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Endangered zebra sharks to be released back into oceans in first-ever international ‘re-wilding’ effort

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An international effort to rebuild shark populations officially has begun.

Two baby zebra sharks were released in the Raja Ampat Regency of Indonesia earlier this year as the first step in a massive re-wilding project.

The new organization, called ReShark, has joined 15 countries and 44 aquariums in an effort to raise zebra sharks in captivity, then release them back into the wild, according to National Geographic.

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ReShark aims to release 500 zebra sharks in Indonesian waters within the next five to 10 years.

Dr. Erin Meyer, Seattle Aquarium vice president of conservation programs and partnerships, told Fox News Digital in an interview that this is just the beginning of creating a shark resurgence.

Scientist Nesha Ichida releases the second zebra shark of the day, a young female named Kathlyn, in Indonesia’s Wayag Islands.

Scientist Nesha Ichida releases the second zebra shark of the day, a young female named Kathlyn, in Indonesia’s Wayag Islands. (David Doubilet and Jennifer Hayes, National Geographic)

“We’re just getting started in re-wilding the oceans, so we can ensure that we have a resilient, healthy, global ocean for today and for future generations,” she said.

The international collective, which today has 70 partners, aims to restore threatened and endangered sharks as well as stingrays around the world.

There are currently almost 400 species of sharks and stingrays worldwide that are deemed threatened by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, according to Meyer.

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The main cause of this decline is overfishing, said Meyer.

“We hear a lot about [people engaging in] shark fishing for their fins, but they’re also fished for their meat,” she said of sharks. 

“And that meat is eaten all around the world.”

An adult female zebra shark glides through the Wild Reef exhibit at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. Adult zebra sharks are endangered everywhere outside Australia, but there are more than 100 in aquariums around the world. Several aquariums, including Shedd, are letting adults mate and produce eggs, which will be shipped to Indonesia.

An adult female zebra shark glides through the Wild Reef exhibit at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. Adult zebra sharks are endangered everywhere outside Australia, but there are more than 100 in aquariums around the world. Several aquariums, including Shedd, are letting adults mate and produce eggs, which will be shipped to Indonesia. (David Doubilet and Jennifer Hayes, National Geographic)

Meyer added that sharks are “keystone species” within their ecosystems, which means their environments can “collapse” without their “keeping other species in check.”

ReShark first launched its initiative in 2020, beginning with the endangered zebra shark.

“We know what they eat and we know how to keep them alive.”

In parts of the world such as Indonesia, Meyer noted, zebra sharks are “nearly extinct.”

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In Raja Ampat, researchers were able to count only three zebra sharks in 15,000 hours of searching between the years 2001 and 2021, according to National Geographic.

“They also are a species that aquariums have been learning [about] and researching [while] in our care, for decades,” Meyer said, explaining why the species was at the top of ReShark’s priority list.

Shark caretaker Kyra Wicaksono uses a light to illuminate a zebra shark embryo inside its egg case at a new shark nursery at the Misool Resort in southern Raja Ampat, Indonesia.

Shark caretaker Kyra Wicaksono uses a light to illuminate a zebra shark embryo inside its egg case at a new shark nursery at the Misool Resort in southern Raja Ampat, Indonesia. (David Doubilet and Jennifer Hayes, National Geographic)

“We know how to greet them. We know how to rear them. We know what they eat and we know how to keep them alive,” she added.

Between data from aquariums around the world and insight from academic partners like Dr. Christine Dudgeon at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia, the organization was “confident” that their breeding and releasing activities would be successful, Meyer said.

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This is the first time that international bodies have united to recover an endangered marine species while also breeding them in human care, Meyer also said.

“The ocean needs us.”

“It seems like such a complicated thing to breed animals in aquariums in the U.S. and in Australia and in Europe, and then transport those eggs to Indonesia,” she added.

“We had to make purpose-built nurseries in Indonesia [so] we could transport these eggs, rear them and then eventually release them into marine-protected areas where they would be able to grow and eventually reproduce on their own in the wild,” she continued.

