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. Today was one of those days. I have just received the news that a dear friend and Shark research colleague, Ralph S. Collier passed away last night (17th. Feb. 2026).

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. 

More megamouth sharks records discovered.

 Following the discovery of the mama Megamouth shark (Megachasma pelagios) last week (read here), more records have been recovered. Mama Megamouth was at first reported as being specimen #279 has now been renumbered to #284.

During research I was doing following the three strandings in the Philippines last week, data was passed on to me about another 4 records from the Philippines that i was not aware of. These 4 records were from April 2013, June 2015, November 2020 and July 2021. I also discovered a second stranding in South Africa in November 2009.

South Africa in November 2009.

As more records of catches and strandings are reported, the need for protection for this species becomes nore urgent.

Stranded Megamouth Shark was about to give birth.

  14th. November 2023.

I have just received news and photos of a Megamouth shark (Megachasma pelagios) that was found dead stranded on a beach in  Barangay Ipil, Dipaculao Aurora, Philippines. This female Megamouth was pregnant and was giving birth In fact, one pup was discovered next to her another 6 pups were discovered inside her.

As details are still coming in, this is already a huge discovery as it will give us more data especially about birth sizes and breeding grounds.

This is the third Megamouth Shark found within a week in the Philippines. The two other discoveries were reported from Negros and Hinunangan, all sharks were dead. This brings the total of known records to 279.

Shark sighted off Delimara point, Malta.

 Friday 13th. October 2023.

The Malta Daily published a video clip and report of a Shark sighting off Delimara point on the south east coast of Malta. Spme fishermen encountered and filmed a large shark as it swam past their boat.

I was contacted by the news agency and was asked to identify the shark. At first glance, everyone was thinking that this was a Great White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias), but the video footage published online was not very clear. 

After managing to obtain a copy of the original HD footage,  and consulting with fellow shark biologist  Ian Fergusson, who specialises in Mediterranean white sharks, we both agree that this wasd a Shortfin Mako (Isurus oxyrinchus). 

Ian also pointed out that while this shark bears many characteristics of a white shark, the clear frames of the rounded apex to pectoral fin; the pelvic fin & caudal peduncle lean more to this being a particularly large Isurus oxyrinchus.

The footage indicates that this shortfin Mako measures to about 4m. It is very rare that such sharks are seen so close inshore. These sharks are protected under Maltese laws.

Megamouth Sharks #271 and #272 sighted off San Diego, California.

 Two Megamouth Sharks (Megachasma pelagios) were sighted swimming at the surface, some thirty miles north-west of the coast of San Diego, California on Sunday morning.

Speaking in a TV interview, Andrew Chang, owner of the charter boat, said that he was out with some fishing clients when at around noon, they sighted two fins swimming slowly at the surface. The two sharks came close to the boat and it was here that they were positively IDed as Megamouth Sharks.

Video footage clearly identifies one of the sharks as a male. According to Mr. Chang,  one shark, probably the male, was slightly smaller than the other. They estimated the lengths as between 12 to 15 feet. The sharks stayed around for about ten minutes.

These two sharks are Megamouths #271 and #272  to be recorded in my database. This brings the total of Megamouths from the USA to 17.

Megamouth Shark #270

Another Megamouth Shark (Megachasma pelagios) was washed ashore in the Philippines. The discovery was made on the morning of 31st. July 2022 at Mambajao, Camiguin. 

According to the provincial fisheries officer on site, they found no wounds on the shark and the cause of death is unknown.

From the video footage the sex of the shark can be identified as a male, but no indications of size or weight are available. This is the 31 specimen known from the Philippines.

Megamouth Shark #269

Megachasma pelagios, better known as Megamouth Shark, is a species of shark that is considered rare to find. However, over the past few years, the number of records of sightings or catches, have indicated that these elusive sharks are more common in Asia than anywhere else in the world.

A new report of a Megamouth Shark found washed ashore dead brings the total of documented sharks to #269. This shark washed ashore in the coastal village of Bagacay in Gubat, Sorsogon, Philippines on Saturday, June 11.

According to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) the est 15ft (4.5mtrs) shark was discovered at 10 am by local fisherfolk. Although not officially confirmed, photos do show that the shark is an adult female.


A spokesman for BFAR stated that the cause of death is still being investigated and that the shark will be preserved and later put on display in the museum.


This is the 30th specimen recorded in the Philippines, placing them as the second highest country behind Taiwan who leads the list with a massive 157 records. Japan follows in third with 29 records. These three countries total 216 records. The other 15 countries on record total 53 specimens.


A full detailed list can be found here.

E.U. Citizens' Initiative to Protect Sharks: Final Count.

For the past two years, the Stop Finning - EU Organization has been collection signatures of support for the EU Citizens' Initiative to strengthen the EU's shark Finning laws.  The support period has now closed and here are now the final results.

