Best Shark Dive in the world?

Valerie Taylor called Beqa Adventure Divers'  "Shark Dive",  "The best shark dive in the world!". That is high praise from one of the most respected shark divers in the industry and given the fact that we at Shark Diver pride ourselves in offering our divers the best shark diving experience possible, I just had to go and check it out for myself.

After a 10.5 hr. flight on Air Pacific, I arrived in Nadi, Fiji at 5am, where a Taxi that the dive shop arranged, was waiting to take me to Pacific Harbour, a 2.5 hr. drive away. So right away I was impressed with their service and couldn't wait to find out, how their dives would stack up to my high expectations.

The pearl resort

But before I would get to dive, I had to check into the Pearl South Pacific Resort, to get some much needed rest. After a good night sleep and a nice breakfast from an awesome breakfast buffet at the resort, I was ready to go dive.

Bull shark stopping in front of me

The free shuttle from the dive shop picked me up at the front desk and drove me over to Beqa Adventure Divers, where I boarded the "MV Predator", a modern, very comfortable and fast hydrofoil dive boat, that took us out to the dive site in about 15 minutes. The water conditions were a little rough and I was worried that some passengers would get seasick, but the boat handled the choppy seas amazingly well and we barely felt the motion of the ocean and nobody got sick.

After a detailed and informative briefing, we suited up to do our first shark dive. Even though I've been diving with anything from Great White-, Hammerhead-, Tiger- to Leopard-sharks for the last 15 years, I felt like a kid in a candy store and was all excited to finally meet the Bull sharks of Beqa.

Bull Shark coming close.

We descended to 100ft. where the Bull sharks were waiting for us. Did I say Bull sharks? ..... I meant to say a ton of Bull sharks. There were way too many sharks to count. My best guess would be that we saw at least 70 sharks. I took a picture that shows 34 sharks in one frame, and it is not showing all the sharks that were beside and behind me. I was grinning from ear to ear. When a big, 10-12 ft female came right up to me and pretty much stopped right in front of my lens, I was thinking that Valerie Taylor may not have been exaggerating. This dive was awesome!

The best safety stop in the world!

We ascended to a shallower depth, where the divemaster was feeding the reef sharks, before we ascended to about 15 ft for our safety stop. Now for all of you who think a safety stop is boring, you haven't been doing the "Shark Dive" with Beqa Adventure Divers. This safety stop featured a divemaster feeding the White- and Black-Tip reef sharks, with Grey reef sharks circling behind us. We had dozens of sharks swimming around us, trying to get to the tasty morsels being handed out by the divemaster. This is easily the "Best safety stop in the world!"

I surfaced and just couldn't wipe that smile off my face. This was unbelievable! It wasn't over yet, there was still the second dive. After a nice surface interval, where "Papa" the divemaster told us a bit about Fijian history, we descended to 60 feet for our second dive.

Divemaster feeding Bull shark

This dive featured the divemaster hand feeding the Bull sharks right in front of the divers. The set-up is awesome. The divers lay on their stomachs, behind a ridge in the reef and the divemaster is right in front of them, just a little below, feeding the sharks. The sharks come up to the DM, get a tuna head and then swim up and right in front of the divers, making for great pictures and an incredible, safe and close encounter with those magnificent Bull sharks. After the hand feeding, the DM drops tuna heads down to the sharks and they show off their feeding behavior to the lucky divers, watching them.

What an experience! I have to say that I'm definitely partial to "my" Great White Sharks at Isla Guadalupe and get more excited every year to go back and visit them, but this dive is definitely not to be missed. Shark Diver is proud to announce that we will start offering trips to Beqa next year.

I hope you all will come and join us!

Cheers,

Martin Graf
Shark Diver

About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.

PEOPLE. This is NOT how you treat a Roombah!

 Hat Tip (we think) to Da Shark for the You Tube Freak Out you are about to witness:



About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.

Marshall Islands "They Be Burning Shark Boats!"

50 sharks. That's all it took for a Hong Kong fishing company to receive the following from the Marshall Islands who recently declared all of their waters a Shark Sanctuary:

1. One burned boat (TBA)

2. $120,000 fine

3. Permanent banning from the Marshall Islands

A long line fishing boat has been fined 120,000 US dollars and banned from fishing in Marshall Islands water for violating the country’s ban on shark finning.

The Marine Resources Authority Director Glen Joseph says the shark fins and skins confiscated from the vessel that fished under the aegis of the Marshall Islands Fishing Venture will be publicly burned in the near future.

