The past couple of days have been jam packed with fun activities for the 21 children who attended the very first Shark Camp. The camp was hosted by the SASC (South African Shark Conservancy) research and education centre and judging by the was clearly a resounding success.

The kids, aged between 6 and 11 were kept constantly entertained and spent lots of time talking about sharks and learning about why they are important to humans. They also learned about the role sharks play in the marine environment, and what they can do to protect them.

"We played tonnes of games - we even created a living food web - created loads of amazing marine art, and did some cool presentations" says Meaghen McCord Grey, Director at SASC "I like to say thanks to all the fantastic kids who made it such a great two days. Also, a special thanks must go to Tamzyn and Ashleigh for their assistance & for keeping the camp cool!"

The South African Shark Conservancy is a registered non-profit organisation, dedicated to promoting the conservation and sustainable use of sharks in South Africa and abroad. By educating children from a young age, they hope to prevent further impact caused by the dimishing numbers of sharks and secure the species for future generations.

More photos of the camp and information about the SASC, can be found on the Facebook page.

Record set for deepest dive by Great White

A New Zealand great white shark has set a world record for the deepest ever known dive according to scientists from NIWA (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric research).

The shark was tagged as part of NIWA’s ongoing research into the long distance movements both inside and outside New Zealand’s territorial waters to improve understanding of the species’ migratory patterns.

Principle scientist Malcolm Francis said that the shark, named “Shack” by the Institute, had made several very deep dives between 1000 and 1200 meters while crossing the ocean. Records show that Shacks’ dive of 1200 meters exceeded any previous measured depths, which had were all recorded at less than 1000 meters.

Other interesting facts arising from the research NIWA is conducting:

• Great white sharks experience a huge range of water temperatures between 3 and 27 degrees Celsius
• New Zealand sharks don’t cross the equator; “so far all our tagged animals have only gone as far north as 17 degrees south, north of New Caledonia,” says Francis.
• Great white sharks are taking tropical winter holidays, departing New Zealand between April and September, for somewhere warmer. The maximum distance migrated was 3300 km
• They take long migratory trips making deep dives as they go. They can travel 150 km a day.

You can read more about this research, visit the NIWA website.