As most of you know, in my last update of the 13th. January I stated that only seven countries had reached their quota target and only 542000 out of the 1,000000 signatures have been collected. 

I am glad to report that in the last two weeks, there has been a huge response and the final results read as follows:

17 countries have reached their quota: Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Malta, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Croatia, Finland, Denmark, Ireland, Greece, Czechia, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain.
A total of 1,202,122 signatures collected.

 Austria 229.63%

Belgium 119.52% 

Bulgaria 15.78% 

Croatia 117.26% 

Cyprus 20.15% 

Czechia 106.67% 

Denmark 113.83% 

Estonia 34.58% 

Finland 114.05% 

France 592.08%

Germany 685.31%

Greece 112.61% 

Hungary 152.09%

Ireland 112.67% 

Italy 128.94% 

Latvia 16.78% 

Lithuania 11.95% 

Luxembourg 104.97% 

Malta 113.32%

Netherlands 124.33% 

Poland 21.71% 

Portugal 149.17%

Romania 15.55% 

Slovakia 82.05% 

Slovenia 57.51% 

Spain 151.04%

Sweden 64.75% 

I want to thank each and everyone that signed up, for their support and look forward to next step... the presentation of this initiative to the EU. 

My thanks also goes to Nils Kluger and Alexander Hendrik Cornelissen who initiated this campaign.

Thank you.

Update on the E.U. Citizens' Initiative to Protect Sharks.

In January of 2020, The Stop Finning - EU Organization initiated the EU Citizens' Initiative to strengthen the EU's shark Finning laws. 

Although the removal of fins on board of EU vessels and in EU waters is prohibited and sharks must be landed with their fins naturally attached, the EU is among the biggest exporters of fins and a major transit hub for the global fin trade. EU is a major player in the exploitation of sharks and as inspections at sea are scarce fins are still illegally retained, transhipped, or landed in EU. 

The aim is to end the trade of fins in the EU including the import, export and transit of fins other than if naturally attached to the animal’s body. As finning prevents effective shark conservation measures, the organization is requesting to extend REGULATION (EU) No 605/2013 also to the trade of fins and therefore ask the commission to develop a new regulation, extending “fins naturally attached” to all trading of sharks and rays in the EU. 

To be successful, the EU Citizens' Initiative needs reach the following targets:

i) To collect a total of One Million signatures of support from EU member states.
ii) At least Seven (7) countries must reach a threshold of signatures equal to 1% of its population. 

The seven country target has been reached but so far, only 542000 out of the 1,000000 signatures have been collected and the closing date in the end of this month.

 
Whilst Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Malta, Portugal and Spain have reached and passed their threshold, these 20 other nations are still below the target.

Belgium 70.76% 

Bulgaria 10.32% 

Croatia 54.64% 

Cyprus 13.16% 

Czechia 49.46% 

Denmark 52.01% 

Estonia 26.79% 

Finland 46.76% 

Greece 52.77% 

Ireland 72.7% 

Italy 87.02% 

Latvia 7.01% 

Lithuania 8% 

Luxembourg 43.92% 

Netherlands 83.6% 

Poland 13.02% 

Romania 11.61% 

Slovakia 50.78% 

Slovenia 47.27% 

Sweden 39.83% 

 We are in the final stretch so please do your best to spread the word and get your friends to support this great cause.

SHARKS NEED YOU NOW!

Thank you.

Malta reaches threshold for EU Citizen's Initiative.

THANK YOU MALTA.

On behalf of Sharkman's World, I want to say a big thanks to everyone who has supported and signed our Stopfinning EU Citizen's Initiative. With a targeted threshold of 4506 signatures, Malta has now obtained a total of 4561 signatures. We are the fourth EU nation to reach our goal. France, Portugal and Germany are the other 3 countries that have reached their quota. Thank You.

For those that have not yet signed, you still have the chance to do so. The more names the better our voices will be heard. If you already signed, pass this on to your European friends so that we can help other countries to reach their target.

Sharks need us to protect them👍🦈

https://www.stop-finning-eu.org/

The Sharkman meets Greg Nowell

 A single person can make a huge difference when he (or she) decides to dedicate his/her time to achieve a target. This target could have amazing results not only for personal satisfaction but also on a larger scale. This is the story of one such person.

It was back in 2007 that I first met Greg Nowell, when he came to live here in Malta. We had exchanged a few emails before our meeting, and as always I was looking forward to meet another Shark lover. 

Over a few beers, Greg and I talked about our passion and how he would like to contribute towards Shark Conservation. Little did I know that this was the first step towards a brighter future not only for the local shark scene but also internationally.

Since then, Greg and I became close friends and we have worked together on several conservation issues, both locally and also overseas. So, it gives me great pleasure to share with you this Greg Nowell interview.

