Tech

Great white shark sightings becoming more common, say Mi’kmaw fishermen

Published

9 months ago

February 5, 2024

When fisherman Matthew James Basque-Augustine saw a sharp-looking fin caught in his lines, he was sure it belonged to a great white shark.

“There’s a lot of fear because I wasn’t in a very big boat,” he said.

It happened about 10 years ago — just off of the cape of Richibuctou, about 65 kilometres north of Moncton — and shark sightings were almost non-existent there at the time.

Basque-Augustine said people would laugh when he told them about the shark, but recently, more and more fishermen have been catching lemon sharks and other shark species in their lines.

“”[They] believe it now, but at the time no one would believe me,” he said.

“It’s becoming more real that there [are] great whites out there.”

White shark sightings are on the rise in the Maritimes and have been driving interest in the mysterious predators.

Matthew Basque Augustine says he saw what he believes was a great white shark near the cape of Richibuctou about 10 years ago. He says people would laugh at him when he shared the story, but now sightings are becoming more and more common. (Oscar Baker III/CBC)

A new documentary from CBC’s The Nature of Things, called Jawsome: Canada’s Great White Sharks, explores the history of great white sharks in the Atlantic and whether they’ve become more common there.

The white sharks seen on the East Coast are part of a population that stretches from South America all the way to Newfoundland. They visit Canada seasonally in the late summer and early fall.

“You [can] see them a lot more than before,” said Michael Basque, a fisherman from Potlotek First Nation, roughly 250 kilometres northeast of Halifax.

He said up until about 10 years ago, it was rare to see a shark.

Atlantic great white sharks are considered endangered in Canada, and they are listed as a vulnerable species around the world. As a population, they’re difficult to study and monitor because they are mostly solitary and can migrate thousands of kilometres.

Basque said unlike dolphins and whales, which come up to his boat and show off, sharks are a lot less curious.

“Sharks, you get a glimpse of them, and they’re usually gone,” he said.

Basque said in the last 10 years, he has seen about six sharks, both blue and white.

Michael Basque, a fisherman from Potlotek First Nation in New Brunswick, says up until about 10 years ago, shark sightings were rare. (Michael Basque/Facebook)

Along Cobscook Bay in Maine, more than 100 kilometres southwest of Saint John, there is evidence that sharks have been in the area a long time.

Archaeologist Matthew Betts from the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que., has found shark teeth in ancient shell heaps dating back at least 4,000 years.

“Most of the shark teeth that we find in middens or in burial or ritual contexts seem to have been worn as pendants,” he says in the documentary.

He said the teeth usually have notches on the sides or holes drilled through the centre.

“What it suggests to us is a very deep and ingrained relationship between the people here and sharks,” he said.

However, Betts said shark teeth disappear from these archaeological deposits about the time Europeans arrived on the East Coast.

“Such a profound and long-lived relationship just abruptly stops,” he said.

‘The bad fish’

But not everyone agrees about that relationship.

Bernard Francis, a Mi’kmaw linguist from the Membertou First Nation in Nova Scotia, said he has never heard any stories of sharks in his community.

“I don’t know if there’s any kind of a special relationship between Mi’kmaw people and sharks,” he said.

He said Mi’kmaq were known to travel more than 1,000 kilometres away, and shark teeth found at these archaeological sites could have been gifts from other tribes.

“It’s not uncommon that we will have things that were never here,” said Francis.

But he said the Mi’kmaq do have a word for sharks — it’s wipitamekw and means “multi-toothed one.”

Mi’kmaw linguist Bernie Francis says the Mi’kmaw word for shark is wipitamekw and it means “multi-toothed one.” (Nic Meloney/CBC)

In an article published by the Canadian Journal of Native Studies in 2004 called Ancient M’ikmaq Customs: A Shaman’s Revelations, Earle Lockerby wrote about a letter from a priest in the 1700s recording a conversation with a Mi’kmaw shaman who described life before colonization, and recounted how Mi’kmaq would face attacks from “the bad fish.”

“All too often, these malicious beings attack the sterns of our canoes so suddenly and without warning that they sink the boat and all who are in it,” the letter quotes the shaman as saying.

“Some escape by swimming, but there are always some who fall prey to these voracious flesh-eating fish.”