Marshall Islands Fishing Venture is part of the Hong Kong-based Luen Thai Enterprises, which operates long line fishing operations in Majuro and other parts of Micronesia to export sashimi to markets in Japan and the United States.

Shark fins and skins from an estimated 50 sharks were discovered on board the long liner during a regional fisheries surveillance enforcement program in February.

Mr Joseph says they will not relicense the vessel to fish in Marshall Islands waters.

He says the message they want to get out to anyone operating in Marshall Islands waters is that they are serious (about the shark ban), and it is the law.

Meanwhile, Marshall Islands Fishing Venture manager Derrick Wang says it regrets the actions taken by the captain of this particular vessel, and appropriate actions have been taken to ensure future incidents with this vessel and other vessels under of it will not happen.

News Content © Radio New Zealand International
PO Box 123, Wellington, New Zealand

About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.

Greatest White Shark Diving Image Ever?

Behold. Juanmi Alemany's master shot from the cages of Shark Diver at Isla Guadalupe, Mexico.

While tens of thousands of images from this site are floating around, this one we absolutely love for reasons that run the gamut from energy, to action, color and scale. If you ever wanted to know the last thing an unlucky seal sees...this is it. Kudos to the artist and the shark - click image to expand to full glory.

About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.

NO. FREAKING. WAY.

Alexander Polli. Respect.



About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.

Bimini Bull Run Trip Report April 2013

“This is by far the best hotel in Bimini unless you want cookie cutter places. Must do: Shark Tank!! Please remember you are on”

We did the Living Social Deal that offered the Baleria shuttle leaving Miami Friday morning staying at BBC and returning Sunday evening.

The boat ride over was the "vomit comet". North winds made it so rough it was horrible! Many, many people got sick. Finally arrived and it took another 40 minutes to get our bags and get off the boat.

Arrived at the Big Game Club and was met with cool AC, friendly staff, and complementary punch. Once we got our room (101) which was clean, big, and the patio was right off the pool and tiki bar.

Be aware of the restaurant. Patience is needed (all around the island). We call it Bimini Time. The portions are HUGE. You can easily share a meal (I had the seafood sampler $19 and it was good) and there is 18% ALWAYS added on food and drinks.

A MUST:::: The Shark Tank was FANTASTIC!! Words cannot describe this. We had 6 sharks inches from our faces. Amazing smaller fish, a barracuda, and a big stingray (briefly) were also there.

I will be back here for sure!! Staff was friendly, helpful, and honest. Rooms were big, clean, and welcoming. The pool was clean and well kept and there were a few hammocks in the shade.

About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.

Joe Saba's Floridian White Shark Problem?

Credit Joe Saba

"This pic was taken at popular fishing/dive wreck, the Eagle, off of Islamorada in about 90' of water!"

That's the caption to this remarkable image on Facebook today and yes that's a big white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) apparently cruising around in Florida waters.

Is this a problem? 

Not really for us sharky folks this is way cool, in fact a chance of a lifetime to be cageless with a wonderful shark species like this in pristine water conditions. 

Not like this video encounter a few years ago again in Florida waters at 170' feet. Spooky would best describe this chance deep water encounter. We love our whites but we also love our white sharks in clear water conditions when we have the advantage - somewhat;)

About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.

The Cretin's Guide to Commercially Killing Sharks

Don't get me wrong I am all for shark research. Having personally sponsored at least one ground breaking shark project for a number of years at Isla Guadalupe anyone who knows me knows I love fresh shark data.

But when does widely available shark data become a road map for commercial shark harvest?

In the hands of commercial fishermen who read english and who have access to basic Internet, it would seem the last secrets of many sought after shark species are now available to just about anyone.

Case in point my email box was hit with this recent report from Live Science that read Sharks Dive Deep Under Full Moon:

"Over the course of nearly three years, researchers from Australia observed 39 mostly female grey reef sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) living near coral reefs in Palau, Micronesia, east of the Philippines. In the winter, the sharks stayed closer to the surface, at an average depth of 115 feet (35 meters), where water was consistently warmer, the team found. Meanwhile, the sharks plunged deeper in when seasonal temperatures started rising in the spring, averaging depths of 200 feet (60 meters)."

Wow, really?

Alright, so if I am a shark fishing boat, and I happen to be in and around coral reefs in Palau, Micronesia, and east of the Philippines (not north, south or west) all I have to do is set my hooks to 115 feet and clean house?

Oh, and when water temps rise drop them to 200?

Conservationists who have never worked a long line vessel (I have) have no idea that data like this often means the difference between a full hold and nothing at all. I might even posit the fact that some sets occasionally come back empty are the sole reason why some shark species have remained protected in certain high traffic areas.

