before Interceptors are deployed, each city project begins with an intensive analysis phase. Aerial drones, AI-powered image analysis, and GPS-tagged “dummy” plastics are used to chart every visible waterway and track how waste moves from streets to sea. These real-time insights guide optimal Interceptor placement and provide a public baseline against which progress can be measured.
Alongside intercepting new plastic, the 30 Cities Program will also remove debris from nearby coasts, mangroves, and coral reefs. This twin-track approach—shutting off the tap while clearing the legacy pollution—enables The Ocean Cleanup to achieve long-term impact, which includes the restoration of fish nursery habitats, boosting coastal tourism, and strengthening of natural storm surge defenses for local communities. Alongside local partners, the organization also advocates for improvements in waste management and awareness raising amongst communities.
Completing the First 20 Rivers
While laying the foundation for the 30 Cities Program, The Ocean Cleanup is also nearing completion of its first 20 river projects. The next landmark achievement—expected as soon as the second half of this year—is in the western Caribbean, where the team aims to resolve the plastic pollution problem in the Gulf of Honduras by intercepting the trash feeding into this body of water.
A Stepping Stone Toward a 90 Percent Reduction
The 30 Cities Program represents the first major scaling step in The Ocean Cleanup’s journey to eliminate 90 percent of floating ocean plastic pollution. In parallel, efforts are continuing to remove plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Whilst extraction operations are currently on hiatus, work to deploy cutting edge technologies to map the “hotspots”, or areas of intense plastic accumulation, in order to make future extractions more efficient and economical, is ongoing.
By combining river interception and coastal cleanup with its offshore cleanup systems targeting legacy pollution that’s already in the ocean, the organization is charting a path to turn off the tap and mop up the mess.
About The Ocean Cleanup
The Ocean Cleanup is a nonprofit organization that develops and scales technologies to rid the oceans of plastic. By conducting extensive research, engineering scalable solutions, and partnering with governments, industry, and like-minded organizations, The Ocean Cleanup is working to stop plastic inflow via rivers and remove legacy plastic already polluting the oceans. As of June 2025, the non-profit has collected over 28 million kilograms (62 million pounds) of trash from aquatic ecosystems around the world. Founded in 2013 by Boyan Slat, The Ocean Cleanup now employs a multi-disciplined team of approximately 200 people. The organization is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, with international operations in 10 countries. For more information, visit www.theoceancleanup.com.
It’s time to catch up with 12-year-old Mia DaPonte, New England’s youngest ever female PADI Master Scuba Diver, in her latest blog for Scubaverse!
It’s still a little too cold to get in the water here in New England. I wish I had a drysuit! To get my ocean fix, I asked my mom to take me and my friends to the Biomes Marine Biology Center.
What is Biomes? It’s a rescue center near my house that’s home to all kinds of ocean animals—and they’re all local! It’s truly awesome to experience. There are so many cool creatures there, like skates, sharks, stingrays, horseshoe crabs, tropical fish, lobsters, seahorses, octopuses, and even some reptiles that were given up by their owners.
Darwin the turtle is always fun to watch. He’s huge and has his own home, but he also gets to wander around the place on his own when he feels like it!
They have lots of touch tanks. I got to touch sharks, turtles, and even hold a horseshoe crab! (There’s a little lip on the side of their shell where you can hold them—but don’t do this without permission! Their gills always need to stay in the water.) I also touched stingrays! They felt slimy but rough at the same time.
One of my favorite things to do is see the octopus and watch it play with the toys in its tank. I always check to see if any seahorses are pregnant and look for the babies when they’re born. The babies are kept in their own tank at first to stay safe, and then moved when they’re big enough.
We got lucky this time—there was a baby skate in a mermaid’s purse that was ready to hatch any day! It was in a special tank with a light. When you press the button, the light turns on so you can see the baby skate moving around inside the purse!
As our visit was ending, the owner, Mark, sat down with us and told us how he started Biomes. When he was 14 years old, he began rescuing sea animals. His love for the ocean started when he was young—just like mine! As he got older, he started a traveling business, bringing animals to classrooms and doing shows. Eventually, he turned it into something bigger, and now Biomes is a huge center full of rescued animals.
He told us that most of the fish and animals are rescued from fishing boats or the cold waters of New England—places where tropical fish wouldn’t survive the winter. They try to rescue babies whenever they can, so they have a better chance of adapting. Darwin the turtle actually hatched in Mark’s hand!
My mom gets a pass to Biomes every year because I love going there so much. There are always new animals to see and feedings to watch. One time, I even got to feed the octopus!
If you ever come to Rhode Island, you have to check out Biomes!
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