This photo, taken on Aug. 21, 2017, shows the blue sea around Raja Ampat, which means "Four Kings" in Indonesian.

This photo, taken on Aug. 21, 2017, shows the blue sea around Raja Ampat, which means “Four Kings” in Indonesian. (GOH CHAI HIN/AFP via Getty Images)

Meyer added that they “needed everybody at the table” to make this possible.

ReShark’s efforts finally came to fruition in January 2023 when the organization’s first two baby zebra sharks — named Charlie and Kathlyn — were released into an off-limits shark fishing lagoon in Raja Ampat.

The event was “incredibly emotional,” said Meyer, who was in attendance.

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The event was moving “not only because it felt like letting my shark children go off to college, but also because these animals are going to be the ambassadors for the future of this project to bring zebra sharks back,” she also said.

Meyer continued, “And they’re proof of concept that this incredible idea to bring together partners from around the world to bring sharks back, to restore sharks, is possible.”

She added, “It gives me hope, and it gives all of our partners hope, that we can do this with not just zebra sharks, but with other species, down the line.”

ReShark plans to broaden its efforts to other shark and stingray species in the future, in other locations around the world.

“We’re actively talking about what the next species will be,” Meyer said. 

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“We do have our eyes on one location right now in western Indonesia … and [we’re] connecting with partners in the Indian Ocean to identify a potential location there as well for another nursery,” she added.

The conservationist explained that the major problem with releasing baby sharks is making sure they won’t be immediately “fished out,” since shark fishing is still a major threat.

Two divers collect shark eggs as part of the annual inventory at the zoo in Hagenbeck, Germany, on Jan. 12, 2018. 

Two divers collect shark eggs as part of the annual inventory at the zoo in Hagenbeck, Germany, on Jan. 12, 2018.  (Daniel Reinhardt/picture alliance via Getty Images)

“We are looking for strongly enforced marine-protected areas so that we can release these animals into a safe place,” she said.

“The ocean needs us,” she added. 

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“There are species that aren’t coming back with marine-protected areas alone, and this is an opportunity for aquariums to put their unique experience and expertise to work and partner with international NGOs and governments and local leaders to make it happen.”

Currently, 37% of 1,199 species of sharks and stingrays face extinction. 

Sharks are among Earth’s oldest species, NatGeo reports, surviving five mass extinctions over more than 420 million years.

Currently, however, 37% of 1,199 species of sharks and stingrays face extinction as the world’s second-fastest dwindling vertebrate group behind amphibians.

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To learn more about the international collective to save the sharks, visit reshark.org. 

For more on this story, visit natgeo.com/rewildingsharks.

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/endangered-zebra-sharks-be-released-oceans-first-ever-international-re-wilding-effort

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Black conservative father and faith leader homeschools 6 kids to ‘get God in’: ‘What could be more important?’

The Bible says the fear of the Lord, meaning a reverence for and an awe of God, is the beginning of knowledge and understanding.  

So Abraham Hamilton III of the American Family Association, headquartered in Tupelo, Mississippi, says that begs a vital question about the public school system.

He asks, “What kind of system of instruction can you have, calling it education, but intentionally and systematically denies the knowledge of God?”

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Hamilton is general counsel and public policy analyst for the American Family Association. He’s an African-American conservative — which makes him a huge target for liberals.  

He’s a husband and father of six, all of whom he homeschools, because in researching the history and intent of the public school system, he discovered what should scare any parent who’s trying to mold and shape their child spiritually and intellectually.

Abe Hamilton of American Family Association

Abraham Hamilton of the American Family Association shared his story of how and why he and his wife have chosen to homeschool their six children. It’s not just the indoctrination today that worries Hamilton.  (AFA)

Says Hamilton, “The thing that led us to start homeschooling was first my wife and I began delving into a more solidified biblical worldview — and we began to learn a bit about the history of the modern public education system.”

It was a history that looked at the intent of such lauded educators as Horace Mann and John Dewey, who crusaded for a public school system to bring education to the masses to strengthen the nation. 

This has been a centuries-long effort to transform the United States of America, said Hamilton.   

But Hamilton said there was a more fundamental intention lurking behind the “good of the nation.”    