The shaman added that the people in the canoes would try to harpoon the creature and fend it off for a short time, giving them a chance to paddle toward land.

Fending off sharks

Melissa and Todd Labrador, Mi’kmaw canoe builders from Kespukwitk in southwest Nova Scotia, said there is traditional knowledge for fending off sharks.

They said their ancestors hunted whales and porpoises from long birchbark canoes with a rise in the middle, built for navigating ocean waters.

Melissa said her ancestors would try to trick sharks into thinking the animals were getting too close to land.

“If you come too close to shore, you risk the chance of beaching yourself,” she said.

“[It’s] what my people knew through generations of observation. They would take roots and tie it to the bottom of the canoe with eelgrass or with different things that would be close to the shore.”

Melissa said by splitting spruce roots and strapping them to the canoe with other plants, they would secrete an oil into the water that sharks can taste.

“Then if the shark [saw] the bottom of the canoe, instead of thinking ‘Oh, that looks like a lovely seal for lunch,’ he would feel nervous because he might be too close to the shoreline,” she said.

Melissa Labrador and her father, Todd Labrador, in a woodlot outside Liverpool, N.S. (Elizabeth McMillan/CBC)

One of the reasons sharks are attracted to Atlantic Canada is to feed on the abundant seal population. Young white sharks will eat fish and other small sharks, but as they reach adulthood, they look for larger animals, like sea lions, dolphins and seals.

White sharks can grow to about six metres in length and usually weigh up to 1,800 kilograms.

“We need to understand that sharks were here for thousands of years,” said Todd.

“They’re here for a reason, so we need to respect them and that they’re just as important as anything else on this planet.”

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Tech

Ottawa orders TikTok’s Canadian arm to be dissolved

Published

3 days ago

November 6, 2024

Anne Joseph

The federal government is ordering the dissolution of TikTok’s Canadian business after a national security review of the Chinese company behind the social media platform, but stopped short of ordering people to stay off the app.

Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced the government’s “wind up” demand Wednesday, saying it is meant to address “risks” related to ByteDance Ltd.’s establishment of TikTok Technology Canada Inc.

“The decision was based on the information and evidence collected over the course of the review and on the advice of Canada’s security and intelligence community and other government partners,” he said in a statement.

The announcement added that the government is not blocking Canadians’ access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content.

However, it urged people to “adopt good cybersecurity practices and assess the possible risks of using social media platforms and applications, including how their information is likely to be protected, managed, used and shared by foreign actors, as well as to be aware of which country’s laws apply.”

Champagne’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment seeking details about what evidence led to the government’s dissolution demand, how long ByteDance has to comply and why the app is not being banned.

A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement that the shutdown of its Canadian offices will mean the loss of hundreds of well-paying local jobs.

“We will challenge this order in court,” the spokesperson said.

“The TikTok platform will remain available for creators to find an audience, explore new interests and for businesses to thrive.”

The federal Liberals ordered a national security review of TikTok in September 2023, but it was not public knowledge until The Canadian Press reported in March that it was investigating the company.

At the time, it said the review was based on the expansion of a business, which it said constituted the establishment of a new Canadian entity. It declined to provide any further details about what expansion it was reviewing.

A government database showed a notification of new business from TikTok in June 2023. It said Network Sense Ventures Ltd. in Toronto and Vancouver would engage in “marketing, advertising, and content/creator development activities in relation to the use of the TikTok app in Canada.”

Even before the review, ByteDance and TikTok were lightning rod for privacy and safety concerns because Chinese national security laws compel organizations in the country to assist with intelligence gathering.

Such concerns led the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a bill in March designed to ban TikTok unless its China-based owner sells its stake in the business.

Champagne’s office has maintained Canada’s review was not related to the U.S. bill, which has yet to pass.

Canada’s review was carried out through the Investment Canada Act, which allows the government to investigate any foreign investment with potential to might harm national security.

While cabinet can make investors sell parts of the business or shares, Champagne has said the act doesn’t allow him to disclose details of the review.

Wednesday’s dissolution order was made in accordance with the act.

The federal government banned TikTok from its mobile devices in February 2023 following the launch of an investigation into the company by federal and provincial privacy commissioners.

— With files from Anja Karadeglija in Ottawa

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.

