Fun Tip 1: How to not become a shark's next meal

This is Fun Tip 1, I will be doing more in the future.

This is how to help you swimmers not get mistaken for prey by a shark!

Below is a video about what some researchers are doing to test this hypothesis that sharks DO mistake us for prey. Then the hyperlink below the video is to the article about the research efforts. I have heard that they just did these experiments in pools or the ocean, basically without the sharks themselves. I did hear they were going to test it with sharks in the water, but again that is just a rumor I heard.

(From YouTube)
Article:Researchers look at seals vs. humans

What they don't mention in this video that is also an important key, is that when you are swimming, sometimes you sound like a distressed fish. This leads sharks to investigate and then sometimes bite you to see what you are.

So what can you do?

1. Swim with others and close to shore during the day. My parents always taught me only to your belly so I would do the same when you’re in shark invested waters. Yes some shark attacks still happen in three feet of water, but by swimming with a bigger group of friends, you should be fine.
2. Don’t wear brightly colored swimsuits because they are attracted to that too. Don’t wear jewelry either because of the reflection of light they will like that too.
3. Girls! If it’s that time of the month, don’t even bother swimming because sharks have a great smell and will be attracted. So just work out on your summer beach tan. And guys if you cut your foot or you just have a wound that’s bleeding, work on your sun tan too.
4. If you see someone fishing or you see seals or sea lions, don’t swim either because then you will get mistaken for food.

If you just follow these four steps or signs you should be fine. If you want to know more signs of when not to swim you should check out this link (From Clymb).

Now if you’re a surfer, what can you do? Well you could get a suit like these (follow the link for pictures) because they are shark proof because of the way they look. The first one you’ll see is this one. The black and white stripes make you like something else that the sharks don’t know and one of the only things in the ocean I know that are stripped like that are sea snakes….something the sharks don’t want for a meal. These suits were made by Hamish Jolly, Craig Anderson, and the University of Western Australia. 

More shark suit pictures from this website (also where the one from above came from)

So that is the fun tip for the day and if you guys and gals follow this you should be good, but understand that next time when you're swimming or you hear about a shark attack, remember that sharks ARE NOT AFTER YOU! They just make mistakes sometimes.

Tell me what you think about this fun tip or whatever else you want to see later! Thanks!

Next Time: ICELAND!

East Coast: New England Sharks: Great White Shark

Hello everyone!

PLEASE COMMENT AND VIEW!!!

NOW ONTO MY FAVORITE SHARK!!!

Great White Shark

For Picture: http://itsblogginevil.com/2014/08/08/in-honor-of-shark-week-this-sunday-shark-week-memes/


So most people when they hear Great White Shark think, man-eater, "Jaws", and we're going to die. Well really these Great White Sharks are just large predators like bears but in the water. They shouldn't be feared because like other sharks they are very curious.

Great Whites can grow up to 20 feet with most females being up to 18 while males being 13 feet because the females are bigger because they're the ones carrying the pups for A YEAR! Yes like other sharks, Great Whites have a long gestation and only give birth to up to 10 pups. This is why when shark populations go down, it's hard for them to bounce back. When Great Whites give birth they give birth to live pups that don't have an umbilical cord like us (which I learned while reading some sharks books which I thought was wicked cool!). Then to feed those pups and themselves, they will eat seals mostly and even dead whales.

Now how come Great Whites are hunted and fished? Is it because of shark finning? NO! IT'S BECAUSE OF HUMANS! Back in the 1970's when "Jaws" came out, fisherman starting hunting them for sport because everyone wants to get a nice trophy of a 20 foot fish. People also hunted them out of fear which I why I want to study them and educate the public about the truths of these animals. So that's why their shark populations where going down, but now they are starting to rise.

For Picture: http://www.bushwarriors.org/great-white-shark-in-danger/

Great Whites are very mobile creatures which is why it's hard to see them a lot and to hunt them for their fins. The only big places they really occupy is Seal Island in South Africa which is where they jump out of the water and in California by a Seal Island there and then Maratha's Vineyard in Mass off of Cape Cod. So that's my bit about Great Sharks!

If you ever want to learn more about Great Whites, there a bunch of great books about them which some of them are the true reasons why I want to study them because the books are awesome! Shark Week is good too, but read the books written by the great Marine Biologists that got to get up close to them!

Remember, THEY ARE NOT OUT TO GET YOU! All that want are those seals which they easily mistake you for because they have poor vision!

Next Time: A fun tip about what you can do to avoid getting mistaken by sharks! Then, ICELAND!

Website used to look up size of sexes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_white_shark

Do some research on these ones! And if you want to know the books that I read for these sharks just comment and we can discuss! 

