Tag Archives: sharks

Divers, Fishers and Scientists Map Sharks and Rays to Save Them

Divers, Fishers and Scientists Map Sharks and Rays to Save Them

Knowing where different sharks and rays reproduce, feed, hang out, and rest, is important for conservation. But it is hard to do – unless everyone joins in. Now, a new atlas of these areas is sparking optimism for these threatened fishes.

Writer: SL Wong

Editor: YH Law

Published: 14 October 2024

Explore the Interactive Map of Malaysia’s Important Shark and Ray Areas

(Feature video: Scalloped Hammerheads (Sphyrna lewinii) gather in Sipadan and Layang-Layang; where do they come from, and where are they going? (Credit: www.scubazoo.com)

(Feature video: Scalloped Hammerheads (Sphyrna lewinii) gather in Sipadan and Layang-Layang; where do they come from, and where are they going? (Credit: www.scubazoo.com)

THE CORAL reef wall at Hanging Garden, Sipadan, is colourful, popping with yellow crinoids, purple table corals and orange-and-white clownfish. But the scuba divers ignore it. Instead, they drift in the deep blue, away from the reef that plunges to a depth of 600 m.

Suddenly, they see them, a shiver of sharks with unmistakable hammer-like heads. And the divers whoop in celebration.

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