Issue Date: July 13th.

From Details magazine:This issue, featuring five sharks in Canadian waters, is fearsomely fascinating.

Despite being demonized by popular fiction and movies, sharks are some of the most fascinating and diverse creatures on Earth. Sharks are also among the world’s oldest surviving species. Their earliest ancestors are thought to have swum the seas at least 420 million years ago.

Canada’s coastal waters serve as a permanent or temporary home to nearly 30 shark varieties. The five we’ve chosen to highlight in this issue, designed by Andrew Perro and illustrated by Julius Csotonyi, have their own unique story.

The endangered white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) – known more dramatically as the “great white” – inhabits Atlantic waters and occasionally travels to our west coast, making rare visits around Haida Gwaii during warm-water events.

Native to Canadian waters, the basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) can grow up to nine metres long on a diet of plankton and other tiny organisms. The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) has also assessed this species as endangered in the Pacific region and as a special concern in the Atlantic.

Once assessed as a special concern by COSEWIC but no longer considered at risk, the blue shark (Prionace glauca) (right) makes its home in the Atlantic.

The slow-swimming Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus) (left), found on the Atlantic side of the Arctic, enjoys a longevity greater than any other vertebrate on Earth, more than 400 years, in fact!

A visitor to our Atlantic coast, the shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus) is the fastest shark on the planet, reaching speeds of 50 km/h or more. from Canada Post:
Canada Post and the Vancouver Aquarium®, an Ocean Wise® initiative, will unveil five stamps that honour sharks in Canadian waters to special guests as well as Aquarium members and visitors on Thursday, July 12. WHAT: Presentation of five stamps featuring sharks found in Canadian waters

WHO:

• Clint Wright, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Vancouver Aquarium, an Ocean Wise initiative
• Jessica McDonald, Chair of the Board of Directors and Interim President and CEO, Canada Post

WHEN: Thursday, July 12, 12:15 p.m. (Media arrival by noon)

WHERE: Vancouver Aquarium
Teck Engagement Gallery (lower level)
845 Avison Way, Vancouver
(Media check in at Aquaquest Reception)

Canada Post is offering an uncut press sheet:

Updated July 12th, from Canada Post:

Stamps celebrate sharks in Canadian waters
New issue showcases mysterious marine creatures

VANCOUVER, July 12, 2018 /CNW/ – Experts note that between 400 and 500 shark species inhabit the world’s oceans and waterways. These fish can be less than a foot long or larger than a bus. From fierce hunters that breach waves and ambush prey, to gentle giants known to nudge kayaks and bask with scuba divers, sharks are compelling and often misunderstood.

Canada Post has released a new stamp issue starring these fascinating yet oftentimes feared creatures just in time for Discovery Channel™’s Shark Week. They were unveiled today at the Vancouver Aquarium®, an Ocean Wise® initiative.

Nearly 30 shark species are native to Canadian waters or known to visit our shores. This stamp set highlights five of them:

• The blue shark is native to the Atlantic and often spotted around Newfoundland, the Bay of Fundy and the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
• The shortfin mako is the fastest shark in the world. It hits speeds up to 50 kilometres an hour, usually when attacking. A visitor to Canada, the Grand Banks off Newfoundland, along the Scotian Shelf, is the northernmost edge of its migratory range.
• The basking shark glides through the ocean open-mouthed, feeding on krill, plankton and fish eggs. This gentle giant has been assessed as endangered (Pacific population) and as a special concern (Atlantic population) by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC).
• The white shark, a threatened species, has seen its numbers decline significantly in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean.
• The Greenland shark lives deep in the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans. One of the longest-living vertebrates, some have reached 400 years old.

The five stamps, designed by Andrew Perro and illustrated by Julius Csotonyi, will be available in a booklet of 10, as a souvenir sheet of all five stamps, a souvenir sheet Official First Day Cover and a dramatic 25-stamp uncut press sheet. The stamps will be issued July 13 and available at post offices and online. They can be ordered online at canadapost.ca/shop.