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Health

Here is how to prepare your online accounts for when you die

Published

2 weeks ago

October 24, 2024

Anne Joseph

LONDON (AP) — Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?

It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps.

Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors:

Apple

The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact ” who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give trusted people access to photos, files and messages. To set it up you’ll need an Apple device with a fairly recent operating system — iPhones and iPads need iOS or iPadOS 15.2 and MacBooks needs macOS Monterey 12.1.

For iPhones, go to settings, tap Sign-in & Security and then Legacy Contact. You can name one or more people, and they don’t need an Apple ID or device.

You’ll have to share an access key with your contact. It can be a digital version sent electronically, or you can print a copy or save it as a screenshot or PDF.

Take note that there are some types of files you won’t be able to pass on — including digital rights-protected music, movies and passwords stored in Apple’s password manager. Legacy contacts can only access a deceased user’s account for three years before Apple deletes the account.

Google

Google takes a different approach with its Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to share your data with someone if it notices that you’ve stopped using your account.

When setting it up, you need to decide how long Google should wait — from three to 18 months — before considering your account inactive. Once that time is up, Google can notify up to 10 people.

You can write a message informing them you’ve stopped using the account, and, optionally, include a link to download your data. You can choose what types of data they can access — including emails, photos, calendar entries and YouTube videos.

There’s also an option to automatically delete your account after three months of inactivity, so your contacts will have to download any data before that deadline.

Facebook and Instagram

Some social media platforms can preserve accounts for people who have died so that friends and family can honor their memories.

When users of Facebook or Instagram die, parent company Meta says it can memorialize the account if it gets a “valid request” from a friend or family member. Requests can be submitted through an online form.

The social media company strongly recommends Facebook users add a legacy contact to look after their memorial accounts. Legacy contacts can do things like respond to new friend requests and update pinned posts, but they can’t read private messages or remove or alter previous posts. You can only choose one person, who also has to have a Facebook account.

You can also ask Facebook or Instagram to delete a deceased user’s account if you’re a close family member or an executor. You’ll need to send in documents like a death certificate.

TikTok

The video-sharing platform says that if a user has died, people can submit a request to memorialize the account through the settings menu. Go to the Report a Problem section, then Account and profile, then Manage account, where you can report a deceased user.

Once an account has been memorialized, it will be labeled “Remembering.” No one will be able to log into the account, which prevents anyone from editing the profile or using the account to post new content or send messages.

It’s not possible to nominate a legacy contact on Elon Musk’s social media site. But family members or an authorized person can submit a request to deactivate a deceased user’s account.

Passwords

Besides the major online services, you’ll probably have dozens if not hundreds of other digital accounts that your survivors might need to access. You could just write all your login credentials down in a notebook and put it somewhere safe. But making a physical copy presents its own vulnerabilities. What if you lose track of it? What if someone finds it?

Instead, consider a password manager that has an emergency access feature. Password managers are digital vaults that you can use to store all your credentials. Some, like Keeper,Bitwarden and NordPass, allow users to nominate one or more trusted contacts who can access their keys in case of an emergency such as a death.

But there are a few catches: Those contacts also need to use the same password manager and you might have to pay for the service.

___

Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.

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Tech

Google’s partnership with AI startup Anthropic faces a UK competition investigation

Published

2 weeks ago

October 24, 2024

Anne Joseph

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s competition watchdog said Thursday it’s opening a formal investigation into Google’s partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.

The Competition and Markets Authority said it has “sufficient information” to launch an initial probe after it sought input earlier this year on whether the deal would stifle competition.

The CMA has until Dec. 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation.

“Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world,” the company said. “Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don’t demand exclusive tech rights.”

San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company has focused on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed last year to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic, which has a popular chatbot named Claude.

Anthropic said it’s cooperating with the regulator and will provide “the complete picture about Google’s investment and our commercial collaboration.”

“We are an independent company and none of our strategic partnerships or investor relationships diminish the independence of our corporate governance or our freedom to partner with others,” it said in a statement.

The U.K. regulator has been scrutinizing a raft of AI deals as investment money floods into the industry to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom. Last month it cleared Anthropic’s $4 billion deal with Amazon and it has also signed off on Microsoft’s deals with two other AI startups, Inflection and Mistral.

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