Later Today

Later today I will be posting the Great White Shark post for the New England Sharks! I apologize for the late post because I have been home and such and with the holiday yesterday. So now I will keep posting again so I can talk about other places because not everyone lives in New England. Thank you to my viewers, I give a huge thank you to you and those that are commenting. Please keep viewing and commenting!

East Coast: New England Sharks: Mako Shark

PLEASE COMMENT OR VOTE! THANKS!

Mako Sharks

Picture: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortfin_mako_shark

These are the fastest species of shark, and if you ask me they look like one of the menacing species of shark. Mako sharks are either longfin or shortfin, which I found pretty cool through extra research. These sharks will get six feet long like most of the species of sharks. Which again makes me sad because most sharks are taller than me....anyways these sharks give birth to live young.

But the problem when giving birth, come species of shark only have a few pups but it takes a little over a year for them to fertilize. Mako sharks are one of these species where a female could only have four pups but it took her 18 months to fertilize those puppies.

Which is why Mako sharks need to be conserved because people will hunt them for sport and for Shark Fin Soup (which I've heard is starting to cease to exist). People kill 100 million sharks a year and some of them are Makos, so by killing so many of them, you're not helping the population have a enough time to replenish.  This is one of the big reasons why I am doing this blog to help educate you all to conserve them, and respect them instead of just killing them or fearing them.

To end on a lighter note, you will find these Mako sharks everywhere because they can easily adapt to cold and warm temperatures and they will eat all kinds of fish.

For more information: http://www.sharks-world.com/mako_shark/ and http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=36

Again please comment and vote! Thank you again for everything and hope you enjoyed this post about Mako Sharks!!!

Next time: GREAT WHITE SHARKS!

East Coast: New England Sharks: Blue Shark

PLEASE COMMENT ON EARLIER POSTS AND THIS ONE!

Blue Shark














Blue Shark Picture

These guys swim deep in the water so you're not very likely to see them frequently. They are one of the few fastest sharks and grow to about 4 meters long (12 feet or so). One thing to note about these species they give birth like humans by the pup growing inside of them unlike having dolphin purses like other sharks. When I was younger I was led to believe by a friend that only a Sand Tiger and a Nurse shark only gave birth like humans but that is false. Blues can also have a big liter of pups the max being at least about 100...that's a lot of pups! (for better idea of numbers look at the article below!)

A cool thing about Blues is that they will actually travel in groups. Basking Sharks will do it too sometimes, but Blues will hang out with fellow Blue Sharks their size. These Blue Sharks in groups or maybe sometimes alone, will go after squid to eat or small fish. They can be dangerous to humans because you're in their territory and they don't like that so if I saw one I'd give it space.

Another thing about Blue Sharks I would like to point out is that they mate aggressively. Basically what Blues will do and other sharks is bite the female and turn her on her dorsal (back) side. So if you're ever diving and see a female shark with a bunch of bites on her, it's from the mating.

This is a White Tip but I thought I would bring up some anatomy now and so you know, these are claspers so this is a male White Tip.

Blue Shark Picture 2

The picture above showing what a Blue Shark looks like, looks to be a female.


I hope you enjoyed this installment of a Blue Shark, please comment on this posts and others giving me your thoughts and vote on the side if you found this information useful.


For more information: Blue Shark Info~ Click on me!

East Coast: New England Sharks: Basking Shark

So every week or a couple times a week I will be posting sharks that are near you!
First one: the East Coast so basically New England

*I will be posting pictures of sharks that aren't mine so I will provide a link to give credit also any other information that is not mine*

Basking Sharks

These sharks are HUGE!

Basking Shark Picture

They are about 13 meters long so if you think about it, a Great White is only 6 meters (20 feet). They still have teeth of course, but what they do is that they open up their mouths and use their gills to help filter out food. So basically they eat just like a whale. These sharks are harmless to humans and if you really want to meet one, it'll probably be on a whale watch. These animals are beautiful and they are the second largest fish in the world with first being the Blue Whale. Basking sharks are endangered though because I learned over this past weekend that they have a population less than 8,000 because back in the old days they were killed for human resources like for oils for lamps. They are really beautiful creatures and just amazing. 

More Info on Basking Sharks (For more information to look at and for more detail about how long their populations have been declining and the specific reasons why they were fished)

About Me

My name is Catherine Bilodeau and I'm a freshman in college right now. I am majoring in Marine Biology with the hopes of studying Great White Sharks. I want to find out more about this animal like behaviors and where they go to mate. I want to study Great Whites because they are so misunderstood! I've wanted to study sharks for a long time now and one of the reasons why is Shark Week. I love Shark Week and it even gets better when it's shown in my birth month, but that happens on rare occasions. I own a bunch of shark stuff and books because I just love them. I really hope you enjoy this blog and please comment because I want to know about what you think!

 I also play ice hockey!