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Colin Simpfendorfer

Colin Simpfendorfer

@sharkcolin.bsky.social

3.4K followers 400 following 170 posts

Shark scientist since 1986. Passionate about sharks and rays, and their conservation and management. Lapsed academic.

Environmental science 66%

Geography 17%

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Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Colin A. Simpfendorfer, Juan Rocha

Nick Graham @nickajgraham.bsky.social · 18h

PhD position - Changing Ecological Role of Coral Reef Marine Protected Areas.

One of the new @exageo-dla.bsky.social advertised projects: www.exageo.org/phd-student-... - deadline for applications 9th January. International applications welcome.

Come and join us @lec-reefs.bsky.social

Reposted by Colin A. Simpfendorfer

Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 7d

Annual plug for the fabulous phylopic.org website with tens of thousands of easily searchable silhouette images for almost every life form imaginable. They make nice additions to your biology plots!

Reposted by Colin A. Simpfendorfer, Matthew J. Witt, Vincent Raoult

Exeter Marine @exetermarine.bsky.social · 7d

NEW PAPER: Survival and recovery of three shark species in North-East Atlantic recreational fisheries.

academic.oup.com/icesjms/arti...

@garzonfrancesco.bsky.social @drmjwitt.bsky.social
🦑🐟🧪🌐🌊🎣

Survival and recovery of three shark species in North-East Atlantic recreational fisheries

Abstract. Understanding how sharks respond to catch and release (C&R) recreational fisheries is an important requirement for effective management. Post

academic.oup.com

Reposted by Colin A. Simpfendorfer

IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group @iucnshark.bsky.social · 9d

FINAL DEADLINE | 15 NOVEMBER 2025

Reminder that abstract submissions for Sharks International 2026 (SI2026) are still open for 2 more weeks!

The IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group will be hosting the session: “Leveraging Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRAs) for Policy Action.”

Reposted by Colin A. Simpfendorfer

David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 9d

Book review: Shark tales from ancient seas www.cell.com/current-biol...

Shark tales from ancient seas

The world’s oceans and rivers are currently home to at least 1,250 species of sharks (broadly including sharks, rays and chimaeras). They live in almost all marine habitats above 3,500 m depth, and…

Reposted by Colin A. Simpfendorfer, John R. Hutchinson

John P. Friel, Ph.D. @friel.bsky.social · 14d

The earliest appearance of gigantic lamniform #sharks has now been pushed back by ~15 Ma (upper Aptian, ~115 Ma) with the discovery of enormous cardabiodontid shark remains from northern Australia.🦈🧪

www.nature.com/articles/s42...

Early gigantic lamniform marks the onset of mega-body size in modern shark evolution - Communications Biology

The earliest appearance of mega-body size in sharks is pushed back by 15 million years with the discovery of new fossils from Northern Australia. Using a comprehensive dataset of living sharks to esti...

Reposted by Scott C. Doney, Colin A. Simpfendorfer, Elena Litchman , and 3 more Scott C. Doney, Colin A. Simpfendorfer, Elena Litchman, Mark N. Maunder, Trevor A. Branch, Jessica A. Gephart

Jessica R. Glass, PhD @jessicaglass.bsky.social · 17d

🚨 Recruiting 12 PhD students for a new NSF-funded program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences! This program is for U.S. students who received an Honorable Mention on the NSF GRFP within the last 3 years. @uafairbanks.bsky.social

www.uaf.edu/cfos/academi...

EMERGE Alaska | College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences

Reposted by Colin A. Simpfendorfer, Éva E. Plagányi, Mark N. Maunder , and 1 more Colin A. Simpfendorfer, Éva E. Plagányi, Mark N. Maunder, Trevor A. Branch

Jessica Gephart @jagephart.bsky.social · 18d

The Blue Food Futures Fellowship application is now open!

Fellows receive 6 mo support at their home institution to address pressing issues in blue food + mentorship from a global blue research network + opportunities to present research at international fora

⬇️ More
bluefood.earth/fellowships/

Fellowships | BFFP

Blue Food Futures Fellows research critical questions about blue foods, filling knowledge gaps and providing actionable insights for global food and climate initiatives.

Reposted by Colin A. Simpfendorfer

Domino Albert 🌊 @dominocean.bsky.social · 18d

🦈 A new study indicates that deep-sea mining could threaten at least 30 species of sharks, rays and chimaeras, many of which are already at risk of extinction.

