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whysharksmatter.bsky.social

@whysharksmatter.bsky.social
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 4h
Today we caught 3 nurse sharks, including the smallest I’ve ever seen, and a bonnethead! Overall, 10 sharks of 3 species! Fair winds and a following sea to a great group of students. My next class starts Saturday!
Group photo on the boat
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 12h
I’ve made the delightful realization that some scientific names of sharks are the exact correct number of syllables
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Congratulations to the Trump administration, generating 7 millsion barrels is indeed a lot. I think. It's sorta hard to tell since that is not a number.
Screenshot of a Trump administration Facebook post with a typo in it
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Please enjoy this comment on my Facebook page, on an article about discovering a new species of shark that I shared, that resulted in me blocking someone.
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Ready for my talk at Randolph-Macon, my 95th #WhySharksMatter book talk! Want me to come speak at your institution? I’ll go anywhere with a speaker travel budget and an audience. Let’s chat!
Standing under my title slide
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Friends, I’m now on Cameo where I’m happy to record a message featuring a fun shark fact! Book in the next few days and I’ll record my message from deck of a shark research vessel in Florida! www.cameo.com/whysharksmat...
Cameo ad
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
David Shiffman Scientific and Environmental Consulting is proud to introduce an Omega Super Platinum level of open access publishing. For $250,000 I will read your peer-reviewed scientific paper out loud, through a megaphone, to any 5 people of your choice. Anywhere in the world!
Person shouting through a megaphone
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
If you’re in the Richmond, VA area, I’m giving a free public lecture tomorrow night at Randolph Macon! www.rmc.edu/event/why-sh...
Screenshot of ad for my talk
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
🤔
The America.gov search again correctly describing that the Trump administration is breaking the law.
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Huh weird, someone should tell the President, who just signed an executive order to address out of control shark populations.
America.gov correctly explaining that shark population status varies but many species are threatened
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Wake up babe new shark just dropped
A new species of lanternshark has been described
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Sure, maybe it’s not biologically accurate- sharks and their relatives, after all, have skeletons made out of cartilage not bone- but I do love my spooky Halloween shark skeleton.
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Whoa! If you combine 🦈 and 🪺 in Google Emoji kitchen, you get a shark egg case!
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Want to help out your author friend without spending a dime of your own money? Request that your local library order a copy of my upcoming book Why Sustainable Seafood Matters!
Canva graphic showing my book Why Sustainable Seafood Matters
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Me at 5 years old: I love sharks and I can’t want to spend my whole life looking at sharks and reading about sharks and talking about sharks Me at 42 years old doing that: Hell yeah this rules
Me on an inflatable shark at 5 years old
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
😢
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Great to see @funsizesuze.bsky.social !
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Whatever you do, don’t eat hakarl at a job interview. Many people find the scent of fermented Greenland shark flesh, prepared by burying it for a year to remove the toxicity from urea in their flesh, to be unpleasant. Raises real questions about how you’d fit in with the team.
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Two stories of the same incident. One, which did not interview any experts, claims that it’s a total mystery what species of shark washed up. The other did interview experts and correctly identified the shark species involved. What is the point of “we didn’t ask anyone, but assume no one knows?”
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Fun* fact: The SHARKED Act is, according to my sources on the Hill, the first time that Congress created a back-ronym name for a law using ChatGPT.
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Have you ever tried to read a scientific journal article and been told “you don’t have access, pay to download this article?” Did you know that the author of that article gets $0 if you pay? Instead, you can email the author and ask for a free copy! I’d be delighted to help and answer questions!
Screenshot of a scientific journal paywall
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I couldn’t resist. But honestly I didn’t try that hard to resist.
The nickel back “look at this photograph” meme but it’s a graph from a new sandbar shark paper and it says “look at this sandbar graph”
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Yesterday I led a professional development workshop focusing on how to write and publish a scientific paper for the European Elasmobranch Association. Yes, I’m available to lead a professional development workshop for your university, agency, non-profit, or professional society!
Screenshot of a zoom call after the workshop featuring students from at least 5 countries
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The bar had a beer foam printer!
@whysharksmatter.bsky.social@whysharksmatter.bsky.social
Magnolia is 15 years old today!
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Nobody will remember: -Your job -How busy you were -How many hours you worked. People will remember: -Fun shark facts you taught them. Here’s my favorite: Greenland sharks, which can live to be over 400 years old, eat (probably scavenging) polar bears and reindeer.
Photo of a Greenland shark by Doug Perrine
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Magnolia is 15 years old today!
