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A Story About Sharks

SHARKLAB-MALTA

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'Sharks are beautiful animals, and if you're lucky enough to see lots of them, that means you're in a healthy ocean. You should be afraid if you are in the ocean and don't see sharks.' - Sylvia Earle

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AN INTRODUCTION TO SHARKLAB-MALTA Sharklab-Malta is a registered, non-profit, non-governmental organisation which specialises in the research, rescue and conservation of sharks, skates and rays in the Maltese waters. Founded in 2008 by Greg Nowell, Sharklab aims to educate and raise awareness, as well as contribute to expanding the limited knowledge of such species present in our seas and oceans, in order to accurately predict the behaviour and patterns of these often misunderstood creatures. Research projects initiated by Sharklab includes the Fly with Bull Rays Project alongside the recovery and release of sharks in the Maltese waters. W hen not working towards the research and regeneration of the shark population in Malta, Sharklab can be found hosting vast awareness events, both online and in person, as well as egg case searches, snorkels and scuba dives.

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Ear ly Days of Shar klab Concerned by the growing issue of shark finning, the increasing rate of shark extinction, and the lack of marine protection, Greg Nowell and his online friend, Andrei Gajik, began setting up an organisation in Malta and Bosnia Herzegovina, where Gajik was a University student, in 2008. Simultaneously, Nowell and Gajik began developing what is now Sharklab-Malta and SharklabAdria, which together make up Sharklab International. Eventually, the two organisations grew to become very different with Sharklab-Adria joining part of the university laboratory system offering pathology studies and analysis of marine organisms while Sharklab-Malta focused on education and research. Sharklab?s initial focus was to educate and protest against shark finning, which is the process of removing fins from sharks and discarding their body back into the ocean. They are often still conscious and due to their inability to swim effectively, they sink to the bottom of the ocean and often die of suffocation, starvation or eaten by their predators. The rising pressure of marine based organisations all around Europe, eventually led to a new regulation, with sharks now having to be landed with their fins attached, stopping the cruelty aspect of shark finning as well as reducing the rate of sharks being killed. Although this was a major step in reducing the rate of extinction, many species of sharks have been reduced to the point of irreversible damages, such as the Blue shark population which has decreased by 90%over the past 10 years in the Mediterranean and have yet to be protected. 2

Greg Nowell, Founder of Sharklab-Malta

Rachel Doyle, Scientific officer

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Pamela Mason, Education Officer

Marlene Muscat, Secretary

Between 2008 and 2009 Sharklab members worked quietly, visiting schools through invitation, and held beach presentations, raising awareness about all things sharks, covering issues related to bycatch, sustainability, litter, pollution and more. By 2010 Sharklab?s growth had allowed them to support 'Fish for Tomorrow', a foundation of 5 NGOs with a common marine awareness and protection theme. W ith the lack of information on certain sharks, skates and rays species in the Mediterranean, Sharklab was also learning themselves through studying the fish market landings data. They established, from beach egg case searches, where certain skates and egg laying sharks potentially had nursery areas close to shore.

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In 2012 Sharklab accepted their first interns after increasing requests to join and observe Sharklab?s processes.

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Sharklab's stand at the Malta National Aquarium for their monthly Awareness Day.

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Collabor ations Inter national:

SHARK ALLIANCE

SHARK TRUST Sharklab worked in close relation with Shark Trust and their work with Shark Alliance, lobbying the EU to implement tighter finning regulation. Sharklab and Shark Trust work together by exchanging data, with Sharklab also collaborating with Shark Trust on several of their campaigns.

The Shark Alliance primary objective was to secure the Community Plan of Action for Sharks, which it achieved in 2009. The secondary objective, to see tightening of the existing EU shark finning regulation. It was funded by Pew Foundation

and the campaign was led by the European 6 Elasmobranch Association, The Pew Charitable Trusts, Project Aware and Shark Trust, with other NGOs supporting their cause. In 2013 after years of struggle and debate, the European Parliament and Council of Fisheries Ministers agreed to the European Elasmobranch regulation stating that all sharks caught in the EU Association conference in waters or by EU boats had to be landed with their fins Calabria naturally attached. Shark Alliance closed down after it achieved the second of EUROPEAN its objectives in 2013.