Hooks were set too shallow or too deep and sharks survived.

Fact is fishermen do not have the financial incentive to reset and reset and reset on areas based on hunches that key note species might be available to them. They go with what they know, set and hope for the best.

Once though a species is "dialed in" you know where, when, and how to harvest them, there's nothing saving these critters from total annihilation. Word gets around quickly in the fishing community and data like this is a road map...treasure map is more to the point.

So it remains an open question, is the wholesale release of shark data good or bad for shark species?

I am 45 years old, I have lead an extraordinary life and seen far too much of humanity to believe for one instant that a commercial fishing boat would "do the right thing" and not capitalize on any specific data that gave them the back door to a key note species castle.

Sadly, life is not as altruistic as this, and it is high time this issue was addressed by the larger shark research community. Setting up firewalls with data would be an easy thing to do. The only thing missing in this equation is the desire and leadership.

Note: I have suspicion these sites may or may not be located in and around Shark Sanctuaries. Da Shark will be pointing that out shortly. I also have a dim view on sanctuaries that do not also feature robust enforcement. That debate will play out over the next decade. Irregardless, specific depth, time and location data for target sharks just makes the desire to run a sanctuary even more enticing when you know your full hold is just 115 feet away.

Cheers,

Patric Douglas
Founder
Shark Diver
Currently enjoying semi-retirement

About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.

Blackfish?

We heard about this one two years ago when the underground film buzz said there was something "unique and balanced" in the works about Tilikum the Killer Whale.

The result is Blackfish. For all intents this film hits all the marks. Kudos.

Go see it before Sea Shepherd posts it's all new press release, "Shepherding The Cove and Blackfish" because you know that is coming...they just cannot help themselves.



About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.

Rumble in the Research Jungle - Domeier vs Fischer

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. If so this picture says everything about Fischer Productions and their brand of shark research. 

(We had some prescient words about this image back in 2009.)

Fischer's program series is so lofty that it has ensnared almost every known asset in the shark community and created seismic fault lines everywhere it has gone. And it has gone everywhere.

You are either for Chris Fischer or against him, and many of those who have joined his merry band of televised shark rock stars have the scars to prove it. 

Many of the sharks this program has featured also bare scars of their own as well.

For the record while many in the commercial shark diving community were running to Fischer to supply him with everything from whale meat to shark cages my direct response to his request for a shark cage in 2010 was -"Go Fuck Yourself Chris". 

I rather enjoyed that phone call.

I have never been one to mince words with folks I find disagreeable - it's one of my better traits. I find many who would put their public declarations for sharks by the wayside for a few minutes of televised fame even more disagreeable. But that is the nature of film and tv these days.

I once thought (call it an evolution) that science and tv could be married together to deliver the best and brightest to waiting audiences. Then the major cable players started cutting doco budgets, slashing and burning them in an almost Visigothic manner until a 60 minute show was left with a budget of $150,000 and that included post production.

What do you get for $150,000 or less?

You get Gurney Productions and sharks. There will always be someone who is willing to drop their pants and chain wrap a Tiger shark, and film it, (yes ABC that's you buddy) for a few film credits and the chance to film the next piece of shit that comes down the chute.

But I digress. Sorry about that, Emma is fine now, her chain scars are healed, and the low rent cabal who enjoy swimming in effluent are on to other shows. God bless them, someone has to do it.

This post is about another evolution I am having and that is of Dr. Michael Domeier.

This week the whole Fischer Shark Men thing blew up on Mike Da Sharks Blog and for the first time I read an in depth response from Dr.D to what happened out there in 2008 at Isla Guadalupe and the Farallones.

If Dr.D has been reticent about posting, he should do more, not less of it.

It takes a lot of cojones to get up and set records straight. I am of the mind if those who are trying to take you down are beneath you or they pose little threat over the long term because they eventually destroy themselves, you sit and watch. It's amusing to watch, trust me.

But, in the case of Fischer, and the research career that has been sidelined by bombast, self aggrandizement, a PT Barnum lust for the media that overshadows everything?

Oh no, no no no, you have to get up and Rumble in The Jungle and set a record, otherwise it gets set for you, and kudos to Dr.D for setting that record this week.

I am beginning to actually like the good doctor once again and that's another evolution. There's an Act Two here that Dr.D is about to realize having been through the crucible of out of control productions and Titanus Egoist, he may well become a spokesperson for film and tv, or something that fits both worlds.