An amazing woman's incredible lifelong journey into the world of Sharks.

As a very young teen in 1970, I saw Valerie Taylor, her late husband Ron and fellow Australian Rodney Fox for the first time, in the classic documentary "Blue Water, White Death." I was already hooked to the beauty of the underwater world, but it was here that these 3 inspired my love for Sharks and I followed in their footsteps with my lifelong fight to protect these magnificent creatures.

In the new epic documentary Playing With Sharks, Valerie takes us on an amazing journey into her own teen years as a spearfishing champion, her romance with the sea and also with Ron, who made her his underwater model and later his wife. We see the couple embarking on an expedition that changed their lives forever. From spearfishing champions, they soon became world famous for their filming and production of underwater documentaries.


The Taylors travelled around the world filming sharks and educating the general public about the huge misconception that these awesome creatures are mindless killing machines in a time when sharks were labelled as Man-eaters following the release of "Jaws". They became protectors and defenders of our oceans and the creatures that live in it.


Their hard work soon started giving rewards as Australia became the first country in the world to protect the Grey Nurse Shark (Carcharias taurus). This was later followed by conservation measures for: the Potato Cod (Grouper) and Cod hole, The Sea lions, the Coral Sea bird breeding islands, the main breeding grounds of the Southern Right Whales becoming a marine reserve and also protection of the Great White Shark.

This amazing woman's incredible lifelong journey is not over yet as Valerie, now 85, and following Ron's death in 2012, is still involved in conservation issues and still dives to spend time surrounded by and Playing With Sharks.

Thank you Valerie for showing me, and the world, the truth about these magnificent and misunderstood creatures.

Conservation Measures Give Positive Results.

Over the years that I have been involved in Shark conservation, I always insisted that no matter how small the measures achieved, they do leave positive results. Some might say that protecting a shark species in one area, does nothing as that shark might easily be caught some place else. Whilst that could be true, it also adds to the urgency to protect endangered species in as many places as possible.

Since the discovery of the Megamouth shark (Megachasma pelagios) was made in Hawaii in 1976, I have been keeping records of all known specimens caught or encountered around the world. This is not an easy task as I know that not all catches get to be reported especially those from the Asian continent.... but thank God, things are changing.

Up until I write this, the list of known Megamouths stands at 246. Of these, only 28 sharks survived the encounter and swam happily away. The other 218 ended up either consumed, buried or put on display is some museum. You can find my full list here.

The country with the highest number of Megamouth catches is Taiwan. They are responsible for 152 catches out of which, only 4 were released alive. That is a shocking 61% of all known specimens. It was for this reason that EAST(Environment & Animal Society of Taiwan) and Ocean Conservation and Fishery Sustainability Foundation (TOFF)  last year launched a campaign to put pressure on the government (fishery agency) to protect the Megamouth Shark. They also joined forces with fisheries to promote the catch and release initiative to facilitate the tagging of megamouth sharks for scientific research, with support from the Carrefour Foundation.


This campaign also got the support of other international entities, including Sharkman's World, that wrote to the Taiwanese government backing requests for stringent regulations to protect these endangered sharks.


Finally on November 10th. 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.


This conservation measure had positive results when two days ago, a Hualien-registered vessel caught a shark in their gill nets whilst fishing 2.77 nautical miles off the coast. The boat captain immediately ordered his crew to release the shark as soon as possible. The operation to untangle the shark lasted around 90 minutes and finally the estimated 4m female megamouth shark was set free. A crew member managed to film the release.


After being informed of the news, Carrefour Foundation CEO Marilyn Su pledged to donate a NT $5,000 voucher to the captain of the vessel as a reward for their actions. Deputy Chief Executive Yu-Min Chen donated several cases of drinks to the fishermen to celebrate the release, praising the crew for their conservation efforts.

I hope that these new regulations will remain properly enforced.

My thanks to EAST for the translation of the reports. Great work from all those involved.

The Sharkman meets Andrej Gajić

Ever since I have been involved with Sharks and Shark Conservation, I have been fortunate to have met and worked alongside quite a few researchers, photographers, conservationists and shark lovers. Most of the "famous" ones belong to my age group or older, but I am also glad to see a younger generation coming up. One such person is a young man from Bosnia & Herzegovina who I call my "Shark Brother" Andrej Gajić. 

I first met Andrej back in 2009 in Brussels, Belgium. We formed part of the Shark Alliance and we were campaigning for better shark conservation regulations at EU level. Since then, Andrej has come a long way in establishing himself as one of today's top Shark researchers, scientist, author, explorer and conservationist. He has even been in inducted into the National Geographic "Explorers Club". It gives me great pleasure to share with you this amazing interview I made with Andrej Gajić.