The Republic of the Marshall Islands is now home to the world’s largest shark sanctuary. The Nitijela, the Marshallese parliament, unanimously passed legislation this week that ends commercial fishing of sharks in all 1,990,530 square kilometers (768,547 square miles) of the central Pacific country’s waters, an ocean area four times the landmass of California.

“We salute the Republic of the Marshall Islands for enacting the strongest legislation to protect sharks that we have seen,” said Matt Rand, director of global shark conservation for the Pew Environment Group, which is spearheading efforts to establish shark sanctuaries, where targeted fishing for these species is prohibited. “As leaders recognize the importance of healthy shark populations to our oceans, the momentum for protecting these animals continues to spread across the globe.”

read more at pewenvironment.org

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — A British man lost parts of both legs when he was attacked by a great white shark Wednesday after he ignored warnings and went swimming at a Cape Town, South Africa, beach, authorities said.

The 42-year-old man apparently made it back toward shore at  Fish Hoek beach and was pulled from the water by a bystander who left before he could be identified, according to the Press Association news agency.

An amateur video taken shortly after the attack was uploaded to YouTube and shows a shark still lurking in the water after the mauling victim was stabilized on the beach and airlifted to Constantiaberg Medi-Clinic in critical condition.

read more at msnbc

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – A two-mile stretch of coastline at Casa Reef in La Jolla was reopened Thursday, following the third confirmed shark sighting along San Diego’s coastline in a week.

The coastline at Casa Reef was shut down, after several people spotted a 12-inch dorsal fin around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday near the Children’s Pool, where a colony of seals live. Just hours later, a group of fishermen discovered a dead baby seal off the Ocean Beach pier with apparent bite marks.

“The only thing that would have done that is something really with big teeth,” said fisherman Jeff O’Connor. “And we figured it’s a shark. And it sure looks like a shark bite.”

The closure at Casa Reef was lifted just before 10 a.m. Thursday because lifeguards, patrolling the area since the early morning, found no evidence of a shark, according to San Diego fire-rescue spokesman Maurice Luque.

In addition to the shark sighting Wednesday in the La Jolla area, another shark was spotted further north in Encinitas and was documented in a picture taken by a News 8 viewer. After receiving the photo taken at Swamis beach, News 8 spoke with a local shark expert who confirmed that the shark in the photo is a 10 to 12 foot great white.

Meanwhile, reports Thursday morning of a 12-inch fin sighting 100 to 200 yards offshore from the 1200 block of Sunset Cliffs Boulevard in the Point Loma-Ocean Beach area turned out to be not credible.

A two-mile stretch off Mission Beach was closed last week, after a lifeguard spotted an 18-inch dorsal fin on Thursday. The same area was closed again Friday when a surfer reported seeing a 14-inch fin.

Below is various close-ups of the photo taken Wednesday, August 31 by a News 8 viewer at Swamis Beach. A local shark expert has confirmed to News 8 that the shark in the photo is a 10 to 12 foot great white.

read more at cbs