Apex Harmony Campaign | Community organisation

Apex Harmony Campaign

Phone: +61 1300 623 267

Add/Update information

Reviews

Tags

• Community organisation
• Environmental conservation organisation
• Cause

25.01.2022 Researchers have made an interesting discovery about grey reef sharks and their social behaviours. Read about it below #ApexHarmony... #GreyReefSharks See more

25.01.2022 For a tiger shark caught on a drumline, this is their fate. The female tiger shark in these photos was found hooked on a drumline, still alive. However, she wasn't set free like an iconic humpback whale would be when they are found distressed and struggling to breathe. Instead, she is killed. Our crew followed the government contractor who towed her behind their boat, entangled and in pain for over an hour, then she was shot, gutted and her body dumped.... Why does she deserve such different treatment? Many people are awestruck to witness the magnificent humpback whales from either a boat or from the coastline and the media loves to highlight the beauty of whales. Just as people travel to places where they can see humpback whales in their home, people also travel to destinations known for tiger sharks and other sharks to swim with these beautiful animals. Many who have had the opportunity to dive with sharks have also fallen in love. Tiger sharks often swim around scuba divers peacefully, challenging the myth, promoted by the media and those who profit from killing them, that they are dangerous. Instead, they should be respected. Surely, this beautiful, intelligent and important creature deserves to be protected too. Photos - Sea Shepherd Envoy: Shark Cull #ApexHarmony

24.01.2022 Shark Nets Return in NSW While there have been no whale entanglements in NSW shark nets and drumlines so far this year, the state-sponsored killing of other marine animals is now inevitable. From September 1, shark nets were due to be re-deployed off 51 beaches in Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong, having been removed for the past four months because of the whale migration season. Since the first nets were installed in NSW in the 1930’s, tens of thousands of animals have died..., often after prolonged suffering. During the eight months of the last net season, 284 animals were killed in entanglement, including: . 14 critically endangered grey nurse sharks, . 8 green turtles and, . 7 dolphins. Of the 480 creatures caught in the nets, a staggering 430 of them were non-target species. Despite NSW enacting the world’s first shark protection law in 1984 to stop the killing of grey nurse sharks, the last netting season saw 31 of these critically endangered animals entangled and struggling in the nets with 14 of them dying a painful death. 17 were released, fate unknown. Sea Shepherd believes this toll of marine wildlife is totally unacceptable and calls on the government to remove the nets permanently. They do not protect surfers and swimmers from shark interactions and, if anything, only offer a false sense of security. There are more modern and more effective methods of shark mitigation, and the government, recognising this, is to be commended for its upcoming program of drone surveillance at NSW beaches. With new technologies such as the drones being used by the NSW Government, shark nets have become redundant. They belong to a by-gone era and it’s time they were disposed of. Image: Tom Hughes/Sea Shepherd Seven Mile Beach, Lennox, 14 Dec 2017

24.01.2022 Happy International Whale Shark Day folks! Today's the day we celebrate the worlds largest shark! These docile creatures cruise around the oceans with their mouths open to scoop up plankton and small fish. They are often seen at Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia. Unfortunately, these huge fish are endangered. Support Sea Shepherd so we can continue to defend the oceans and protect sharks. #ApexHarmony http://ow.ly/XrBK50AL2wy

24.01.2022 Despite a potentially successful release of a whale entangled in a drumline or shark net, the stress and injury post-entanglement may kill the animal, and the government data does not capture post-mortem information on released whales. Hear more from our Apex Harmony Campaign Coordinator on ABC radio (skip ahead to 14:45) https://ab.co/3hDqsMn Queensland's shark mitigation program is outdated, flawed, and dangerous. This whale migration season, we're again calling on th...e Queensland government to consider alternative, safe and effective methods of ensuring swimmer safety. #OpApexHarmony #NetsOutNow

24.01.2022 How ecotourism can help shark conservation. A study at different tourist spots in the Philippines has found a positive change in attitudes towards whale sharks and protecting the marine environment. "The majority of respondents now actively encourage others to care for the ocean and they also use more sustainable fishing practices"... When ecotourism is done responsibly it plays an important role for marine conservation and also benefits the communities involved. #EcoTourism #SharkConservation