#SharkConservation #Shark #DeepSea #DeepSeaMining #DefendTheDeep

news.mongabay.com/2025/10/mini...

Mining the deep-sea could further threaten endangered sharks and rays

New research has found that deep-sea mining in international waters could threaten at least 30 species of sharks, rays and chimaeras — many of which are already at risk of extinction. Chondrichthyes, ...

news.mongabay.com

Reposted by Colin A. Simpfendorfer

Australian Society for Fish Biology @austsocfishbiol.bsky.social · 22d

CSIRO is #hiring a Collection Manager for the Australian National Fish Collection 🐟

📍 Hobart, #Tasmania
💰 $96,000 - $109,000
🚨Deadline: 31 Oct 2025

👀 jobs.csiro.au/job/Hobart%2...

Reposted by Colin A. Simpfendorfer

Domino Albert 🌊 @dominocean.bsky.social · 24d

The Mexico 🇲🇽 government has implemented new protections for several species of Atlantic sharks, but conservationists have been quick to point out that the bans were required under international commitments adopted years ago.

#SharkLeague 🦈

www.seafoodsource.com/news/environ...

Mexico implements Atlantic shark bycatch protections

The Mexico government has implemented new protections for several species of Atlantic sharks

www.seafoodsource.com

Colin Simpfendorfer @sharkcolin.bsky.social · 24d

New #sharkscience from @diegocardenosa.bsky.social and others.
Ghosts of the current: environmental DNA assays to detect conservation priority areas for three critically endangered hammerhead sharks.
doi.org/10.3389/fmar...
@iucnshark.bsky.social

Frontiers | Ghosts of the current: environmental DNA assays to detect conservation priority areas for three critically endangered hammerhead sharks

Small-bodied hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna corona, S. media, and S. vespertina) are among the most threatened and understudied elasmobranchs, yet little is know...

Colin Simpfendorfer @sharkcolin.bsky.social · 24d

New #sharkscience from Hilary Lewis and others:
Challenging traditional methods of age estimation: elemental and isotopic characterisation of speartooth shark Glyphis glyphis vertebrae.
www.int-res.com/abstracts/me...
@iucnshark.bsky.social @austsocfishbiol.bsky.social @mickgrant.bsky.social

www.int-res.com

Colin Simpfendorfer @sharkcolin.bsky.social · 24d

Happy #internationalsawfishday to all who celebrate.

Reposted by Colin A. Simpfendorfer

Domino Albert 🌊 @dominocean.bsky.social · 24d

Mexico has finally fulfilled its international commitments to protect Atlantic sharks 🦈

New domestic rules set science-based catch limits for blue & shortfin mako sharks, a long-overdue step toward sustainable fisheries under #ICCAT

sharkleague.org/2025/10/16/b...

#SharkConservation #SharkLeague

Better Late Than Never: Mexico Fulfills International Obligations to Protect Atlantic Sharks - Shark League for the Atlantic and Mediterranean

Shark League welcomes overdue bans on bigeye thresher, oceanic whitetip, shortfin mako, hammerhead & silky sharks.

sharkleague.org

Colin Simpfendorfer @sharkcolin.bsky.social · 25d

100% endorse this travel advice from prior experience. And you you can duck around the corner for a quick glimpse of a stuffed dodo before heading back to Heathrow.

Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 26d

My favorite exhibit, at the Natural History Museum. Perfect for 10 hour layovers via Heathrow.

David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 26d

Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards – in pictures

Colin Simpfendorfer @sharkcolin.bsky.social · 25d

New #sharkscience from Shay Kashey.
Guinean landing surveys of Bentfin devil rays add insight into threatened elasmobranch catch.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Lots of data on elasmobranch landings, including rhinorays.
@mantatrust.bsky.social @danielfernan7.bsky.social @iucnshark.bsky.social

Guinean landing surveys of Bentfin devil rays add insight into threatened elasmobranch catch - Environmental Biology of Fishes

Populations of many elasmobranchs have decreased globally, with over a third of species threatened with an elevated risk of extinction, largely due to fishing pressure. In West Africa, a general lack ...

link.springer.com

Reposted by Colin A. Simpfendorfer

Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 26d

My favorite exhibit, at the Natural History Museum. Perfect for 10 hour layovers via Heathrow.

