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Friday, March 29, 2024

Endangered bamboo sharks given helping hand in Gulf of Thailand

In the Gulf of Thailand, fisheries researchers use a guideline to scuba dive to the ocean floor where they release baskets full of young bamboo sharks.

The small, slow moving, bottom dwelling sharks with striped bodies and an extra long tail have become endangered in recent years because of their popularity with fish collectors and exotic food diners.

Researchers have released scores of juvenile bamboo sharks in the Gulf over the past several months, hoping to remove the species from the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s “Near Threatened” red list.

“We dive down to the sea base to release the fishes in safe area so they have a better chance to survive, rather than releasing them on the water surface like most other animals,” fisheries official Udom Krueniam told Reuters from a dive boat earlier this month. “If we release them on the water surface, there’s more chance…

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