24.01.2022 It happened again. Yesterday, another Aussie humpback was snared on Queensland’s pointless shark drumlines. This is the sixth whale directly endangered by lethal shark control gear this year. We urgently need Queensland's deadly Shark Control Program replaced with effective non-lethal alternatives. ... Read more >> https://bit.ly/3aGeuz6 #NetsOutNow #OpApexHarmony

22.01.2022 WARM BLOODED SHARKS To shark lovers, all sharks are ‘hot’, but scientifically some sharks are hotter than others. The Lamnid sharks: White, Porbeagle, Salmon, Shortfin mako and Longfin mako have an amazing ability, called endothermy, to maintain an elevated body temperature well in excess of their environment. Most sharks are cold-blooded or ectotherms, their body temperature being very similar to the outside water temperature. This is due to heat produced by their muscles be...Continue reading

20.01.2022 The study of sharks involves observing and interpreting shark behaviour in the wild. While lots of behaviours have been documented, every now and then a new or unusual action is observed. Recently, an Apex Harmony scuba diver filmed interesting behaviour of a grey nurse shark at Byron Bay’s Julian Rocks, where they congregate in the winter months. Dr Carley Kilpatrick is a marine biologist whose speciality is the critically endangered grey nurse shark. She is involved in a c...itizen science project, Grey Nurse Shark Watch that encourages volunteer divers to record the unique spots and patterns on the side of a shark’s body to identify them and to record their behaviours. Read what she had to say in response to seeing the video here: https://bit.ly/31y8d5v

18.01.2022 "The federal and state governments agree the reef’s greatest threat is from climate change, but there is also broad agreement that local impacts including improving water quality and tackling unsustainable fishing could buy the reef more time." The state government has not made any progress after they committed to reforming sustainable fisheries practices within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. We cannot wait for something to be done about this, changes need to happen ...now. Zones within the GBRMP tell recreational and commercial fishers what they can do and where. But the Queensland government is responsible for regulating fishing. Read more below. #ApexHarmony #HealthyOceansNeedSharks

18.01.2022 This afternoon, a tiger shark has been caught on a drumline at North Peregian Beach. Following good practice, the shark was reported to Qld Fisheries who manage the Qld Shark Control Program. According to our information, Fisheries will not send the contractor today but they will attend on their normal run tomorrow morning. This is unacceptable because a dying and struggling animal is going to be an attractant for other predators. The QSCP data often tells the story of predat...ed catch on drumlines and in shark nets. They do not keep predators away from beaches - they attract them in. Fisheries practice is demonstrating that they are OK with leaving this animal struggling on a drumline whilst people are flocking to the beach for this long weekend at the end of school holidays. *NB This video is a tiger shark caught on a QSCP drumline Dec 2017. More to come

18.01.2022 The data really does tell a story here, and it’s not a happy one.

16.01.2022 A critically endangered sawfish has been found dead with its saw cut off at a beach in North QLD. Sawfish are a no-take species and fisheries are investigating the incident. A sad loss for this protected species. #Sawfish... #ApexHarmony See more

16.01.2022 Queensland’s Shark Control Program drumlines have caught their second whale in four days at North Stradbroke Island / Minjerribah. This is the sixth whale directly endangered by lethal shark control gear this year. Eyewitness, Dr Paul Saffigna, Former Associate Professor and Foundation Head of the Graduate School of Environmental Sciences and Engineering Griffith University, and Former Associate Professor, School of Agronomy and Horticulture at The University of Queensland, w...as standing at key observation points at Point Lookout for much of the whale’s more than three-hour ordeal. Read more following the link below. #ApexHarmony

16.01.2022 A dugong which drowned in a Queensland Shark Net has since washed up on a beach with chain around it's tail. The chain is how authorities had attempted to weigh the animals body down, however strong currents have brought this animals body from the ocean to where people can now see some of the senseless cruelty this Shark Control Program causes. Public safety is a priority of the Shark Control Program and due care is taken to avoid deceased animals washing up on beaches, a d...epartment spokesperson said. Deceased animals may pose a public health risk or attract sharks to beaches, which is why they are weighed down and disposed of out to sea. #NetsOutNow #OpApexHarmony

