By Samantha Whitcraft, Shark Savers International
Florida like South Africa and Australia, is synonymous with sharks. With recent but rare sightings of white sharks off the Florida coast, media coverage of uncommon bites and a constant barrage of photos from bloody catch & kill tournaments, one might believe there is a thriving shark population swimming in Florida’s coastal waters. But the reality is that Florida’s rich coral reefs and dense coastal mangroves were once far richer in large sharks than they are now.
Scientists estimate that between 1981 and 2005 hammerhead populations declined by more than a 90 percent in the northwest Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. While, recreational divers in Florida report seeing nurse sharks fairly regularly, they rarely see a tiger shark or a hammerhead species of any kind.…

By Mera McGrew
Washington D.C. — On Wednesday August 1, 2012, U.S. Rep Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R./Florida) and fellow Congress members Mario Diaz-Balart (R./Florida) and David Rivera (R./Florida) met with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Chief Dr. Jane Lubchenco to discuss the future of Aquarius Reef Base, the world’s only functioning underwater laboratory. In its 2013 $5 billion budget request, NOAA, which owns Aquarius, has stripped the $3 million funding it would take to operate Aquarius for the year, ensuring the closure of this one of a kind underwater laboratory, potentially as early as next month if no new funding comes through.
After learning about the budget cuts and plans to close Aquarius, U.S. Rep Ros-Lehtinen and fellow Congress members Mario Diaz-Balart and Rivera traveled four miles off the coast of Key Largo, Florida to visit the underwater lab and witness the final moments of what could be Aquarius’s final mission.…