Volume 16, No. 3 Shark Research Institute Global Headquarters 70 Heather Lane•Princeton, NJ 08540•USA• Phone: 609-921-3522• Fax: 609-921-1505 Volume 16, No. 3 Congratulations to Page 2 Guy Perrotta, SRI’s representative in Connecticut, has been actively involved with SRI for many years. He is also a two-time Emmy-Award winning producer and writer. Guy served as Co-Producer, Co-Writer and Artistic Director for the award- winning PBS film Mystic Voices: The Story of the Pequot War , and served as Director of Promotions and Special Events and juror for various film festivals in the United States. With Haverland Film/Video Productions, New York, he wrote, produced, and directed educational works, including oral histories and test pilots for proposed television series. Guy also participates in shark tagging and education for field researchers in New England, and has made presentations to local colleges and universities including Brown University and Yale University. One of his goals is to work with fellow mediamakers to help educate the community regarding shark research and conservation. Action to Save Atlantic Sharks The U.S. Federal government’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has proposed to dramatically cut fishing for overfished Atlantic shark species and improve the existing ban on shark finning, Measures proposed by NMFS would close fisheries for sandbar sharks, protect porbeagle sharks, and require that sharks be landed with their fins attached to ensure full compliance with the finning ban. “After fourteen years of inadequate limits, the government is at last heeding scientific advice and taking bold steps to safeguard vulnerable Atlantic sharks,” said Sonja Fordham who serves on the NMFS shark advisory panel. “Cutbacks and closures are urgently needed to ensure the survival of these critical ocean predators.” NMFS predicts that reducing annual catch of sandbar sharks, the dominant species in the Atlantic coastal shark fishery, to roughly 100 tons can rebuild the population within 70 years. The porbeagle shark, a large, oceanic species related to the great white, needs a full century to recover from an 85% decline and would be off-limits under the NMFS plan. Conservationists and scientists have long promoted landing sharks with fins attached as the only sure-fire way to prevent finning; most finning bans are enforced with generous fin to carcass weight ratios that allow fishermen room to fin sharks. “These changes would give Atlantic sharks a fighting chance and position the United States to lead the world toward an effective, global ban on shark finning, thereby potentially saving millions of sharks,” added Fordham. “Public support is essential to ensuring that strong fishing limits are included in the final shark plan and implemented before it’s too late.” The proposal is open for public comment until mid-October. SRI’s Dianna Mercuri attended the Wyand, of SRI’s Advisory Board, and Debbie Smith WELCOME to RPX! Debbie Smith = Mozambique Volume 16, No. 3 Page 3 The annual "Sharkfest" festival and art show was held July 16 at the Matawan, NJ, to mark.the 90th anniversary of the 1916 shark attacks in Matawan. "This is one particular piece of history August 18-19, Suzy Quashnichka educated children about sharks at the White Shark Festival in Gansbaai, South Africa. During Discovery Channel’s Shark Week, Education Director, Dean Fessler, was featured guest at the Adventure Aquarium. Richard Fernicola, Dianna Mercuri & Dean Fessler spoke with hundreds of visitors at SharkFest 2007 Non-Profit Organization POSTAGE PAID Permit No. 390 Princeton, NJ 08540 Shark Research Institute P.O. Box 40 Princeton, NJ 08540 U.S.A. THE WEB WWW ORG Sharks of the Pacific Northwest by Alessandro De Maddalena, Dr. Antonella WANTED: Laptop computers Upgrading your notebook or laptop computer? Consider donating your old laptop to SRI’s Education Department (MAC or XP preferred). WANTED: Items for Fall Auction . Trips, books, Board seeking additional Trustees Members’ Bookshelf The Palau Attorney General is calling for the forfeiture of a Taiwanese fishing vessel caught last week in Palau’s economic zone with 650 shark fins and 94 shark carcasses, as well as the vessel’s cargo and equipment. The Supreme Court of Palau has charged the owner with 30 counts, and its captain and representative in Palau. The captain is also being charged with attempted bribery. Divers on the July expedition to Holbox