14.01.2022 Surfers have a unique understanding of sharks. World Champion surfer Mick Fanning recently spoke to The Courier Mail about the need to replace Queensland's "shark control" program with modern shark bite mitigation technology including aerial drones to increase safety for ocean goers and reduce bycatch of harmless marine life. "The shark nets, they go for 200 metres so it's pretty easy for (sharks) to swim around or swim under them. It's just a little bit outdated. We haven't revisited them for a long time...The beach is a huge part of our tourism and a huge part of our economy so I think it's time we revisit that and see if there is a smarter, safer way of doing things." Learn more about modern shark bite mitigation technologies >> https://bit.ly/32sb8xe

12.01.2022 Today, a humpback whale was rescued from a net believed to be a part of New South Wales' shark meshing program off Sydney. Fortunately, the whale is now free. This entanglement has come just two weeks after the state's shark net deployment following their annual removal between May and August. To protect these iconic animals, we need shark nets to be removed for the entirety of the whale migration season as the first step towards their replacement with scientifically backed n...on-lethal technologies. #NetsOutNow

12.01.2022 A recent paper has explored the difference between the reported and reconstructed shark and ray catch numbers in WA and the results are troubling. With 1/4 of sharks and rays listed as threatened and approximately 40 commercial fisheries operating out of WA, the accuracy of reported catch numbers is vital to conservation efforts. However, there are several gaps in the catch numbers reported by commercial fishermen as they don't repost discard mortality, and their reports foc...us on the Dusky, Gummy, Whiskery and Sandbar Sharks which are used as indicators for stock statistics. Both of these contribute to largely underreported catch numbers for most other species of sharks and rays. The researchers in this paper used various modelling techniques and found the four "indicator species' accounted for nearly 80% of the reported shark and ray catches, with reported catch numbers close to the model's reconstruction, but for the other species, overall reconstructed catch numbers were approximately 57% higher than the official reports. These findings have serious implications for quantifying the extent of population declines and forecasting potential recovery under management and conservation interventions. Read more about this startling finding below:

12.01.2022 It’s Election Day in Western Australia tomorrow. Last week a Parliament House projection protest put these images up to warn of a proposal before the current government to allow sharks to be taken in sensitive areas in the north west in the hope that it will reduce predation of catches of recreational and commercial fishers. Whichever way you vote, the government needs to know that this is definitely not ok. Let's see if we can get to 15,000 signatures.

12.01.2022 CALL TO ACTION A whale that was caught on a drumline last week may have been cut free with the hook still left in its flesh. Fisheries have not confirmed this, despite our multiple requests for clarification. In a twitter response to a journalist, they have said: "as much equipment [was] removed as possible". Call the Fisheries Minister to demand answers now! ... The Hon Mark Furner (QLD Minister for Fisheries) Phone: (07) 37197420 This poor whale was the second caught on a Stradbroke Island drumline last week and was struggling to get free for several hours. The public has the right to know the impacts of this state program and if the whale swam away wounded, with the hook still attached. Rescues like these involving large and distressed marine animals are difficult and dangerous and we applaud the experienced and dedicated rescue teams for their work when these entanglements occur, but rescues should no be necessary. Why has the QLD gov still got these ineffective drumlines right in the middle of the whale migration path? This lethal program of shark nets and drumlines does not provide safety, shark nets are not barriers and drumlines are a baited hook intended to attract large sharks to catch and kill them. It is a non-stop, politically motivated marine cull, not a beach safety program. Get the drumlines and nets out out! Non-lethal beach safety options are advancing all the time, as should the state government’s program. Please tell the Queensland Fisheries Minister that we want the lethal systems of the Queensland Shark Control Program replaced with effective non-lethal alternatives. Call The Hon Mark Furner (QLD Minister for Fisheries) Phone:(07) 37197420 Sign the petition for the removal of shark nets during whale migration season- https://bit.ly/31Pb9JO Already contacted the Minister? Help spread the word by sharing this post. Another humpback migrating past Stradbroke drumlines last week. Photo: Jodi Graff

10.01.2022 Overfishing in the Republic of Congo is threatening food security, the livelihoods of local fishermen and putting shark populations in danger, according to a new report published this week by TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring organisation. Last week, in neighbouring Gabon, Sea Shepherd assisted Gabonese authorities in the arrest of two trawlers for possession of over one metric tonne of rays and ray fins. Read more below.... #IUU #HealthyOceansNeedSharks

