Recommended Shark Sites
There are 100's of websites dedicated to the subject of sharks. In terms of quality of content, these sites range from poor (which I will not identify) to excellent. Below are brief descriptions and hotlinks to some of my favorite sharky websites. The sites listed here are mostly those that I deem to have scientifically accurate and up-to-date content - but they also include a few that contain significant original content that may not be terribly scientific, but are simply too much fun to exclude. I hope this list will help you begin navigating the tremendous variety of shark-related material on the Internet. If I have missed any websites that you feel should be listed here, please send me their URLs.
Basking Shark Society - very informative U.K.-based site on Basking Sharks, with special attention to those inhabiting the eastern North Atlantic
Bite-Back - informative new U.K-based page about the unprecedented slaughter of sharks world-wide, examining such controversial and tough-to-quantify threats as bycatch and finning.
Canadian Shark Research Laboratory - attractive and informative page by Steve Campana, featuring profiles of many of Atlantic Canada's shark species and detailing Campana's own research on life history of the Porbeagle
Capt. Tom's New England Sharks Page - very informative site by Capt. Tom King, with a heavy emphasis on identification, natural history, and sport angling for sharks of the western North Atlantic; lots of original material, engagingly presented
Carl Roessler's World-Wide Dive Adventures - informative, photo-rich site by renowned underwater photographer, author, and dive travel specialist, Carl Roessler. For the latest reports on Great White cage diving in South Australia, check out this page.
Conservation Science Institute - very interesting site profiling the Salmon Shark, Pacific Sleeper Shark, and Spiny Dogfish research in Alaskan waters
Doug Long's Great White Sharks Page - photo-rich site describing Long's research on White Shark predatory behavior off California
Egg-Capsules of Sharks and Rays - fascinating website by Dutch biologist Peter Bor describing and depicting the egg cases of many batoids; also includes a page depicting the egg cases of several shark species
Elasmodiver - terrific website by diving naturalist and photographer Andy Murch; includes accurate, well-written, informative text and scores of stunning photographs of sharks, rays, and chimaeras in the wild
Elasmoworld - an interesting, ambitious and very attractive site by Cedric Tisserand, featuring a searchable shark and ray database; has potential to become an excellent site, if Tisserand ever finishes building it
Enchanted Learning - Sharks - a wonderful, informative, easy-to-read and nicely illustrated site on sharks for kids. Includes brief profiles of several of the better known or more spectacular species.
Fiona's Shark Mania - a wonderful, eclectic and playful site by Fiona Webster, dedicated to shark appreciation in all its forms; features a splendid gallery of artwork by Richard Ellis, sharky excerpts from literature, shark poetry, shark clip-art and GIF's
Henry Mollet's Home Page - a very informative page focusing on Mollet's elasmobranch research, based out of the world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium; great material about current research on eastern North Pacific sharks and rays
The Italian Great White Shark Data Bank - a beautifully illustrated site from Alessandro De Maddalena, a young but already highly accomplished shark researcher as well as a very gifted author and scientific illustrator. Available in English and Italian.
Life & Times of Long-Dead Sharks - excellent site by Jim Bourdon describing and illustrating teeth and other fossil remains of sharks and rays, with special emphasis on the North Carolina region; lots of original material, including Bourdon's own work on fossil rays and featuring contributions from many eminent paleontologists and fossil shark tooth collectors
Luxembourg Elasmobranch Organization - interesting site by Jean-Pierre (Joe) Herber, featuring his very large collection of shark and rays jaws, photos of shark people he's met, shark news, plus excellent on-line versions of presentations and articles about shark jaws and teeth by Joe.
Masterpiece of Evolution: The Shark - great site by Ben S. Roesch, featuring lots of original material by Roesh as well as a collection of some of the best sharky stuff from the Web
Mediterranean Shark Site - excellent site by Ian Fergusson, focusing on the sharks of the Mediterranean Sea; includes news and illustrated profiles of Mediterranean sharks as well as a terrific summary of what is known about the White Shark
Neil 4 Sharks - Nice shark site by my friend and colleague Neil Hammerschlag, with a strong shark conservation slant and featuring many of Neil's beautiful shark photos.
