MEDIA INTERVIEWS
2 June 2008
news.scotsman.com
Shark attacks fishermen's boat
A pair of fishermen came under attack from a 10ft shark in the north of Scotland, it has been revealed.
The anglers filmed the shark as it circled and then rammed into the side of their boat.
The shark is thought to be a porbeagle, an endangered species rarely seen so close to the shoreline.
In the video, posted on the internet website YouTube, the shark appears to move away from the boat, before returning to launch its attack, sparking panicked cries from the anglers.
The incident was filmed in Balintore Bay off Easter Ross in the Highlands. Lauren Smith, of Aberdeen University, who is in her final year of a PhD in shark research, said the shark was acting out of curiosity and posed no real threat to the anglers.
She said: "Porbeagles are known to be inquisitive and have approached people and boats before. I have seen them at the bottom of oil rigs in the North Sea looking at what divers are doing. In this case it looks like it's been attracted by the fish or the fish oil, and it could have been close to pupping which might also excite it."
"It's actually really nice to see one given how the fisheries depleted their numbers a few years ago, and certainly they are still on the vulnerable list."
25 MARCH 2008
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
Sharks Could Warn of Storms, Claims Research
Their reputation is more fearsome predator than kindly weatherman. But sharks could be used to save lives by giving advance warning of storms, pioneering British research has discovered.PhD student Lauren Smith, who tested her theory on dogfish.
A study of the creatures found that they can sense minute changes in air pressure and head for the safety of deeper waters when a storm is brewing. A drop in air pressure - a sign of imminent bad weather - is mirrored in the pressure of the water. Sharks' sensitivity to atmospheric conditions was first noticed in 2001 when the approach of Hurricane Gabrielle in Florida led to juvenile blacktip sharks fleeing from the shallow shoreline.
Lauren Smith, 24, a marine biology student, has carried out further research into the phenomenon in the Bahamas and at Aberdeen University, where she is completing her PhD. "The shark's inner ear is very similar to ours; if we go up in an aeroplane our ears pop due to the equalisation of pressures and the same thing goes on with a shark," said Miss Smith, originally from West Bromwich in the West Midlands."There is a nerve which runs from the inner ear straight to the brain and relays pressure change information. They react to that. It's an early warning system."
Miss Smith carried out her research on lemon sharks in the Bahamas, using acoustic tags and GPS technology to track their movements. She recreated the weather conditions at the National Hyperbaric Centre in Aberdeen, enabling her to prove her theory with the help of lesser spotted dogfish, a relation of the lemon shark. It is believed to be the first work of its kind to test the theory.
22 JANUARY 2008
Attack Of The Killer Dolphins
Dolphins off the North-east coast have been caught on film attacking a porpoise.
The video, which will feature in Channel Five's Nature Shock series next week, shows the aggressive behaviour of bottlenose dolphins filmed in the Moray Firth.
The dolphins are seen tossing a porpoise up in the air and 'ramming' it until it is dead.
Featuring in the documentary is Dr Ben Wilson, a marine biologist in Aberdeen, who explains the horrific internal injuries the porpoise suffered.
The Moray Firth attack is one of just a handful of attacks of this kind recorded in the world.
University of Aberdeen Marine specialist Lauren Smith said the dolphins' behaviour could be triggered by competition between the creatures for food.
She said: "It is estimated the population of the Moray Firth bottlenose dolphins is declining by 6% each year due to an increase in water pollution and a reduction in food availability.This may be a reason to attack porpoises, specifically the easy targets - the young."
Lauren also said that dolphins have a strong sense of community with their pod and that this social utility may encourage them to attack any threat.Lauren adds: "Although it hasn't been reported much, it is important to remember that maybe it just hasn't been seen. That doesn't mean that it doesn't exist.
"Channel Five's Nature Shock looks at freak occurrences in nature.
30 AUGUST 2007
Dish With a Bite, But Tasting of Chicken!
Trawlermen in the North Sea landed an 8ft shark which is more usually found on the south coast.The porbeagle was snapped up by fishmongers in North Shields, Tyneside, after it was caught on Tuesday off the coast at Tynemouth.
The sharks are regularly found around Cornwall but are seldom seen in the cooler waters of the North Sea. Porbeagles that do turn up off England's north-east coast come in late summer, tempted by the returning mackerel and herring. Anthony Asiamah, who filleted the shark for Seaview Fisheries, where it is being sold for £10 a kilo, said: "It's lovely and tastes a bit like chicken."
Mr Asiamah, who works with his father Tony, added: "It's very meaty. We tend to get one a year and it all goes." Earlier this week a porbeagle, estimated at 10ft in length, was captured by cameras on board a remote controlled vehicle carrying out inspection work on an oil platform in the North Sea's Norwegian sector.
The porbeagle is one of the more common shark species in British waters. It was so numerous that it was specifically targeted by fishermen in the 60s and 70s and in 1964 alone 9,300 tonnes of por-beagle were landed at British ports. Over-fishing resulted in a sharp decline in numbers and by 1980 only five tonnes of porbeagle meat were landed.
Aberdeen University shark expert Lauren Smith said yesterday that, although the population had recovered over the last 20 to 25 years and the porbeagle was commonplace around the British coast, numbers had still not recovered to their previous level.
Many of these practices are derived from a fundamental misunderstanding of sharks combined with a lack of knowledge.
28 AUGUST 2007
Shark Not So Deadly After All
The shark filmed by an oil worker 100ft down in the North Sea may not be of the killer species originally identified. Rig safety worker Lance Baldwin, from Keith, videoed the creature 160 miles east of Aberdeen. It was originally believed to be the first sighting close to Scotland of the Mako - the fastest shark in the world which has reportedly attacked humans.
However, Aberdeen University shark researcher Lauren Smith believes the identification is wrong. She said: "I'm certain the shark is actually a Porbeagle. "In the pictures you can see a white patch at the base of the dorsal fin. Porbeagles have this feature and Makos do not.Porbeagles, which do not attack humans, are quite common off the UK coast".
28 AUGUST 2007
Footage of Shark Captured By Cameras.
Stunning footage of a large shark has been captured by cameras on board a remote-controlled vehicle involved in oil industry work in the North Sea.The 10ft porbeagle was spotted by operator Lance Baldwin, 40, as he manoeuvred the vehicle at a depth of 100ft close to BP's ULA platform in the northern sector, 160 miles east of Aberdeen in Norwegian waters.
Mr Baldwin, of Mid Street, Keith, was carrying out safety checks with underwater cameras when the creature swam into view."I have worked in the North Sea for two years and I have never seen anything like it," he said.The shark was initially thought to be a mako, a species which has not been definitively recorded in the North Sea.
But closer examination of Mr Baldwin's images by Aberdeen University shark expert Lauren Smith identified it as a porbeagle. Miss Smith said the photographs clearly showed a white patch on the trailing edge of the dorsal fin - a diagnostic feature in the identification of porbeagle, which can grow to around 12ft and is a cold water feeder.The porbeagle prefers deeper water although it is sometimes found in shallower coastal waters.Its numbers are believed to have declined in British waters because over-fishing has robbed it of its staple diet of mackerel and herring.