I happened upon a new website called Shark Trust. Established in 1997, the Shark Trust is the UK registered marine charity dedicated to promoting the study, management and conservation of sharks, skates, rays and chimeras (Elasmobranchs). The Trust works through a series of scientifically supported campaigns, research and education programms, and strives to provide guidance, facilitate decisions, influence legislation and raise public awareness of the plight of these animals on both national and international scales.

While at their website I was reviewing their extensive database of news articles and found one news article that just blew me out of the water! For over 50 years, researchers are aware of the shark’s ridge like structures on their scales. Scales have a beneficial effect on the speed at which fish swim: tiny ridges arranged parallel to the swimming direction, known as “riblets”, reduce drag in water. This means the shark can swim faster with less energy.

So what? You say. Well scientists believe that you can take this same principle and apply it to ships and other forms of transportation. These “films” can be applied to these suitable structures and reduce frictional resistance there by increasing the fuel efficiency of these large ships.  In this day and age of high fuel costs and the need to reduce fossil fuel emissions, greater fuel efficiency is something we all like to hear.

To think that the inspiration for this idea came from studying the world around us, Imagine if we let the over fishing of sharks to occur, how different would our world look? So remember the wise use of our resources, the sharks in this case, are not about saving an animals life but better understanding how those resources can shape future generations.

If this story inspired you to take a closer look at what the Shark Trust is doing to conserve these animals of the oceans please let us know. The Shark Trust has several programs in which you can donate or even adopt a shark. Check out Shark Trust today.