ELASM OBRANCH ASSOCIATION Sharklab presented their Oviparous Rescue and Release programme to the EEA in 2016, inspiring several other attendees to implement such programmes in their countries, namely Spain, Israel and Greece, with whom Sharklab has corresponded with and aided. 4

Shark Alliance in action

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DEPARTM ENT OF FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE

Awareness day at Malta National Aquarium

Malta Fisheries has allowed Sharklab to attend fish markets for the collection of landings data, egg cases from deceased sharks as well as fin snips from Blue sharks for University research in Scotland and France, ever since Sharklab was founded in 2008. Alongside this, Sharklab has served on several advisory NATURE TRUST M ALTA committees, attended events, Sharklab has collaborated with performing presentations on their Nature Trust in many joint events work and collaborated with Fisheries on several projects. including the annual FEE Exhibitions,

M ALTA NATIONAL AQUARIUM

Beach Clean-ups, Turtle Watch and were joint founders of Fish for Tomorrow, providing data for their Quickfish guide to educate the public on sustainable choices in restaurants.

Sharklab has been working with MNA since before its opening as advisors and supplied them with shark egg cases. Sharklab regularly holds presentations at MNA and has taken part in their education M INISTRY OF EDUCATION programmes from summer schools Sharklab regularly takes part in both to regular updates for their staff. their Teen and Tiny Science Cafes having seen over 2,000 children in schools and exhibitions in the first months of 2020. Sharklab often visits schools, providing information for their science curriculum about environments and marine life, while also supporting System of Knowledge students and Malta University students from Earth Sciences and Marine Biology. Since 2012 Sharklab has been accepting 6 from all over the EU, most of which interns are university students collecting data for their degree. 5

Locally:

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WHAT DOES SHARKLAB DO?

RESEARCH - TheFlywithBull raysProject

In 2011, Sharklab-Malta scientifically recorded the first ever Bull ray spotted in the Maltese waters, a species which was deemed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as Data Deficient in the Mediterranean and later, Critically Endangered. The Fly W ith Bull Rays Project aims to gather a more accurate representation of Bull rays, such as their size, trend, habitat, ecology and their threats on a wider scale, using an intraspecific and non-invasive photo identification methodology. The data being recorded is being incorporated into the international Manta Matcher database which is being renamed ?Manta Matcher" ? a wildbook for mantas and other rays.

- EggcaseResearch

Egg case research relies on one of the three types of reproduction that occurs in sharks, oviparity. Certain species of sharks and skates produce tough egg cases which are laid amongst the sea grass or in rock crevices, where these pups develop and eventually hatch. 40%of the elasmobranch species reproduce through this method. These empty egg cases often get washed ashore during strong winds and heavy seas and are well camouflaged in seaweed, sand and gravel. If an area contains such egg cases, it can indicate that a nursery area is close by, which reveals much about the species present in the Maltese waters and the conditions necessary for these egg cases to develop. Often, egg case searches are the first step in studying an area which could hold an elasmobranch population. Members of Sharklab scour beaches and rocky areas all around Malta to find possible locations of these nursery areas. W hen egg cases can be found on land, the members then move to water-based searches, through snorkeling and diving. Starry ray egg case found in Malta

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- FishMarket DataCollection

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The wholesale fish market in Marsa can illuminate much about the elasmobranch population present in the Maltese waters. This research requires the identification and tallying of species found at the market as well as the collection of egg cases as part of the Oviparous Species Recovery and Release program. Gathering such data is helpful in validating the species present in the Maltese waters as well as the immediate surrounding Mediterranean. This research also gives Sharklab the opportunity to assist hands-on in the control of protected species, reporting any of the protected species found being sold to the Maltese Fisheries Protection Officer present on site. Apart from this, Sharklab also often visits the Marsaxlokk market. They have found on occasions where species of sharks are being sold under misleading names.

- OviparousSpeciesRecoveryandReleaseProgram

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Smallspotted Catshark egg cases

This project began in 2011 during the collection of the landings data at the wholesale fish market in Valletta, where a fertilised Small-spotted Catshark egg case was extracted from its dead mother and developed in a tank. Unfortunately there were many issues regarding accurately replicating the conditions of the sea floor where their mothers would have laid them, and only was it two years later, in 2013 when the first shark was successfully hatched and released back into the Maltese waters. This idea was adopted in several countries, which has helped in the immediate protection and recovery of certain species of sharks. Sharklab continues this release program and works in conjunction with the Malta National Aquarium.

- NursehoundTagging The Nursehound Tagging Program is Sharklab?s first tagging study and aims to get a better understanding of post-release survivability and the productivity of the sharks. The project keeps track of how deep and far these pups go and the duration of survival before being caught.