The fact is production budgets will never come back, so someone has to create the actual research that can be done for the few paltry production shekels being offered. Science on the cheap can be done, and it can be educational, but it requires a PhD to pull it off.

Something to think about.

I am if nothing an optimist who fervently believes that change can happen and good things can come if people think out of the box. Dr.D is good man who got cashiered by a true used car salesman, you could see that train wreck a mile away, but his voice, now the ooze is off the rose, could lead to great things.

More please, and kudos to Mike for stirring that pot.

Oh, I know the industry HATES us bloggers, always poking into things best left alone and our multi syllabic ways of getting points across.

But if there is any good to be had of Shark Men it is Act Two for Dr.D and I have a feeling that his Act Two will be a good one...I have a way of prognosticating these things, and they tend to come to pass, so we'll see you on another blog post in two years.

Go get 'em Dr.D.

PS1: Shark Alley  has some words...and as per usual they made me laugh.

"The most challenging experience one will face during a career in white shark research is being suckered into working with someone that is a dick.  Like a one-night stand, they/their projects may look attractive and say all the right things, but then you wake up and realize that you’re some wrinkly married man’s mid-life crisis."

Cheers,

Patric Douglas
Founder
Shark Diver
Currently enjoying semi-retirement

About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives (yeah we built a few) Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.

Video: Shark Named "Compy" - Tip Dorsal Fin Blog

Video Transcript:

Whoa!....Holy Shit!....Oh My God....Woooo!...Ho!...Ohoho!...Woo!....Hahaha!




About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.

Guy Harvey Leads Isla Mujeres Expedition To Deploy Satellite SPOT Tags to Study Mako Shark Migrations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                        Contact:          John Bell

                                                                                               prseitz@bellsouth.net

                                                                                                954-766-2794

Guy Harvey Leads Isla Mujeres Expedition To Deploy Satellite SPOT Tags to Study Mako Shark Migrations

           

DAVIE, FL— APRIL 9, 2013— The tagging and tracking of shortfin mako sharks in late March off the coast of Isla Mujeres, Mexico is expected to provide scientists with remarkable and previously unknown details about the timing and long-distance migratory movements of this vulnerable species in the Atlantic Ocean.

An expedition headed by the Guy Harvey Research Institute (GHRI) at Nova Southeastern University, tagged mako sharks with the satellite reporting SPOT tags. Unlike the more commonly used pop-up satellite PAT tags, SPOT tags should provide multiple and more accurate daily detections, providing scientists with a high resolution view of the migration patterns of this animal.

For a visual snapshot of the expedition, go to https://vimeo.com/63367194

Given the high fishing pressure on makos for their fins and meat, this species is showing declining population trends in parts of its range, which has resulted in the species being listed as “Vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List of threatened species.

Last year a shortfin mako shark dubbed “Carol” in New Zealand was tagged with a SPOT tag and is showing an amazing journey that has covered nearly 9,500 miles over ten months, averaging 60 miles per day during some parts of her migration.  GHRI collaborated with the New Zealand National Institute of Water an Atmospheric Research (NIWA) on the tagging of “Carol” and three other mako sharks off New Zealand.

Internationally known marine artist, scientist and conservationist, Dr. Guy Harvey, who returned to Isla Mujeres for the second consecutive year, described the most recent expedition in his online blog, which can be found at http://www.GuyHarvey.com/guys-journal.

Shark biologist Dr. Brad Wetherbee with GHRI and the University of Rhode Island, angler and WTVJ NBC 6 weather anchor Jennifer Reeves and Emmy Award winning producer/cameraman George Schellenger accompanied Dr. Harvey. The team worked with Captain Anthony Mendillo of Keen M International.

Dr. Mahmood Shivji, Director of the GHRI at Nova Southeastern, said the newly tagged shark, named “Jen” for Jennifer Reeves (who caught the shark), can soon be followed on a new website combining all tracking projects into one integrated portal.

 “The public interest in GHRI’s shark movement research has been amazingly strong,” said Dr. Shivji, who reported that the New Zealand online mako satellite-tracking site has received nearly 73,000 unique visitors over the last seven months, equating to an average of over 10,000 unique visitors per month.

“We hope to replicate the tremendous success of our New Zealand research in the Atlantic,” said Dr. Harvey. ”Now we have a new group of Atlantic makos to follow which should reveal much new information on their seasonal movements in our part of the world, including the route that they take and distances traveled.”