On a recent episode of “Lighthouse Faith” podcast, Hamilton talked about how education by its very nature is a form of discipleship. And that the public school system was designed to disciple young minds into the faith of secular humanism. It’s a man-centered religion. 

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Secular humanism refers to a philosophy that “replaces a worship of the transcendent or supernatural deity with the deification of man and humankind,” according to an article in the Loyola Law Journal.

So secular humanism is the very definition of what the Bible calls sin — man putting himself in the place of God, believing that humanity is the measure of all things rather than God.

Hamilton said this has been a centuries-long effort to transform the United States.  

kids at Portland Public Schools

Students are shown arriving at a public high school in Apr. 19, 2021. It’s no sudden occurrence, writes Lauren Green, that parents today are seeing their kids subject to indoctrination of liberal group think on gender ideology, the environment and critical race theory.  (Carlos Delgado/AP Images for Portland Public Schools)

“We did not just arrive where we are accidentally,” he said. “It has been the product of an intentional plan using the school system, by and large as a primary mechanism to accomplish it.”

The book by Fox News’ Pete Hegseth, “Battle for the American Mind,” wholeheartedly affirms Hamilton’s accusations. 

The book is an exegesis of how secular, Enlightenment-based and Marxist forces took hold of and promoted the idea of public schools for the purpose of controlling the country.  

Writes Hegseth, “American progressives knew that social control was far more powerful than economic control. As such, they set out to gain direct national control of the ‘commanding heights’ of American schools. A project set in motion more than 100 ago is today leveraged through 16,000 hours of government instruction.”

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So it’s no sudden occurrence that parents are seeing their kids subject to indoctrination of liberal group think on gender ideology, the environment and critical race theory. 

The COVID-19 shutdown that forced millions of children to receive class instruction via Zoom also let parents see and hear what their children were being taught. The backlash resulted in parents showing up at school board meetings in protest.

Public school students are denied the knowledge that “the reason why Isaac Newton experimented was because of what he read in the Bible.” 

But it’s not just indoctrination that worries Hamilton. If the Bible is true, that knowing God is the beginning of all knowledge, then millions of children sitting in public school classrooms for six to eight hours a day, five days a week, are not getting the full breadth of education.

For example, regarding the great scientist Isaac Newton, the 17th century physicist, astronomer and mathematician whose laws of universal gravitation transformed the scientific landscape and our understanding of the motion of the planets, Hamilton says, “What most children don’t realize is that Isaac Newton was a passionate Christian. He could be rightly described as a theologian who dabbled in science.”

He says that what public school students are denied is the knowledge that “the reason why Isaac Newton experimented was because of what he read in the Bible.”  

woman daughter pray

A woman and her daughter pray together over a Bible. While Abraham of the American Family Association says that we do have “godly teachers, wonderful teachers, wonderful administrators, wonderful principals — the system itself has been calcified in opposition to God” to the point where you have to figure out a way to get God in.  (iStock)

So they are denied the ability to connect the dots of what makes this world the way it is.

Newton and other scientists of his ilk like Copernicus were inspired by Scriptures such as Psalm 19, which says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.”  

Says Hamilton, “Mathematics is an opportunity to peer into the mind of God. The discipline of mathematics only exists because we have a creator who is immutable. He doesn’t change, and he has established a fixed universe that creates an environment for us to be able to have the disciplines of science, the discipline of mathematics.”

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But why not try to fix the public school system, like those parents showing up for board meetings and running for the school board themselves?

Hamilton applauds their efforts. 

But while he says we do have “godly teachers, wonderful teachers, wonderful administrators, wonderful principals, the system itself has been calcified in opposition to God” to the point where you have to figure out a way to get God in. 

Lauren Green

Lauren Green of Fox News Channel, the network’s chief religion correspondent, recently spoke with Abraham Hamilton of the American Family Association in Mississippi, who says he cannot entrust the intellectual development of his six children to America’s public school system.  (Fox News)

In other words, the system is geared to exclude God.

The recent court battles are evidence. 

