Join us for our 2nd Annual Salty Shark Fundraiser!
October is Sharktober this year! We are excited to continue our partnership with Deep Blue Research Foundation with our 2nd Annual Salty Shark Fundraiser! Deep Blue Research Foundation is on a mission to improving the health of the planet’s oceans through at-sea marine research around the world. Deep Blue focuses on a variety of marine life and ocean-based projects, but is known for their shark research as seen on Discovery Channel’s Shark Week with Paul Clerkin, the co-founder of Deep Blue, and his discovery of several new species of sharks.
With the help of you, we can continue to make a difference in helping to protect our oceans and marine life. Last year we raised money to help support the development of a high-resolution biologger with camera which is used to document elusive shark species and their behaviors. This year, our goal is to raise additional funds to support Paul Clerkin and his team with their on-going research in the Indian Ocean working with local fishing villages to help find ways to educate about the importance of protecting endangered marine life.
Last year to help bring awareness to our fundraiser and partnership, we highlighted a shark and created a flavor based on its name/characteristics; last year was the “Lemon Shark” Lemon Salt, which is available for purchase this year. To keep the tradition going Paul and I have decided to highlight a new shark, well in this case a relative of the shark this year! And what better fish to bring attention to in the month of October as the ghost and ghouls awake for Halloween is the Seafarer’s Ghostshark (Chimaera willwatchi).
According to Paul, “Ghost sharks are not true sharks (and not true ghosts…). They differ from their sharky relatives in having a single gill opening, and 3 pairs for tooth plates – two pairs in the upper jaw, and one pair in the lower jaw opposed to the rows and rows of teeth found in true sharks. Despite their intimidating name, ghost sharks are harmless to humans.
Ghost sharks get their name from the ghostly way their glide through the water and by their “dead eyes.” Ghost sharks do indeed have large reflective eyes, a large venomous spine on their backs, and a body that tapers to a long filamentous tail, giving them a very unique appearance in the animal kingdom.
This species, the Seafarer’s Ghostshark (Chimaera willwatchi) was discovered in a remote area of the Indian Ocean in 2012 onboard the fishing vessel Will Watch and named for the hard-working mariners that aided in its discovery. The Seafarer’s Ghostshark has purplish brown mottling and distinctively bright white margins on its fins. There is still very little known about the Seafarer’s Ghostshark, but some researchers believe it could be widespread in the poorly explored Indian Ocean deep-sea”.
To honor this ghostly “shark” I have created a fun flavor to bring the heat this year with our Seafarer’s Ghostshark salt infused with the one and only Ghost pepper! It is so spooky it with scare your tastebuds away!
Check out our Seafarer’s Ghostshark salt and our other limited-edition Salty Shark products for this year’s 2nd Annual Salty Shark Fundraiser. This year 50% of the profits from the fundraiser will be donated to Deep Blue to help support on-going research, helping to make a difference.