About the Guy Harvey Research Institute at NSU:

Established in 1999, the Guy Harvey Research Institute (GHRI) at NSU is collaboration between the renowned marine artist, scientist and explorer, Dr. Guy Harvey, and Nova Southeastern University's Oceanographic Center. The mission of the GHRI is to provide the scientific information necessary to understand, conserve, and effectively manage the world's marine fishes and their ecosystems. The GHRI is one of only a handful of private organizations dedicated exclusively to the science-based conservation of marine fish populations and biodiversity. The research, education and outreach activities of the GHRI are supported by the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, AFTCO Inc., extramural research grants, philanthropic donations by private businesses and individuals, and NSU. http://www.nova.edu/ocean/ghri/index.html

About Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation: 

The Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation is a leader in international efforts to protect our oceans and marine environments. The GHOF advocates for sustainable fishing practices, funds inspired scientific research and supports innovative educational programs. Our principle objective is to help ensure that future generations will enjoy and benefit from a naturally balanced ocean ecosystem where fish and other marine wildlife flourish. GHOF has led or assisted include the establishment of a shark sanctuary in Bahamian federal waters, the addition of five species of sharks to Florida’s protected list and the enactment of the U.S. Billfish Conservation Act. In the fall of 2012, the GHOF led a petition drive in support of the National Conservation Law in the Cayman Islands. The GHOF also assisted the launch of the first catch-and-release fishing tournament in Venezuela.

About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.

To Save Everything...Click Here

With the success of CITES this year and the listing of several new ocean species the next step for conservation is enforcement.

Regional fishermen and fishing interests are slow to adopt CITES agreements, and set aside areas are often plundered for quick returns regardless of species listings.

Dive Sentry was created to address these problems:

There are an estimated 22 million divers worldwide, of those "active divers" about 1.2 million take regular dive trips around the world to experience the oceans.

Many of these divers recreate in places that are considered Bio Sphere reserves, or Sanctuaries of one form or another. Of these divers many witness regional fisheries abuses like long lining in Coco's, and nets in Galapagos. They often take videos and images of these abuses but are told not to report these events by dive operations who are likely to be negatively impacted by regional politics should their operation be labeled as the "whistle-blowers."

Dive Sentry is engaging our greatest resource for conservation, 1.2 million eyes on the ocean.

Additionally, Dive Sentry automatically allows divers to submit formatted reports and to contact regional fisheries agencies of violations, these regional and international contact lists are updated quarterly. These user generated reports include real time videos and images of netted, finned, and long lined animals.

In an age where millions of square miles are being declared as Shark Sanctuaries without any enforcement or monitoring budgets, Dive Sentry looks to be the eyes and ears of these set aside areas to realize conservation change by highlighting abuses in a real time and very public format.

Intent and Purpose 

The Dive Sentry website has two components to it making the reporting of fisheries violations both anonymous and effective and will enlist the media by providing a real time RSS feed and posted reports. The first section is the reporting section. Divers are asked to submit reports by well defined regions with drill down to actual dive sites like Cocos. Each regional report will auto send uploaded video and images to various regional fisheries agencies responsible for fisheries monitoring and enforcement. These reports will be anonymous, the divers and the operations on which they witnessed the violations will remain secure.

Dive Sentry will actively help the individual diver both with the formatting of the violation report, and providing tips how to shoot effective images and video for enforcement and the media, such as vessel identification numbers, time and date of the violation, species reports, and flag recognition.
 
Dive Sentry will also post all reports on the homepage with an RSS reed for the media along with a geographic tag and free use of images and video with submitted reports. The Dive Sentry website will be linked to all social media outlets and will include an iPhone app that will allow divers to take images and video and submit reports from anywhere in the world, including docks, marinas, and land based outlets selling fresh and dried products.

The media component will be essential. Typically the media is far too busy to chase down reports of fisheries violations. Additionally compounded violations are hard to track. With Dive Sentry a lasting record of repeated geographic violations within set aside areas will be realized. Imagine the impact of just one years worth of video and images of long lining, gill nets, and dead animals on the seafloor attributed to one set aside area.

We all know that poaching happens, we are aware that set aside areas are repeated violated by operations that operate in the shadows. Dive Sentry seeks to alert the world to these violations by exposing them to the media and in a place where, over time, people can connect the violators to the site, and perhaps provide the overwhelming evidence to those who should be monitoring and enforcing these sites that something must be done.

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words.

Imagine a world where 1.2 million words are compounded by 100,000 images and video that are all fed to a waiting regional and international media.

Welcome to Dive Sentry. Created in 2011 for the future of the oceans.

If you see it. Report it.


About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.

Bimini Shark Video from CJ Brooks - Awesome!

It's unique shark videos like these that reveal the absolute best of the island of Bimini, Bahamas.

