“Fear and apathy bite deeper than any shark.”
— Jeffrey Gallant, M.Sc., GEERG
The Greenland Shark & Elasmobranch Education & Research Group was officially founded in 2003 following three years of novel expeditions in the North Atlantic Ocean (Nova Scotia) and Saguenay Fjord (Québec). Today, GEERG research and conservation activities no longer focus exclusively on the Greenland shark, but also on the many shark, skate and ray species that inhabit the St. Lawrence Gulf and Estuary, the Canadian maritime provinces, and the Arctic.
The Greenland shark is the largest member of the Somniosidae family. It is the second largest carnivorous shark after the great white and it is the largest Arctic fish. It is also the longest-living vertebrate animal with a life expectancy of at least 272 years (Nielsen et al., 2016). Its range extends from the Arctic Ocean and Northern Europe to the 32nd parallel north in the Atlantic Ocean. It reaches an enormous size and despite its lethargic appearance, it is a predator capable of short bursts of speed, and under certain conditions may hunt seals and even larger mammals including the beluga whale.
The Greenland shark is rarely observed because of its bathybenthic environment that is inaccessible to divers. The first underwater photos of a live specimen were taken in the Arctic in 1995, and the first video images of a Greenland shark swimming freely under natural conditions were filmed by GEERG in the St. Lawrence in 2003.
Our mission to study the world’s oldest vertebrate, the Greenland shark, began in 1999. Help us do more.
The Greenland Shark and Elasmobranch Education and Research Group is a not-for-profit registered Canadian charity that requires financial assistance from corporations and private citizens to conduct field operations. All donations are tax deductible in Canada (Canada Revenue Agency Registration Number: 834462913RR0001) and also in the United States. American donations are made through SRI (Shark Research Institute), a non-profit 501(c)(3) scientific research organization.
EDITORIAL
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25/06/2019Shark fins banned in Canada? Not really.
This first important step by Ottawa to defeat the illegal fin trade is a significant accomplishment, but it nonetheless falls short of what is truly n...
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04/06/2019Stamp of Approval?
It is unfortunate that the image depicting the Greenland shark on a Canadian postal stamp was modeled on what was likely a photo of a shark caught and...
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24/02/2019Who is the Corkscrew Killer?
The Greenland shark does leave a trademark wound on its victims but this most certainly isn’t it. We therefore believe that corkscrew fatalities at Sa...
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16/02/2019The truth about the Greenland shark?
In light of the combined knowledge gained over the last decade on the Arctic and St. Lawrence populations of the Greenland shark, this recent article ...
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11/02/2019Hooked on Conservation
Wildlife photography, no matter how well-intentioned, should never serve as a pretext to cause harm to any animal, including the Greenland shark....
LATEST PUBLICATIONS
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16/02/2019Advancing research for the management of long-lived species: A case study on the Greenland shark (2019)
Long-lived species share life history traits such as slow growth, late maturity, and low fecundity, which lead to slow recovery rates and increase a population’s vulnerability to disturbance. The Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus) has recently been recognized as the world’s longest-lived vert...
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15/02/2019Influence of environmental variables on the diel movements of the Greenland Shark in the St. Lawrence Estuary (2016)
In the St. Lawrence Estuary, Greenland Sharks undertake diel vertical movements into shallow water (≤ 30 m), but the reasons for these movements are unknown. To test the hypothesis that environmental variables drive the movements of this shark in the St. Lawrence Estuary, eight Greenland Sharks were...
SOCIAL NEWSFEED
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There is a white shark currently swimming just off the coast in the Magdalen Islands. You can follow its movements here: www.ocearch.org/?details=327&fbclid=IwAR30fvLkNEJaDm-8t2bxnJbilmo0eWlYgKxDx5By3CWfT86EebwDhZLx2Xs
Awesome! BTW: Did anyone know: The Telegraph " "Virgin Holidays is to stop selling tickets to SeaWorld as part of a decision to cease its relationship with attractions that keep whales and dolphins in captivity. The tour operator, part of the Virgin Group headed by Sir Richard Branson, said the move will result in more than 20,000 tickets being removed from sale, but that all existing bookings will be honoured.Virgin Holidays is to stop selling tickets to SeaWorld as part of a decision to cease its relationship with attractions that keep whales and dolphins in captivity. The tour operator, part of the Virgin Group headed by Sir Richard Branson, said the move will result in more than 20,000 tickets being removed from sale, but that all existing bookings will be honoured."
Il y a un requin blanc qui se trouve présentement dans les eaux côtières des Îles de la Madeleine. Vous pouvez suivre ses déplacements ici :
Ce partage est une des plus choses que j'ignorais. Merci de l'avoir partagé je consulte le site de façon quotidienne maintenant!
"If the sole condition for legally purchasing ivory were to import the entire walrus or elephant, someone would still do it, find a profitable way to dispose of the carcass, and make a fortune. And so may be the fate of sharks and their prized fins destined to the Canadian market." — Jeffrey Gallant | GEERG
Robbie (Rob Stewart) I have been working for the past 16 years to Save & Protect our precious Sharks.. We Need to Protect wholly ALL Sharks in our Canadian waters, as well as World wide.. Sad.. It seems like We have to fight constantly for every inch & square for our endangered & depleting Sharks population; to enforce these regulations & laws.. These current laws are jus not enough to Protect the Sharks completely.. Hence I Kindly Request each one of You to do your part in Protecting All Sharks, avoid All Shark food products, check your pet foods contents table chart, other Sharks parts used for in various products, even from Sharks sports tournaments.. Thank You.
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