Magnolia posing during a pet photography shoot she won for being pet of the month in my old apartment complex Yawning? Singing a karaoke ballad? Who can say
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
The White House is talking about sharks again. Science and environment journalists, if you’re writing about this I’m available to speak on the record or to recommend other experts. www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
Screenshot of a new executive order
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Tomorrow I’ll be speaking virtually to Little Rock, Arkansas through the Sigma Xi distinguished lecturer program. If your university or city has a Sigma Xi chapter, and you want to use this program have me speak, let’s chat!
Sigma Xi flier
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
9 years ago today, I was featured in a question on “who wants to be a millionaire”. (It was the $100 question and she got it right). “But David, I thought you’re supposed to punch a shark in the nose,” you ask. Have you ever tried punching underwater? It’s low impact exercise for seniors.
Photo of a who wants to be a millionaire question citing me
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
If you’re in the Washington, DC area join me the Monday of Thanksgiving week to celebrate the launch of my second book. Ocean geek chic dress code.
Flier for my event noting that it will include a brief presentation from me followed by book sales and signings
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
My pettiest academia opinion is that people care way too much about how a citation is formatted. If I can find the paper you're referencing, you cited it fine. I don't care what's bolded and what's italicized and what order the year vs. issue number is presented in. Fight me. 🧪🦑🌎
A leading paper in my field and the very different ways that different journals require the citation of it to be formatted.
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
This popular science policy diagram I made during the pandemic is six years old today. Perhaps time for an update.
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Shana Tovah from Sandy, the shark who lives in my office
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I’m sorry, but I do not comment on sharks biting people. These are animals not only older than dinosaurs, but older than trees. They have amazing adaptations. They’re ecologically vital. Many are threatened. I’m happy to talk about that! Falling flowerpots kill more humans than sharks do!
Woman holding a sign that reads “no comment”
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
13 years ago today, I tried sextanting with @drandrewthaler.bsky.social
Text message exchange where I sent sextants
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Another way of saying “just a few feet from the beach” is “in the water, where they’re supposed to be” Sharks enter shallow water searching for food all the time. Some of you need to touch seagrass.
News article asking why sharks are near a beach.
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Meanwhile on LinkedIn
LinkedIn pm from a stranger asking me what my spiciest take is
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Me: Can we get the new Apple Duo folding phone? Mom: We have a folding phone at home. The folding phone at home:
A shyshark, so named because it folds itself into a ball and covers its face to hide from predators
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Most great white sharks are actually mediocre, just extremely confident.
Photo of a great white shark
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Hell yeah I’m into AI A- Sandbar I - Sharks
Sandbar shark at an aquarium
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Friends, I have a new book coming out soon called "Why Sustainable Seafood Matters". If you can pre-order a copy, that helps me a lot, and you can save 30% with code HWSSM. But you can help me at no cost to yourself by requesting that your local library order a copy!
Having fun isn't hard when you have a library card!
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I need to hear from you, the people: Which caption is funnier? “Rare image of shark stepping on a LEGO” or “Ahhhh something touched my foot!” (Or you could suggest your own funny caption, but those are a high bar to clear!) 📷 : Mike Coots
Photo of a great white shark sticking its head out of the water, a behavior called “spy-hopping.”
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Hi friends! Apparently there is a lot of interest in joining me on a future shark research expedition, so I wanted to clarify some things and formalize the process a little. TL;DR please PM me your email if you'd like to be added to an info listserv to learn more.
Left shark bat signal asking if you want to join a future shark research expedition fundraiser
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Today I took 40+ folks from the Women’s Aquatic Network shark tooth fossil hunting!
Selfie on the beach
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Social media from a shark's point of view, updated for 2026: LinkedIn: My skills including eating seals Pinterest: Here are some seal recipes, they won't look as good when you make them. Bluesky: I like Left shark but he's not Left enough. Twitter: Why do {{{dolphins}}} control the world?
Left Shark
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
If you’re harassing a wild shark and the shark bites you, please call David Shiffman Scientific and Environmental Consulting for a free consultation on why you should not have harassed a wild shark.
Screenshot of a BCC news headline about people bothering sharks to get better photos and then being bitten by those sharks
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Did you know that sandbar sharks are called “grey sharks” in parts of their range, and “brown sharks” in other parts of their range? It’s true! They range in color from greyish-brown to brownish-grey! Truly a beautiful animal, truly the #BestShark
NOAA Fisheries graphic of a sandbar shark
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
I love following #SunDog on Instagram because sometimes you get amazing photos of the atmospheric phenomenon and sometimes you get photos of cute dogs in the sun
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whysharksmatter.bsky.social @whysharksmatter.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Want to join me for a day of shark research in Florida? The Natural History Society of Maryland has arranged a trip in October, open to anyone anywhere. The trip includes snorkeling and touring some cutting-edge marine biology research labs. If you’re interested, let us know ASAP!
Flier for event
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