A high school coach is fired for praying on the football field and a substitute teacher is fired for opposing a same-sex themed book; a school board in Maine rejects a church’s application to hold worship services at a high school because of the church’s beliefs on abortion and gay marriage; and a Utah School district removes the King James Bible from its elementary and middle school shelves because a parent complained it contained “vulgarity and violence.”

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For Hamilton, the bottom line is that he cannot entrust the intellectual development of his children to a system whose aim is to disconnect God from knowledge. 

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Says Hamilton, “We are endeavoring to disciple our children in a holistic sense and doing so from our home as a basis for it for that endeavor. What could be more important than that when it comes to our children?”

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Ohio firefighters find 118-year-old time capsule buried in fire station: Here’s what was inside

A team of firefighters has uncovered treasure hidden in their fire department that’s nearly 12 decades old.

Captain Ryan Redmon and a group of six firefighters from the City of Marion Ohio Fire Department were on a mission to retrieve an old department cornerstone from a retired fire station that was about to be demolished, but they ended up finding something truly unexpected.

The Marion Fire Department (MFD) has recently been researching the history of their department, going back to 1848, by digging up some information — both figuratively and literally, Captain Redmon told Fox News Digital.

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On May 25, Redmon and the firefighters went down to the old Marion Fire Department Station No. 2, which was built in 1905, to excavate their department’s cornerstone for preservation purposes before the building was scheduled to be torn down.

MFD cornerstone 2

Captain Ryan Redmon and a team of six firefighters from the Marion Fire Department in Marion, Ohio, discovered a hidden time capsule dating back to 1905. Firefighter Andrew Niles is pictured above removing a brick. (City of Marion Ohio Fire Department)

After spending nearly 30 minutes on the excavation, Redmon and his men quickly realized the cornerstone was deeper into the building than anticipated, so they called in professionals to complete the removal.

As Redmon and his team were about to leave, they pulled out one last brick and saw a copper box fall out of the sandstone, Redmon shared.

Redmon and the other firefighters on the scene took it back to the station excited to show everyone their new discovery.

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“Obviously, everybody wanted us to open it right away, and we wanted to, trust me. It was killing us to see what was in there,” Redmon commented.

copper time capsule

The 118-year-old time capsule was hidden near the cornerstone of the retired fire station building that was set to be demolished. (City of Marion Ohio Fire Department)

The MFD has been working on the written history of their department, but nothing in their prior research led them to believe there would be a time capsule hidden in the 1905 fire station.

“We’ve done so much history work around the station and I feel like we’ve got a pretty good grasp on our past and where we’ve been, and [to] discover something like [this], there’s no written record of it,” Redmon stated.

“We scoured newspapers, we scoured old records [and] there was never any mention of a time capsule in there, so it was very exciting,” he added.

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The time capsule was placed near the cornerstone of the old MFD station on July 20, 1905, according to a letter found in the capsule written by the fire chief at the time, Redmon added.

men opening time capsule

Chief Chuck Deem (left) looks on as Captain Redmon (center) and Andrew Niles (far right) pry open the time capsule during a public ceremony on May 31.   (City of Marion Ohio Fire Department)

“Firemen aren’t exactly known for being gentle, delicate creatures with things,” Redmon joked. “So we took it to the historical society in town.”

The copper box had been soldered shut on the edge and wasn’t easy to pry open, according to Redmon.

On May 31, the MFD invited the residents of Marion to be a part of a public opening of the time capsule.

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Inside the 118-year-old copper box were dozens of well-preserved memorabilia referencing the department including: nine MFD badges from the “turn of the century,” an invitation to the 1878 “Northwestern Ohio Volunteer Fireman’s Association Fireman’s Games” (which is still held today), four newspapers from July 1905 and so much more, according to the City of Marion Ohio Fire Department Facebook page.

Redmon took note of the differences between the “turn of the century era” badges that had been found in the time capsule, detailing the difference in style and size.

“There has been talk about trying to back to that style now that we know that’s our history and that’s kind of where we came from. In the future, maybe we can go back to that,” Redmon commented.