- Dive/Snorkel Survey

Sharklab often perform water-based research through snorkeling and diving, with the main objectives being to identify, capture 8 photographs and collect data on elasmobranch living in the Maltese waters, as well as familiarising and educating themselves about the habitats present in such waters.

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- School Visits

Shar k l ab-Mal ta member s have attended many school tal k s, w her e they have been invited to discuss the mar ine w or l d, shar k s and var ious sections of the science cur r icul um. Due to their ever gr ow ing popul ar ity, Shar k l ab has been invited to many envir onmental confer ences w ith school s as w el l as cl assr oom sessions. Shar k l ab al so offer s pl acements for Systems of Know l edge school students, hel ping them w ith their pr oject.

- TinyTeenScienceCafe

Shar k l ab has been active in the Teen Science Cafes and the Tiny Teen Science Cafes, w her e they, al ong w ith their inter ns, teach chil dr en of al l ages the impor tance of mar ine biol ogy, and how science can al so be an expl or ation into the w onder ful w or l d of the oceans and seas that cover over 70%of our w or l d! Dur ing 2020 - befor e Covid, Shar k l ab saw over 2000 pupil s in school s or at the FEE exhibition. This campaign aims to encour age young teens to consider STEM (Science, Technol ogy, Engineer ing and Mathematics) as a futur e endeavour .

- Awarenessdaysat MaltaNational Aquarium Shar k l ab offer s a monthl y pr esentation at the Mal ta National Aquar ium w her e they discuss their w or k and the impor tant r ol e MNA has w ith the ovipar ous r escue and r el ease pr ogr amme ? w her eby egg cases r escued fr om dead shar k s fr om fish mar k ets ar e hatched at the MNA. They al so give tal k s to dive cl ubs expl aining the impor tance of their w or k .

- Internshipsfor UniversityStudents

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In the l ast 10 year s Shar k l ab has offer ed inter nships to univer sity students, fr om Mal ta and al l over Eur ope, w ho w ant to w or k in the mar ine w or l d, specifical l y w ith shar k s. Such inter nships can be difficul t to encounter and expensive to fund how ever , the Er amus+ funding fr om the EU pr ovides gr ants for students to spend time l ear ning in other Eur opean countr ies. 8

EDUCAT I ON

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Sharklab Interns during Tiny Teen Science Cafe at St. Nicolas College Middle School in Rabat.

More of the Team!

Rosslyn Barr, Web Master

Awareness day at Malta National Aquarium.

David Mason, Membership Secretary

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Sharklab Members and Interns at FEE Fest 2020

Greg Nowell rescuing a beached Blue shark at Pembroke.

Dur ing this Covid-19 pandemic, Shar k l ab continues their education onl ine, thr ough w ebinar s, in conjunction w ith the 10 Mal ta National Aquar ium, as w el l as devel oping videos to be used in school s as stand-al one as w el l as inter active l essons.

Jacopo Diotallevi, Sightings Coordinator

Thea Portelli, Shark Adoption 9 Coordinator

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THE IMPORTANCE OF SHARKS, AND HOW YOU CAN HELP! Al though shar k s pl ay a ver y impor tant r ol e in the mar ine ecosystem, having evol ved and existed on the pl anet for over 450 mil l ion year s, and being one of the ol dest l iving species on the pl anet, they ar e often misunder stood and ar e depicted as menacing cr eatur es. So w hat ar e their contr ibutions to the mar ine ecosystem?Fir stl y, being apex pr edator s, shar k s contr ol and manage the species bel ow them in the food chain. W ithout this, those species bel ow them w il l become unbal anced and distur bed causing ecol ogical impacts, as apex pr edator s often br ing w ith them gr eater diver sity. They contr ol the spatial distr ibution of species thr ough fear and intimidation, w hich in tur n al ter s the abundance of species in that specific ar ea. This indir ectl y pr eser ves the cor al r eef ecosystem and seagr ass and w ithout their contr ol , other pr edator y species such as gr ouper s coul d incr ease in abundance, feeding on other her bivor es. This ul timatel y l eads to the gr ow th of macr oal gae, hal ting the pr oduction of cor al r eefs. Secondl y, they ar e scavenger s, eating mostl y sick or w eak fish w hich aids in the pr evention of such diseases spr eading and stopping those w ith defects fr om passing on their genes, k eeping the oceans cl ean and heal thy.