Kudos to CJ Brooks for this amazing look at a genuine shark wonderland.

  Sharks of Bimini from CJ Crooks on Vimeo.

About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.

Bimini Bahamas Hammerhead Diving - Epic!

About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.

Paul Watson 'enclosure' plans in Japan 'flawed and misguided'

By Andrew Tafferty, Staff Writer, The Age 

A Japanese underwater cameraman's plans to capture eco fugitive Paul Watson so tourists can throw rotten butter at him in Japan has infuriated conservationists, who said claims the scheme would create peace and harmony around the world "do not add up".

Daito Suzuki, a camera  operator for Ninkei One, wants to build a 20,000 square foot enclosure in Taiji, Japan that includes an exact replica of the Steve Irwin for Watson to inhabit.

Visitors would pay £65 each to gain access, and an additional £65 to throw rotten butter at Watson just like his television series Whale Wars. The money would be used to fund real conservation organizations like PEW Trusts.

But a group of conservationists and wildlife charities, including Save Captain Crunch in Britain, called Mr Suzuki's plans "flawed and deeply misguided" and have urged authorities in Japan to halt it.

The scheme's opponents deny Mr Suzuki's claims that Paul Watson is an insufferable media loon who would best be kept in long term enclosures like the one being proposed in Taiji, where his daily rantings and crazy antics could be watched by paying clients for their amusement.

"The conservation arguments for this project do not add up," said David Ottley, Japans coordinator for Sea Shepherd.

"You cannot tell me that Paul Watson who is known to enjoy lavish Hollywood fund raising parties with $75.00 sustainable appetizers, can be happily confined to a 20,000 foot enclosure with an exact replica of the Steve Irwin, with no possible escape from tourist stress, no ability to feed naturally, nor seek out the natural conditions that suit him at different times of the year, nor have Internet access."

The enclosure, south of Higashimuro District, Wakayama, Japan and close to popular tourist beaches, would double as a marine rescue and rehabilitation centre, Mr Suzki said.

"This is not some hoodlum misthought project, my opponents are misinformed," he told The Age.

"We have been working on this for more than ten years, since Paul Watson first started to try and shut down Japan's scientific whaling, it's a million-dollar investment and we have the support of some of Japans leading conservationists and the JWA."

Some proceeds from the profits of money earned from tourists would also pay for displaced Sea Shepherd crews to process cashew nut shells into oil at factories in Japan.

Mr Suzuki is waiting for final approvals from  Japans National Environmental Management Authority, which is expected to decide whether the project should go ahead next week.

About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.

Filming Sharks in Bimini - A Cautionary Tale

Yesterday we watched the antics of a film crew in Bimini harbor swimming around at a boat dock across from us with baited Bull Sharks in an attempt to place a "fin cam" on the back of an animal.

Sadly, as they discovered, the shark site they chose has many faults. It is too shallow, the light is iffy, it's sitting off a sand bar so the vis is usually terrible on the outgoing tide (when you get sharks), and one of the town sewage outflow pipes runs right through it.

It takes some measure of bravery to snorkel in the raw sewage from "Home Week" we were impressed.

The issues are simple facing film crews who want to shoot sharks in Bimini harbor. We have taken careful stock of these issues in the design and implementation of Bimini Bull Run from site selection, to water depth, to fidelity of animals. This site and these sharks are for specific film projects - not all.

Safety, sharks, and looking at the shark resource in Bimini Harbor as a long term investment in Bimini, it's people, and the animals is what BBR is all about.

Swimming with these animals outside of cages and attempting to feed them at the same time is absolutely contrary to any kind of long term success with these wonderful resident animals. It is also disrespectful to the people of Bimini who call this harbor home. 

Seriously, the level of arrogance exhibited by this crew who knew nothing about these animals was broad by even film industry standards and it didn't go unnoticed by those who were observing.

Like Tiger Beach, if these animals were to be conditioned to swimmers/divers and bait, that combo in a harbor setting will have dire consequences.That's why we designed the cage system for BBR with a removable face panel for filming and it is open to all - whoever you are.

We want to see safe shark interactions, we also want to see great production values. Amateur hour baiting and interactions at the dock across the way will get you no where in the long run.

Fact is we have been doing this a while and we know what works, we are sorry you didn't get your fin cam placed, but we could have told you that in advance - if you had asked.

Lastly about putting tech on any Bull Shark here in Bimini. Go through the Shark Lab first and bring them into the production space for projects like these.

We did it with a South Korean crew last month, fact is they have been here the longest, they know the sharks better then any of us and it shows a measure of professionalism and respect to reach out to the Lab.

