David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈

David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈

@whysharksmatter.bsky.social

I am a marine conservation biologist studying sharks and a science writer. Posts are about science and the environment, science communication, and more! He/him

136,111 Followers 1,502 Following 113,730 Posts Joined Apr 2023
10 minutes ago
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Illegal sea cucumber fishing leads to $11,600 fine for Vancouver Island fishers | CBC News Fisheries and Oceans Canada said the three men were found in possession of 43 sea cucumbers after officers spotted the fishers at a beach in Campbell River, B.C., last spring. The daily limit is 12 pe...

Illegal Sea Cucumber Fishing in Vancouver, Canada leads to hefty fine! www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

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Global spatio-temporal analysis of maritime piracy risk (2010–2024): Management strategies and implications for ocean governance Maritime piracy remains a persistent threat to global ocean and coastal security, exhibiting complex spatiotemporal dynamics shaped by vessel type, region, and environmental conditions. This study develops an integrated analytical framework—combining spatial density estimation, clustering, contagion modeling, and tensor decomposition—to systematically assess 3899 piracy incidents worldwide from 2010 to 2024, incorporating ERA5 climate data. Results reveal a general decline in global piracy, yet persistent and, in some regions, intensifying risks within key hotspots such as the Gulf of Guinea and Southeast Asia. Tankers and dry cargo ships face sustained exposure, while smaller vessels experience episodic surges linked to local enforcement gaps and socioeconomic drivers. Additionally, seasonal monsoon patterns and precipitation significantly reduce incident rates, underscoring the importance of environmental factors in risk mitigation. Building on these findings, the study offers actionable recommendations for maritime safety management and policy. These include regionally differentiated surveillance and enforcement, adaptive patrol scheduling informed by climate and real-time risk diagnostics, vessel-type-specific protection measures, and the integration of early-warning systems to disrupt cascading attack chains. By bridging advanced risk analytics with practical management strategies, this study supports evidence-based decision-making for maritime authorities and policymakers.

Global spatio-temporal analysis of maritime piracy risk (2010–2024): Management strategies and implications for ocean governance www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... 🦑

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2 hours ago
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Long-term random sampling confirms high-use areas and indicates declining abundance of juvenile smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata) in Charlotte Harbor, Florida - Scientific Reports Scientific Reports - Long-term random sampling confirms high-use areas and indicates declining abundance of juvenile smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata) in Charlotte Harbor, Florida

Long-term random sampling confirms high-use areas and indicates declining abundance of juvenile smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata) in Charlotte Harbor, Florida www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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3 hours ago
Evidences of sibling bites in porbeagle shark (Lamna nasus) embryos The porbeagle, top predator with amphi-temperate, coastal and oceanic distribution, ranges 26–57°S in the Southwest Atlantic. An injured, pregnant female was found stranded on the coast of Quequén, with two male embryos in each uterus. The embryos in the right uterus differed in size, and the smaller one had injuries. Our hypothesis is that embryos have the ability to perform lateral movements that allow them to bite obliquely along the anteroposterior axis of the uterine sac, so that the lacerations of the smaller embryo would be the result of lateral bites from its sibling, as the latter would not have space to attack it in a more dangerous way.

Evidences of sibling bites in porbeagle shark (Lamna nasus) embryos onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1... | Could it be that sand tigers are not the only species that engage in intrauterine cannibalism?

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4 hours ago
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What would happen if snakes disappeared like in Zootopia 2? An investigation Snakes are key members of their ecosystems. Here’s what would happen if they suddenly vanished just like in the Oscar-nominated film Zootopia 2

What would happen if snakes disappeared like in Zootopia 2? An investigation

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5 hours ago

Last week: "We don't need your help, you stupid jerks!"

This week: "We demand your help, you stupid jerks!"

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9 hours ago

republicans are in charge of everything and they are getting everything theyve ever wanted and doing everything theyve ever wanted and the world is on fire and the global world order is collapsing. is there a correlation? who can say

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6 hours ago
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Unprotected Waters: When Protection Fails In Freshwater Invasive species are a major driver of biodiversity loss in protected areas (PAs), yet their impacts in aquatic environments are less well documented. This study investigated the occurrence and…

Unprotected Waters: When Protection Fails In Freshwater onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... 🌎🦑🧪

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6 hours ago

Every Trump admin answer about the war is PRECISELY why no previous president has ever been dumb enough to start exactly this war with Iran.

Like all of this — all of it! — is why everyone else considered this too stupid to attempt.

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5 days ago
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‘I wish I could push ChatGPT off a cliff’: professors scramble to save critical thinking in an age of AI As AI has upended the way students learn, academics worry about the future of the humanities - and society at large

I'm one of many professors quoted in this report from Alice Speri. I really appreciate The Guardian taking an angle which has basically eluded every other major outlet.

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6 hours ago
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Vineyard Wind 1, first offshore wind project for Massachusetts, completes construction - The Boston Globe Fiinal blades were installed Friday evening, completing the project’s offshore construction.

Great milestone for offshore wind in the USA. 🔌💡
www.bostonglobe.com/2026/03/13/m...