Goal s Shar k l ab al ong w ith other mar ine based or ganisations ar e cur r entl y l obbying for the pr otection of endanger ed species, as w el l as w or k ing tow ar ds a ban on finning w or l dw ide. Ther e is stil l an over w hel ming l ack of l egisl ation w hen it comes to mass-fishing and shar k finning and if w e don?t do our par t in pr essur ing gover nments and companies to cease such activities, then w e w il l face the dir e consequences of an ocean w ithout shar k s. 10

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How can you supportSh ark l ab? Aside fr om member ship, Shar k l ab has var ious other pr ogr ammes such as the Adopt a Shar k campaign w hich al l ow s you to suppor t their Ovipar ous Species Recover y and Rel ease pr ogr amme, thr ough donation to hel p constr uct a safe envir onment for such pups to be abl e to hatch and gr ow until r el ease. You can al so vol unteer in hel ping out w ith publ ic communications, by expanding your k now l edge and assisting Shar k l ab in their goal to r aise aw ar eness about shar k s and mar ine r el ated issues. If you ar e inter ested in the cr eative aspect of an or ganisation, mak e use of your tal ents by cr eating ar t or videos that can be used for educational pur poses. Shar k l ab ar e cur r entl y designing t-shir ts w hich w il l be pur chasabl e on their w ebsite, hel ping fund Shar k l ab for their futur e endeavour s.

Apar t fr om suppor ting ecol ogical or ganisations, individual action can be tak en such as avoiding pl astic usage, especial l y non-r eusabl e pl astic bags and bottl es and abstaining fr om r el ying on bottl ed w ater by using w ater fil ter s instead, w hich not onl y is much mor e sustainabl e, but saves money as w el l . If you l ive near a 12 body of w ater , or ganise l ocal cl eanups and aw ar eness events. Ther e ar e many w ays one can suppor t and r aise aw ar eness about the issues of the cur r ent state of our mar ine w or l d, how ever the best thing that anyone can do, is educating your sel f!

Interested in supporting the Adopt a Shark Campaign? Check out our website!

12 The U.S. Ambassador to Malta participating in the beach-cleanup organised by the U.S. Embassy.

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SHARK SHARK FACTS! FACTS!

1. It is believed that the Greenland shark can live up to 400 years, and does not reach maturity until it is over 100 years old.

2. Many species of sharks have spiracles which pump water through their gills and allow them to stop swimming. Some do not, and therefore cannot sleep but instead have restful periods.

t h e Am pu llae of Lor en zin i

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Sh ar k Gills

3. Sharks can sense electromagnetic fields and changes in temperature in the ocean through the 'Ampullae of Lorenzini' located on their snout.

The oldest known species of living shark is the Goblin shark that is believed to have been Por es f or elect r or ecept ion around for 120 million years.

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A Goblin Sh ar k

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Sh ar k t eet h

5. Some sharks can have up to 50,000 teeth in their lifetime.

The largest shark to have ever lived, the Carcharocles megalodon, is believed to have grown up to 30 metres in length. They have been extinct for 3 million years.

A 20 m et r e m egalodon com par ed t o a h u m an

A Gr een lan d sh ar k

A Ham m er h ead sh ar k

7. Hammerhead sharks have a 360° field of vision due to their forward tilted eyes. 12

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Lear n Mor e: Duffin, E. (2020). Number of shark attacks worldwide 2019. [online] Statista. Available at: https://www.statista.com Dunn, C. (2010). The Importance of Apex Predators for a Healthy Ecosystem. [online] Greener Ideal. Available at: https://greenerideal.com/ Fish for Tomorrow, (n.d). Fish for Tomorrow. [online] Available at: https://www.fishfortomorrow.com/ Florida Museum, (n.d.). Yearly Worldwide Shark Attack Summary. [online] Available at: https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu Fly With Bull Rays, (n.d.). The Forgotten Giant of the Shallows. [online] Available at: http://www.flywithbullrays.eu/ Malta National Aquarium, (n.d.). Malta National Aquarium. [online] Available at: https://www.aquarium.com.mt Oceana Europe, (n.d). The Importance of Sharks. [online] Available at: https://europe.oceana.org/ Pewtrusts.org, (n.d). Shark Alliance. [online] Available at: https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/projects/archived-projects/shark-alliance Shark Trust, (n.d.). The Shark Trust. [online] Available at: https://www.sharktrust.org/

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CONTACT US Website: https://sharklab-malta.org/ Email: [email protected] Facebook: Sharklab-Malta Youtube: Sharklab Malta

Or write to us at: 27 ?Chris?, Triq Il-Kappella, Tal-Lunzjata In-Naxxar, Salina, NXR 6031 Malta Designed by Cody Langley

THANK YOU for being a part of our journey.

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