So enough said. Our site is available to you and anyone who is interested. We chose the site well knowing that there would be a few who would take swimming in raw sewage over working with us, but that's the nature of the shark film world. 

Ego's aside everyone, safety and production values should be foremost considerations, they are with our crew and always have been. You are either doing crap fly by night productions with sharks or you are serious about your craft. For those who choose the latter, go somewhere else, for those doing serious work you'll soon discover that Bimini is a shark wonderland filled with possibilities.

If you actually want to get Bull Sharks in Bimini Harbor we're here to help.

About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.

Bimini Bull Run - Pristine Conditions, Let's Go Shark Diving!

Setting up the shark site this morning;)

The crew is here in Bimini on a few projects this week. After a looong night last night of fresh conch and Kaliks we woke up this morning to perfect conditions at the shark diving site we call Bimini Bull Run.

It just does not get much better then 100 foot vis and lots of sharks.


We also have a bunch of soon-to-be shark divers lined up to meet the "resident sharks" of the Bimini Big Game Club at the worlds only dockside shark diving attraction.

The new cage we installed also has film and television capability and you'll be seeing a lot more of that in action in the coming months.

Let's go shark diving!

About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.

New Shark Blog in Town? 'Bout Bloody Time

Da Shark has discovered a new shark blog and after just two posts we have become fans.

Of course that's also after a few Kalik Beers at one of our favorite Out Island Bahamas watering holes that happens to have crackin' Internet.

And why, you might well ask, would we be fans of another shark blog? It's in our DNA to celebrate and welcome those who are willing to share a voice for the industry and for our sharks.

In case you require proof there's this here, and this here (got some heat for that one) and more if you look (beers getting warmer by the minute).

This new shark blog hails from South Africa and the central hotbed for shark diving and shark conservation in Gansbaai. And may we say it's about bloody time someone grew a pair of steaming hot bolas and got on to the Internet to blog about South African shark diving.

Fact is if you do a Google search for Gansbaai most of the shark media is coming from mainstream sources and this is Gansbaai people, "the cradle of the shark diving industry." Thank god we got ourselves an actual industry blogger with, apparently, a sense of humor who understands nuance and the complex world of the commercial shark diving.

Some advice from an old shark blogger who has enjoyed over 1.8 million page views and who would really like to see your new shark blog survive and flourish past the industry standard 8 posts:

1. Post from the heart - don't give a shit about conventional wisdom, stay away from any dive show that features, "industry leaders," and blog like you care. Fact is those who have formed an opinion about you did so years ago based on hearsay and group chatter. They are as irrelevant as the latest regulator innovation (now in PINK) and as useless to the industry as a third teat.

2. Post smart - don't be an idiot. Along with posting from the heart comes the responsibility of posting smart, make sure you are leading with some ideas, solutions, and ways of looking past the "today meme."

3. Post with legacy - be aware that blogging is really all about putting out a soapbox and letting anyone with an opinion have that opinion based on what you have written. If it is controversial it will get a lot of traction, if it is bland no one will care, so something in the middle will be your legacy, these will be the posts you are remembered by.

4. Facebook shark people are idiots - yes they are, they do not read past 15 characters and usually respond to moronic images from 2005 of puppies being fed to sharks with the title, "Sign this petition to stop Chinese from feeding puppies to sharks." Those Facebook posts get over 15K responses and every single person on those threads are...idiots, well meaning but idiots none the less. If you cannot see past the hype and feel compelled to "like" every half baked image of bikini clad bimbettes riding sharks or headgear challenged industry folks finger banging a Tiger shark you are not helping the industry much.

5. Post and post and post - don't stop posting because that's what's needed in our industry. Independent voices and strong ideas, direction, focus. Explore and shout your thoughts out, always give props where they are warranted, always feel free to point out those who are taking a global industry and dragging it into the gutter or bringing it up from the dark ages with smart ideas.

6. Ideas are dangerous - remember that one. If your smart posts are met by industry folks with with monosyllabic grunts and whistles it will give you some indication of how the cream (the pure expressions of ideas) always rises while all the rest ends up in the dustbin of history. 

Lest you be tagged as a Trash Talking Blog Dog own it. It means that you are being read and your ideas are reaching those who just might take your ideas to heart making a global industry a better place in the process.

Cheers,


Patric Douglas
Founder
Shark Diver
Currently enjoying semi-retirement

About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.

Southern Stingrays Gateway Shark Diving and Conservation?