One of Redmon’s favorite discoveries in the box was the letter from Chief McFarland, the department’s fire chief for almost 40 years, he added.

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“He has kind of got his touch on everything. To have an actual letter from him was very [exciting].”

Ohio time capsule split FINAL

Redmon is looking forward to making a new time capsule for the new fire station which will include an item from the newly found 1905 capsule. (City of Marion Ohio Fire Department)

Redmon gave a lot of credit to Andrew Niles, a firefighter on his team, who has been heading up the department’s historical research and was the one to open the time capsule.

One of the biggest takeaways for Redmon is knowing that he now has a tangible place in the history of the MFD.

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“I was becoming a part of history because I was involved in this opening and this finding,” he shared.

The MFD is planning on taking an item from the 1905 time capsule, most likely one of the badges, and placing it in a new time capsule that will be buried in the construction of the new fire station, Redmon added.

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The hope is that another 118 years will pass by before the new capsule is opened and someone will be able to discover a 236-year-old badge, paying homage to the history and legacy of the Marion Fire Department, Redmon said.

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On this day in history, June 7, 1942, Battle of Midway ends in decisive US victory

On this day in history, June 7, 1942, the Battle of Midway — regarded as one of the most decisive U.S. victories in its war against Japan — came to an end.  

The Battle of Midway was an Allied naval victory and a major turning point in World War II. 

The battle was fought between Japanese and American carrier forces near the Midway Atoll, a territory of the United States in the central Pacific, from June 4-7, 1942.

On June 4, 1942, the Battle of Midway began. 

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Midway Island is a fairly isolated atoll, so named because it is midway between North America and Asia in the North Pacific Ocean, according to National Geographic.

Midway’s importance grew for commercial and military planners, says the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 

Battle of Midway

In this June 4, 1942, file photo provided by the U.S. Navy, the USS Astoria (CA-34) steams by USS Yorktown (CV-5), shortly after the carrier had been hit by three Japanese bombs in the Battle of Midway.  (William G. Roy/U.S. Navy via AP, File)

In the 1930s, Midway became a stopover for Pan American Airways’ “flying clippers” — seaplanes crossing the ocean on their five-day transpacific passage, the same source indicates.

Midway was an incredibly strategic location, multiple sources say. 

“The Imperial Japanese Navy planned to use it to secure their sphere of influence in the Pacific theater of the war,” according to National Geographic. 

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“The Japanese had not lost a naval battle in more than 50 years, and had nearly destroyed the American fleet just six months earlier in a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.” 

The American success at Midway was a major victory over the Imperial Japanese Navy. 

Pearl Harbor is about 1,300 miles east of Midway, says the same source.

In preparation, American military and intelligence forces worked together to defeat the Japanese. 

Battle of Midway Island

The Battle of Midway Island, which resulted in a major victory for the U.S. fleet. The USS aircraft carrier ‘Yorktown’ received a direct hit from a Japanese plane, which got through despite the heavy barrage put up by American destroyers.  (Keystone/Getty Images)

Code breakers were able to decipher Japanese naval code, allowing American leaders to anticipate Japanese maneuvers, notes National Geographic. 

Because of this, the U.S. Navy was then able to launch a surprise attack on the larger Japanese fleet in the area and the Battle of Midway turned the tide of the war, says the same source. 

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The American success at Midway was a major victory over the Imperial Japanese Navy as all four Japanese carriers — Akagi, Hiryu, Kaga and Soryu — had participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor, says the National WWII Museum.

The Battle of Midway is often referred to as the turning point of the war in the Pacific.

“Sinking those Japanese carriers represented a resounding defeat over the enemy fleet which had wrought such destruction only six months before,” the same source says.

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The Imperial Japanese Navy would not be capable of overcoming the loss of four carriers and over 100 trained pilots — and with the loss at Midway, the Japanese offensive in the Pacific was overturned and the United States began offensive action in the Pacific, says the National WWII Museum.

The Battle of Midway is widely considered the most decisive U.S. victory of that period.

It is often referred to as the turning point of the war in the Pacific.

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Midway Atoll has since been designated as a National Memorial to the Battle of Midway, says the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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