Oceanic Dreams - wonderful site featuring artistic black-and-white underwater photographs by free diver Wolfgang Leander. Sharks are difficult to photograph at the best of times — imagine the skill and concentration it takes to capture images such as these on a single breath of air!
Shark Foundation - excellent, Swiss-based site, featuring a searchable database of shark species and Erich Ritter's interesting and controversial newsletter, Shark Info
Shark Research Committee - very nice site describing Ralph Collier's on-going research on White Shark-human interactions and White Shark predatory behavior; includes some amazing White Shark stuff you won't find anywhere else
Shark Research Institute - wonderful page detailing SRI's ambitious 'Project Whale Shark'; find out more about these amazing animals, how you can 'adopt' one, and how you can participate in some of SRI's field research
Shark Research Program - excellent site from the Florida Museum of Natural History, featuring news on shark research and conservation; lots of stuff on the International Shark Attack File, but I much prefer the material on the biology of the Megamouth Shark and - especially - Shark News, a very informative newsletter specializing in shark conservation
Shark Trust - terrific page from thus U.K.-based shark research, education, and conservation organization; excellent illustrated profiles of many eastern North Atlantic/Mediterranean shark species
SHARK-L Archives - searchable archive of discussion on SHARK-L, a listserver dedicated to the interests of shark enthusiasts founded by Fiona Webster and presently refereed by Richard Krumm; lot's of fluffy banter, but also some surprisingly solid, useful material on many aspects of shark biology, behavior, and conservation - including numerous postings by Ian Fergusson, Richard Ellis, and even me
Sharkman's World - a nice site from Alex "The Sharkman" Buttigieg, who was instrumental in encouraging his island country, Malta, to declare the White Shark, Basking Shark, and Manta Ray protected species in its territorial waters. This site is not heavily scientific, but it exudes honest enthusiasm for learning and urgency for the cause of shark conservation and Alex deserves to be supported in his goals.
Sharky Jones - terrific shark site for kids by Ian "Sharky" Jones, an engineer with a deep passion for sharks and diving; featuring Ian's own shark photographs and his wonderful shark cartoons.
Sherman's Lagoon - hilarious site from cartoonist and Sherman's Lagoon creator, Jim Toomey. Using a cartoon Great White named Sherman and a host of his quirky lagoon friends, Toomey combines gentle wit with sharp parody to comment on the peculiar nature of "hairless beach apes".
Sharks on Film - fun site dedicated to the best and worst in shark flicks. Each film is reviewed in terms of shark attacks, shark performance, and shark death scenes.
Tobey's Travels - nice little website by marine biology student Tobey Curtis, featuring photos from his various (mostly shark-related) travels, including him at work on various sharks of Delaware and California waters as well as some neat images of White Sharks scavenging a Humpback Whale carcass off California.
Tricas Lab Home Page - interesting page by Tim Tricas, featuring a comprehensive bibliography of scientific papers resulting from research carried out at his lab (with a heavy emphasis on electroreception in skates and rays); also includes a hilarious collection of Larson-esque shark and ray cartoons
Underwater Video Services - commercial page by freelance South African underwater cinematographer Charles Maxwell; includes brief notes on and some terrific images of White and Tiger Sharks as well as an interesting photo story about diving with Spotted Ragged-Tooth Sharks
Whale Shark Bibliography - very useful searchable, annotated bibliography on the Whale Shark by Fay Wolfson and Guiseppe Notarbartolo-di-Sciara, up to 1980
Wildlife OnLine - terrific site by English naturalist Marc Baldwin that includes not only excellent material on sharks and rays, but also a fine introduction to taxonomy, an incisive exploration of the ethics of hunting, and detailed profiles of all manner of British mammals, from bats and foxes to deer and badgers; the site also includes many excellent photographs and illustrations by the multi-talented Baldwin.
