Predator to Prey - Shark Week at Exploris
7th October 2011
Shark Week at Exploris
Sharks are in the spotlight in Portaferry during the week ahead as Exploris aquarium joins a Europe-wide campaign to raise awareness of the threats faced by shark species in European Waters. The aquarium will host Shark Week from Saturday 8th to Sunday 16th with the hope of converting young people into shark lovers rather than shark haters.
Of the 40 shark species found in European seas, one-third are threatened by intensive and illegal fishing, sport fishing and accidental capture, according to the World Conservation Union (IUCN). The last 15 years have seen an 80-per cent drop in the shark population, and 20 per cent of the European species are on the verge of critical status for survival.
Using a mixture of exhibitions, life size models, entertaining talks and fun activities, Shark Week aims to dispel many of the popular misconceptions of sharks as mindless man-eaters by showing the facts behind the fiction.
Education Officer Andy O’Neill said: “We hope that the combination of coming face to face with living shark species, babies, fun quizzes and our own shark workshops will help to provide our visitors with a different view of these much-maligned predators. I’m sure that we will manage to convert some of the visitors into, if not shark lovers, then at least shark supporters.”
British and Irish waters are visited by around 30 different shark species – including the world’s second largest, the harmless Basking Shark, which can grow to over 12 meters.
Exploris is open daily during Shark Week. For more information contact 028 4272 8062 more... Jet into Exploris for some airport adventures!
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