A tribute to Ralph S. Collier

There are moments in life were one has to sit down and travel back down memory lane, remembering special events. This usually happens when one receives some sad news. Two days ago, I received the news of the passing of a dear friend and Shark research colleague Ralph S. Collier.

Ralph and I have been friends for some 30 years and during this time, we have shared loads of information about shark incidents and shark conservation. We have also been a shoulder to each other as we dealt with and shared personal issues. When I first put up my website on line in 1997, Ralph was one of the very first Shark researchers I interviewed. That interview can be found here.

Ralph S. Collier was a pioneer in Shark and humans interaction research. His investigation work and studies in Shark attacks led to the discovery of a lot of data and knowledge that we know today. As Director of the Global Shark Attack File, he did his utmost to find out the facts about shark attacks and change the negative image portrayed by the media. 

Ralph was also Founder / President of the Shark Research Committee. He also provided accurate and factual data to the scientific communities. He also published numerous research papers and articles. His book, Shark Attacks of the Twentieth Century; from the Pacific Coast of North America published in 2003 is a comprehensive analysis of 108 shark attacks that occurred between 1900 and 1999.

Ralph's knowledge of shark/human interactions made him as #1 consultant on many shark documentaries on Animal Planet, National Geographic and Discovery Channel amongst others. Shark Week will never be the same without Ralph S. Collier.

Rest in peace my dear friend. Gonna miss you..... and thank you for always supporting my work.

Megamouth Shark Page Blocked!

Attention all readers. 

 Unfortunately, my MEGAMOUTH SHARK page has been blocked by Blogger due to an alleged policy violation. 

 This page is a long-term scientific and educational database documenting all known Megamouth shark records worldwide. I am currently appealing the decision and requesting a manual review, as I believe this is a mistake or an automated action. 

I will update everyone as soon as I receive more information. 

 Thank you for your support and patience.

UPDATE: 
Blogger have upheld my appeal and the page is fully restored and back on line. 😀🦈

300th. Megamouth Shark found dead in Peru.

 Reports just in that a partially decomposed Megamouth Shark (Megachasma pelagios) was discovered on a deserted beach between  Playa Gaviotas and Yacila, Piura region of Northern Peru, on Wednesday 17th December. Researchers measured the shark at 447cm. 

This is the 300th record of Megamouth sharks since they were first discovered in 1976. It is also the 13th specimen from Peru and the second one in 4 weeks. In November 2025, another Megamouth was discovered in the same region and  local fishermen “filleted the specimen for sudado and ceviche”, two traditional dishes in the country.

More info about all the 300 Megamouth Sharks can be found at Sharkman's world/ Megamouth Shark

Megamouth shark #295

 On Wednesday 29th. January 2025, a Megamouth Shark (Megachasma pelagios) from Tsushimashi, Nagasaki prefecture, Japan. Photos show a Female of circa 500cm. Report says the shark was found caught in net and released alive. 

                                         

Whilst being the first from this area, this is the 31st record for Japan. This brings the total of Megamouths known to 295 since their first discovery in 1976 in Hawaii. 

My thanks to Numaguchi Asako for the report.

 Full details of all records can be seen at https://www.sharkmans-world.org/The-Megamouth-Shark/

UPDATE
30th Jan. 2025.  Although the Shark was released, it was found dead in the bay the next day. Nagasaki University recovered the shark for further study. Video link https://youtu.be/bUNZkEQuu7c

The Sharkman meets Chi-Ju Yu (a.k.a. Debbie)

 

My shark research shows that Taiwan has the highest amount of Megamouth shark (Megachasma pelagios) records. This is thanks to the complete catch and report system introduced in 2013.  Due to this, in 2020, the Fisheries Agency and the Council of Agriculture (FACOA) issued a directive prohibiting the capture of Great White sharks (Carcharodon carcharias), Basking sharks (Cetorhinus maximus) and Megamouth sharks. (see here). One scientific researcher and friend, involved in collecting and recording such data is Chi-Ju Yu (a.k.a. Debbie).

Click here to read an interview I have just had with Debbie. 

More Megamouth Sharks reported.

 A few days ago, this video clip showing a snorkeler swimming with a Megamouth Shark was released on the web and made News worldwide.

On further investigation I found out that this news bit was only the tip of the ice berg. The story started towards the last week of May, when Bethany Smith travelled from UK to Taiwan, in search of the elusive Megachasma pelagios  (Megamouth Shark). In Taiwan, Bethany met with Shark researcher Chi-Ju Yu (Debbie) and Underwater Videographer Zola Chen. Together they joined two local fishermen on their boats, with the hope that they can find and tag a Megamouth Shark.

In the first five trips spread over a two week period, they had no Megamouths. On the 3rd. of June, their luck changed and they had two sharks in the nets. The first was a female of approx. 4m and the second was a male of around 3.5m. Debbie and the fisherman quickly tagged and released both sharks as Zola filmed the moment.

Four days later, on the 7th. of June, Bethany was joined by Zola on her last trip, While the nets were being pulled up, a huge 5m female was found. The two went into the water to release the shark. This was the moment captured in the above video by Zola. It is believed that this Megamouth Shark was again caught in the nets a few minutes later and released again! 

For someone who was hoping to find 1 shark, Bethany, Debbie & Zola discovered and helped save 3 Megamouths within 4 days of the 3 week adventure.

And that is not all!

Whilst researching the above, I found out that sometime during May, another 5 Megamouths were tagged and released by the Fisheries Research Institute (FRI).  Data about these sharks is currently withheld.

This brings the total number of recorded Megamouths to 294, of which 166 are from Taiwan.

It is worth remembering that in November 2020, the Taiwanese authorities enacted laws that totally protect the Megamouth Shark. The restrictions require that all Megamouths caught in Taiwanese waters are to be returned to the sea, regardless of whether or not they are alive when caught. Fishing operators must report any catches to authorities on returning to port.

Shark Incidents in 2023.

According to the International Shark Attack File (ISAF) report issued by the Florida Museum of Natural History, the number of "unprovoked" Shark incidents for 2023 is below the average for the last 10 years, but the number of fatalities increased slightly for the same period.

During 2023, the ISAF reported 69 unprovoked incidents. This number is slightly less than the average of 73 for the previous ten years. There were 10 fatalities last year, and this is a slight increase on the average 6 for the same period.

As is the trend, the U.S.A. tops the list with 36 reported incidents. Two of those were fatal. Australia reported 15 incidents 4 of which were fatal. Egypt, New Caledonia, Mexico and the Bahamas each reported one fatality.

I have been keeping records since 1990 and to date, there have been 2189 incidents of which 208 were fatal. That is 9.5%. When one considers the millions of people swimming and the thousands swimming with Sharks on a daily bases, these numbers are minimal. This chart shows the trend.

Considering that humans kill over 80 million sharks every year, it is the sharks that need to fear us, not the other way round.