Recent News
Historic deep sea dive off Bermuda to be celebrated in New YorkWednesday, August 13, 2014
A New York institution is this week preparing to celebrate the 80th anniversary of naturalist William Beebe’s historical Bathysphere dive off the coast of Bermuda.
Turtles fall victim to boats and fishing hooks
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
The public is again being asked to be careful on the Island’s waters to protect sea turtles after the bodies of several young turtles were found with injuries related to human activity.
Photos: Ocean Vet Team Tags Turtles
Monday, August 11, 2014
Dr. Neil Burnie, Choy Aming, and the rest of the Ocean Vet team recently spent a day tagging turtles for tracking, assisting Peter Meylan and Jennifer Gray from the Bermuda Turtle Project.
BAMZ Welcomes Three New Tammar Wallabies
Saturday, August 09, 2014
The Bermuda Aquarium, Museum, and Zoo [BAMZ] recently acquired three wild Tammar Wallabies, including two males and a female, all in an effort to help New Zealand to control the population of the species in that country.
Shark puts on an impressive show for film crew
Saturday, August 09, 2014
Spectacular footage of Bermuda’s tiger sharks has been captured by local photographer Choy Aming in a dive alongside ‘Ocean vet’ Neil Burnie, and is set to air on network TV.
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All the latest updates and news from the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum, and Zoo, one of Bermuda's leading visitor attractions!
Following the most recent shark sighting at Shelly Bay, the Ministry said it is likely the same one as seen over the past few months and said that while there is no need for alarm, “under no circumstances should anyone attempt to approach or handle the shark in any way.”
The Ministry said, “On Sunday 4th June, 2018, the Ministry of Home Affairs was alerted to a shark sighting at Shelly Bay through social media and direct phone calls. An Officer attended the scene within 30 minutes of being alerted but the shark had already departed the area.
“The films circulating on social media indicate that the shark is a hammerhead [Sphyrna sp.] although an exact identification of species is not possible. The animal appears to be the same size as previous sightings over the past few months, and is likely the same animal.
“While sightings of sharks are rare in inshore Bermuda waters, especially along our beaches, it is not unheard of and there are a number of accounts in the records.
“The Ministry would like to state that there is no need for alarm in these types of events. Out of an abundance of caution, it is recommended that swimmers exit the water in a calm manner and wait for the animal to leave the area before entering again. Under no circumstances should anyone attempt to approach or handle the shark in any way.
Video circulating:
“Hammerheads are typically not aggressive to humans unless provoked and account for zero fatalities annually. There are only a few instances of unprovoked attacks in all the records worldwide and these have all been attributed to much larger animals than the one sighted.
“It is not known why this animal is moving around Bermuda’s inshore water but it is likely due to the abundance of prey items notably fish, rays, crustaceans and cephalopods such as squid and octopus.
“There are nine species of hammerhead sharks globally with several species classified as endangered on the World Conservation Union’s [IUCN] 2008 Red List of Threatened Species, meaning that they are facing a very high risk of extinction due to human impacts and activities.
“The public can contact the Bermuda Aquarium & Museum and Zoo at 293-2727 or https://environment.bm/contact to a report a shark sighting inshore.”
Last month, local expert Choy Aming had made a similar point, saying he is “almost positive that the same hammerhead is being spotted repeatedly.”