Jaw-dropping fears for sharks

Sharks and rays are in the news, writes Richard Collins

They have been found in an active underwater volcano, have attacked more people during 2015 than in any previous year, and a new global initiative has been launched to protect them. Although these magnificent creatures have survived for 400 million years, they are threatened as never before.

Kavachi, in the Solomon Islands, is one of the world’s most unstable marine volcanoes. There were major eruptions there in 2003 and 2007 and a minor one in 2014. Discharging hot acid into the ocean, the underwater cone is far too dangerous for divers to enter. Using robots to explore it, scientists found crabs and jellyfish living 50m below the surface. Most surprisingly, two species of shark and a stingray were filmed swimming inside the crater. One was the elusive Pacific sleeper shark, which had only been filmed on two previous occasions.