David Shiffman, Ph.D. 🦈 @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 26d

Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards – in pictures

Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards – in pictures

The Wildlife Photographer of the Year is an annual competition hosted by the Natural History Museum in London, which awards top honours in various categories for outstanding photography

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Colin A. Simpfendorfer

🌊Markus Knigge🐟 @oceanknigge.bsky.social · 27d

Important news for those tracking #30by30. @protectedplanet.bsky.social merging WDPA & WD-OECM into new 'World Database on Protected and Conserved Areas (WDPCA).' @unep.org @unbiodiversity.bsky.social
www.protectedplanet.net/news-and-sto...

Introducing the WDPCA

Exciting changes are coming to Protected Planet in November, including a bringing together and rebrand of our flagship databases into the World Database on Protected and Conserved Areas.

www.protectedplanet.net

Reposted by Colin A. Simpfendorfer

IPBES @ipbes.net · 28d

#DidYouKnow ? Shark reproductive rates and recovery potential are known to decline when depth increases & population depletion risks exist, even when exploitation (targeted or incidental) rates are low.
— IPBES #SustainableUse Assessment

Let's protect deep-sea sharks. 🦈

Reposted by Colin A. Simpfendorfer, Steve Carver

IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group @iucnshark.bsky.social · Oct 10

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species has just been updated and now includes assessments of 1,266 species of sharks, rays, and chimaeras.

Colin Simpfendorfer @sharkcolin.bsky.social · Oct 7

Read my review of John Long’s book The Secret History of Sharks in @currentbiology.bsky.social

A fascinating read about the deep history of sharks, the scientists who study them, and the adventures they have in the quest to learn more.

authors.elsevier.com/a/1luVG3QW8S...

authors.elsevier.com

Reposted by Colin A. Simpfendorfer

European Tracking Network @aquatictracking.bsky.social · Oct 6

Recently, 124 Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRAs) were delineated for the European Atlantic 🦈
This effort had data contributions from 214 researchers, including ETN members! Many of these ISRAs were partially/ompletely supported with telemetry data, underscoring the importance of this information.

Reposted by Colin A. Simpfendorfer

IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group @iucnshark.bsky.social · Oct 4

In the Philippines, there are 10 designated ISRAs.
Swipe left to learn more about the shark and ray species in these individual sites.

© Marine Wildlife Watch of the Philippines

#shark #ray #chimaera #ISRA #ISRAlOPH #SharksPH #ConservePHsharks #sharkada

Reposted by Colin A. Simpfendorfer

marinefreshwater.bsky.social @marinefreshwater.bsky.social · Oct 4

Calling all marine & freshwater sciences students 📣

@marinefreshwater.bsky.social has a new #StudentPrize!

The first winner will be announced in 2027 to allow time for submissions and nominations.

More details:
www.publish.csiro.au/mf/forauthor...

#MarineFreshwaterRes

CSIRO PUBLISHING

Awards and Prizes

www.publish.csiro.au

Reposted by Colin A. Simpfendorfer

Colin Simpfendorfer @sharkcolin.bsky.social · Oct 2

New #sharkscience from Julia Constance at @charlesdarwinuni.bsky.social

Acoustic telemetry provides mortality estimates for threatened river sharks in the Northern Territory, Australia.

Neonates experience very high rates of natural mortality.

rdcu.be/eJb04

@iucnshark.bsky.social

Acoustic telemetry provides mortality estimates for threatened river sharks in the Northern Territory, Australia | Animal Biotelemetry

Reposted by Colin A. Simpfendorfer

Current Biology @currentbiology.bsky.social · Oct 2

And for more on #shark #conservation, check out this well-aged review from @sharkcolin.bsky.social and colleagues

www.cell.com/current-biol...

Reposted by Allan D. McDevitt

Colin Simpfendorfer @sharkcolin.bsky.social · Oct 2

New #sharkscience out in @currentbiology.bsky.social by @seaprinceaaron.bsky.social and colleagues.
Deep-sea mining risks for sharks, rays, and chimeras. A must read for this looming threat to many already threatened species.
www.cell.com/current-biol...
@iucnshark.bsky.social

Deep-sea mining risks for sharks, rays, and chimeras

Judah et al. identify 30 species of chondrichthyans that overlap with proposed deep-sea mining activities, nearly two-thirds of which are already threatened with extinction. Precautionary management o...

Reposted by Colin A. Simpfendorfer

IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group @iucnshark.bsky.social · Oct 2

OPEN CALL | Session at Sharks International 2026 (SI2026) 🦈

Abstract submissions for SI2026 are officially open! The IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group is thrilled to host the session:
“Leveraging Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRAs) for Policy Action.”