10.01.2022 The wait is over! We are looking forward to the first screenings of the documentary film Envoy: Shark Cull happening tonight. The film highlights the destructive and lethal methods of the QLD and NSW state government Shark Control Programs. Apex Harmony's footage and our coordinator Jonathan Clark features in the film. If you have missed out on tickets for these screenings there will be more to come. #ApexHarmony

09.01.2022 Solutions Feature: Shark Spotters Program With the general public rapidly becoming aware of the need to get rid of shark nets and drumlines, we are taking the time to share another potential solution. The Shark spotters program is one such solution that has worked exceptionally well in South Africa. It is a program aimed at reducing the risk of shark attacks by using an early warning system... 'Spotters' are placed at strategic locations along the coastline and raise the alert if a shark is spotted. Beach users are notified and they are requested to leave the water until the shark has gone on its way. This program has been hugely successful in South Africa and was very successfully trialed in NSW's Byron Bay. Apps have also been developed that employ a similar system; crowdsourcing shark sightings through apps such as the 'SharkSmart WA' app. Apex Harmony endorses the use of Shark Spotter Programs to enable an early warning system and reduce the risk of shark-human interactions. Read more about non-lethal alternatives on our website: https://www.seashepherd.org.au//shark-mitigation-technolo/ or read more about the incredible work they are doing in South Africa here: https://sharkspotters.org.za/research/

09.01.2022 Dr Erich Ritter Obit The shark world has lost a true champion with the sudden death of Dr Erich Ritter, the world’s foremost expert in shark-human interaction. Dr Ritter was a friend of Sea Shepherd Apex Harmony’s campaign to defend sharks. When he was asked earlier this year to do a webinar presentation and answer questions about his work among sharks, he didn’t hesitate. He readily agreed to do the presentation at a time convenient to us even though it meant beginning at 7...am from his home in Florida, USA. Dr Ritter was born in Switzerland, and had a Ph.D from the University of Zurich in behavioural ecology. He did his post-doc at the University of Miami. Concerned at the lack of knowledge and experience of many marine scientists in shark-human interaction, Dr Ritter spent his whole scientific career swimming among sharks, observing and documenting their behaviours and teaching people how to interact with sharks. He set up and was head of SharkSchool, an organisation that teaches divers and swimmers what to look for when encountering a shark, and most importantly how to feel safe among sharks. Many Australian divers attended one of his schools, held annually in Fiji. Dr Ritter worked as a case investigator for the Shark Research Institute’s Global Shark Attack File, although he never used the word attack in relation to sharks. He was also chairman of the Shark Accident Victim Network, a non-profit organisation to help shark bite victims. He has been a guest on TV shows all over the world, and his books, publications and podcasts had a worldwide audience. His main expertise was the body language of sharks with a major interest in shark accidents and their causes. Many of the myths of why sharks bite humans have been dispelled through his experiments, including the so-called mistaken identity theory where a white shark mistakes a surfer for a seal. He developed the concept of ADORE-SANE for divers, snorkelers and swimmers, allowing safe interaction with any shark species under any conditions. Aged in his early 60’s Dr Ritter’s death is a loss to all who knew him, a loss to all those who learnt from him and most of all a loss to the world of sharks. His words at the end of each of his podcasts, is a fitting epitath for a man who devoted his life to sharks: If you are lucky to meet a shark out there, have fun, enjoy the moment, and remember it is a privilege to be among them. Photo - Erich Ritter SharkSchool

08.01.2022 Today is #WorldAnimalDay and this is not the news we wanted to be sharing. On Friday, a tiger shark was hooked on a drumline on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. The shark was reported to the Queensland Shark Control Program who left the shark to die slowly overnight. It is entirely possible to use non-lethal technologies such as drones to monitor and inform rather than kill and cull. Our Apex Harmony campaign continues its work to bring transparency to the brutality and poi...ntlessness of the Queensland Shark Control Program. footage: Sea Shepeherd and @Animal Liberation Queensland Envoy: Shark Cull

07.01.2022 Australia is home to around 180 species of sharks including protected and endangered species. Tragically, populations of large sharks have rapidly and drastically declined, particularly in recent decades. Nearly a quarter of shark species are listed as threatened or endangered by the IUCN. Read about our work protecting sharks http://ow.ly/lXFN50CowbW