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6 hours ago

TONIGHT! Watch the Oscars with your favorite members of Bluesky's film community—and many new ones. Post about nominees, films, or red carpet looks and you'll automatically appear in our Oscars feed. 🍿

Pin the Oscars feed now: bsky.app/profile/did:...

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1 week ago
Photo of a hand holding up a smart phone case adorned with cute cartoon figures of various shark species.

Love my new phone case from Brain Ocean Studios in Taiwan! #TeamFish #SundayFishSketch #SciArt #TaiwanFishes #台灣魚類 www.instagram.com/brainoceanst... 🦈🦑🐡🧪

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1 week ago
Barred Hamlet fish in graphite and colored pencil; yellow, blue, tan

Barred Hamlet, Hypoplectrus puella #SundayFishSketch #fish #fishart #Hamlet

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1 week ago
Colored pencil drawing of four long and skinny fish poking their heads out of a den in some rocks like Diglets. They’re black with a horizontal white stripe and white belly.

Quick #SundayFishSketch while I move some data around of convict blennies, who are apparently probably not the sister group to cichlids after all 🫢

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6 days ago
Ink sketch of a fish

A young of the year Lake Sturgeon, all covered in spiny scutes. #SundayFishSketch

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7 hours ago
Horizontal photo of a crayon sketch of a Penghu flounder, with its widely set apart eyes

Another new #TaiwanFishes #台灣魚類 species! Introducing Crossorhombus pescadores 澎湖纓鮃,a tiny left-eye flounder from the Penghu Islands of Taiwan,for this #SundayFishSketch 🦑🐡🧪

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8 hours ago
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If Florida reefs aren’t protected, storms will increase flooding & costs: Study Healthy reefs aren’t just about colorful fish — they also shield shorelines from intense tropical storms. If Florida’s reefs keep degrading, flooding during tropical storms could get much worse,…

If Florida reefs aren’t protected, storms will increase flooding & costs: Study

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18 hours ago

The DOGE bro videos have me angry all over again at every headline that credulously called it a “cost-cutting effort”

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4 months ago
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BlueSky shoutout on Abbot Elementary!

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1 day ago

We need both: expanded funding for physical security (like the measures that helped keep the Temple Israel preschoolers safe) AND whole-of-government policies that build resiliency to hate and extremism in the first place.

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1 day ago
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Dolphins have been stranding in droves on the shores of Patagonia. Scientists think they’ve found the culprit Dolphins washing up on the shores of Patagonia may have been fleeing orcas in the area

Dolphins have been stranding in droves on the shores of Patagonia. Scientists think they’ve found the culprit

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1 day ago
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Baby epaulette shark at @denverzoo.bsky.social! These small sharks can walk! You will see them using their pectoral fins to "walk" along the bottom, and adults will even "walk" between tide pools to feed.

#shark #fish #aquarium #babyshark

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1 day ago
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BP Wins OK For First New Gulf Project Since Deepwater Horizon Tragedy By Ari Natter Mar 13, 2026 (Bloomberg) –The Trump administration approved BP Plc’s plan to pump billions of dollars worth of crude from what will be the company’s first virgin field...

BP Wins OK For First New Gulf Project Since Deepwater Horizon Tragedy gcaptain.com/bp-wins-ok-f... | This is fine 🐶 🔥

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1 day ago
Two whooping cranes prepare to take off. Photo: Steve Gifford/USFWS

Fly, cranes! Whooping crane migrations are starting to change. Here's what that means for their conservation: https://therevelator.org/migrating-whooping-cranes/

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1 day ago

Ok, it’s obviously really bad that Secretary Hegseth is wasting so much money on luxury items in general

But people know that Lobster is on the seafood watch Red List because lobster traps kill critically endangered North Atlantic right whales, right?

www.seafoodwatch.org/recommendati...

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1 day ago

This week I got a wrong number text. It seemed important so I replied to say it was a wrong number. They kept insisting that I was in fact a day care and I was wrong.

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1 day ago
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The Ocean Legacy of National Geographic Explorer Dr. Tierney Thys In Memoriam

The ocean and all who love it lost an inspiring advocate with the passing this week of Tierney Thys. She brought such joy to the work of protecting and restoring our blue planet. This wonderful tribute from Danielle Thys captures her spirit so beautifully: bit.ly/4s4hVq6

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1 day ago
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A fish a day: More than 300 freshwater species described in 2025 Taxonomists described 309 new species of freshwater fish in 2025, according to a report released by SHOAL, the IUCN Freshwater Fish Specialist Group (FFSG) and the California Academy of Sciences…

A fish a day: More than 300 freshwater species described in 2025

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1 day ago
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Mass pilot whale stranding in Indonesia raises questions about ocean health Villagers in central Indonesia rescued 34 short-finned pilot whales following a mass stranding on March 9, but despite their overnight efforts were unable to save 21 others. Mongabay Indonesia’s Ebed…

Mass pilot whale stranding in Indonesia raises questions about ocean health news.mongabay.com/short-articl... 🌎🦑🧪

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