06.01.2022 Tweed Shire council are utilising up to date and advanced technology that is available to support surf life savers with beach safety. We applaud this move and we would like to see more local councils take this kind of action. The state governments of NSW and QLD are continuing with outdated shark control equipment of shark nets and drumlines which do not provide safety to beach goers. Today, New South Wales will return lethal shark nets back into the water until April, while... the shark nets are removed for a period of 4 months during part of the annual whale migration season, the rest of the year the nets and SMART drumlines are along the coast of NSW indiscriminately killing marine life. Queensland, however does not remove shark nets for any period of time. Drone technology puts eyes on the water and does not harm and kill marine animals. This is one of many non-lethal devices available. #NetsOutNow #ApexHarmony

06.01.2022 A 130-metre long shark net has been missing from Harbour Beach in Mackay since at least Tuesday. At this stage, nobody knows what has happened to the net, but there are only a few things big and strong enough to dislodge such a large apparatus, and we fear that a whale may be caught. Whale entanglements in Queensland’s fishing gear are a direct consequence of leaving nets in the humpbacks' migration path. In 2018, our volunteers found a shark net completely torn in half, mo...st likely by a whale, in the same spot. As whales complete their annual mass migration back to the waters of Antarctica, we urgently need these deadly nets removed. Take action now >> https://bit.ly/32UTsJx #NetsOutNow

06.01.2022 We applaud the decision for funding of drones and other non-lethal methods of beach safety being implemented across some NSW beaches. This is a step in the right direction and we would like to see these science-backed methods replace current lethal shark nets and SMART drumlines as swimmer safety equipment along with education and awareness of sharks a d shark safety. It is time for the Queensland government to accept these science-backed beach safety methods and follow NSW's... lead. Shark nets and drumlines are merely providing a false sense of safety for beach goers while there are many non-lethal beach safety methods available right now. We along with other contributors have written a fully costed plan for these alternatives to demonstrate these which you can read below. https://www.seashepherd.org.au/latest-/qld-non-lethal-plan/ #ApexHarmony

05.01.2022 While the trading of shark fins is still legal in many countries, there are some countries and states around the world who have banned the trade. In the state of Florida, USA, a proposed bill to end the sale of shark fins in Florida has passed the Senate, but has not yet been enacted. The alleged co-conspirators formed Phoenix Fisheries in Florida to mask shark fin trading that was really going on in California, in violation of state law, according to the indictment. Read mo...re below. #StopTheFinTrade #ApexHarmony

05.01.2022 Despite the Queensland Government being told to try harder to eliminate deaths under its shark control program, new data analysed by Sea Shepherd reveals almost 80% of all sharks snagged on drumlines in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park have been killed over twelve months. While we wait for the Queensland Government to take action on their promised changes, they risk killing hundreds of sharks and other marine life important to the Great Barrier Reef. If this is meant to be a court-ordered tag-and-release program, why have almost 80% of the sharks caught died on these lethal hooks? - Apex Harmony Campaign Coordinator Jonathan Clark. #OpApexHarmony

03.01.2022 A new study by Dr Andrew Colefax shows SMART drumlines do not prevent sharks moving near to surf breaks. It also found that acoustic receivers often detect sharks that do not move closer to shore. We need modern shark bite mitigation solutions that protect swimmers, surfers, divers and marine life too. Read more http://ow.ly/zCym50Bw7lP... #OpApexHarmony #NetsOutNow

02.01.2022 GOOD NEWS A Queensland Government shark fin export fishery licence has been revoked because of their failure to protect threatened species on the Great Barrier Reef. This failure to meet the conditions of the export licence demonstrates the Queensland Government's incompetence when it comes to protecting vulnerable marine life. ... Turtles, dolphins and dugongs are all at risk of being killed in nets in the fishery. Sadly, the fishery is also responsible for exporting shark fins, fish bladders and roe. It is terrible that Australia is both an exporter and importer of shark fins and we can only hope this intervention is a step towards ending the horrific practice of shark finning globally which Australia's involvement in the shark fin trade supports. Read more https://www.theguardian.com//federal-minister-revokes-quee

02.01.2022 Great news for shark conservation! Florida becomes the 15th state in the U.S. to ban the shark fin trade! Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed the shark fin trade banthe Kristin Jacobs Ocean Conservation Act (SB680)into law. Amazing work by all those involved in making this happen.... #FinFree #HealthyOceansNeedSharks