There's a new paper from Guy Harvey's team about Cayman Island's hugely successful wild animals encounter, "Stingray City" and what rampant and uncontrolled commercialism of species does to feeding and movement patterns.

Oh and it's not good, in fact it reads like an old school NY Mob Indictment:

"We saw some very clear and very prominent behavioral changes, and were surprised by how these large animals had essentially become homebodies in a tiny area," says study co-author Mahmood Shivji, director of the Guy Harvey Research Institute and NSU Oceanographic Center professor, who led the study."

Ok, so we knew this was an issue going back to 2009 but what of the broader implications of this report?

Equally not good, not good for tourism, not good for the Cayman Islands, and not good for commercial shark diving.

Shark diving you ask? Yes.

Commercial shark diving has struggled over the past decade for relevance and acceptance in the broader tourism space. Resorts and developments still do not want shark diving in their waters but might consider a home spun Stingray City as a gateway to shark diving down the road. In fact we know of three large chain resorts and two cruise lines who are in development stages right now for wild encounters with Stingrays based on the Cayman model.

We have no doubt that a few will drop out of planned Stingray encounters based on this report and that has implications for commercial shark diving. It might be suggested that sharks are also being conditioned in a similar manner - you know that old chestnut.

Regardless, for resort and developments to accept commercial shark diving they must first become accustomed to for profit wild animal encounters that directly benefit the resort, not a third party tourism offering, but an actual on site encounter model.

You may also ask why it is important for resorts and developments to even care about commercial shark diving. Because once they become invested in the oceans they also become good stewards of the oceans. Resorts foster and protect sustainable and revenue generating tourism offerings, so to have resorts care about regional shark populations - is a net positive for sharks.

What's happening at the Caymans is rampant and unchecked, the study results show as much, but consider the lost opportunities of those who now will not choose to engage in wild animal encounters based on raw data vs a best practices outline which tempers wild animal encounters with common animal protocols.

Wild animal encounters are not a perfect match. They never have been, some are better then others, some, like the Caymans, are in desperate need of hard and fast rules and regulations. One thing that is not up for debate is the continuing and evolving need for broad based best practices leadership in the wild animal encounter space.

A road map if you will, covering all species that might be commercialized. We have it for manatees, we have it for whales and dolphins, we even have it for whale sharks.

Stingrays? Anyone?

About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.

Shark Sanctuaries: The HEPCA Enforcement Roadmap?

We just found this website and we have to say it's a great idea and perhaps an actual solution or stop gap measure to the question of shark sanctuaries and enforcement.

Welcome to the fine folks from HEPCA who have had enough of sharks being taken from the Red Sea and are on a "name and shame campaign" to put a stop to it.

It's a fine concept that needs a little help, like a Facebook side, and a smartphone app, and an actual website that enables divers and boaters to submit real-time reports and images of sanctuary violators direct to government agencies.

Come to think of it maybe a site like Dive Sentry which is basically an in depth version of what the folks over at HEPCA are moving towards?

Regardless, it is good to see this kind of non NGO push for safer sharks, kudos to all.

BTW Dive Sentry is still looking for a good NGO home, it's ready made and ready to roll, know anyone who has the need?

PADI Project Aware, we're looking at you guys.

About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.

Fiji Leading the Shark Pack - Cool Research

Has it been a decade over there in Fiji? 

Looks like it and now we have research driven data as well.

The kind of data that helps an entire industry grow, the kind of data that Fiji and the Team at BAD are so good at initializing and producing - quality work.

If you thought today's blog post from Fiji and Da Shark was celebratory, you were correct, and congratulations are in order as well for the entire Fiji team who have fearlessly, "done their own thing," and in doing so laid out a template for sustainable shark diving the world over.

We have long been fans of BAD and Da Shark, and no we're really not secret investors, we just have an eye out for excellence in the shark diving community and Fiji consistently fires on all cylinders when it comes to commercial shark diving, conservation, and research.

So Kudos to all for this latest paper and another continued decade of adventures to all:

Opportunistic Visitors: Long-Term Behavioural Response of Bull Sharks to Food Provisioning in Fiji
Juerg M. Brunnschweiler, Adam Barnett

Abstract

Shark-based tourism that uses bait to reliably attract certain species to specific sites so that divers can view them is a growing industry globally, but remains a controversial issue. 

We evaluate multi-year (2004–2011) underwater visual (n = 48 individuals) and acoustic tracking data (n = 82 transmitters; array of up to 16 receivers) of bull sharks Carcharhinus leucas from a long-term shark feeding site at the Shark Reef Marine Reserve and reefs along the Beqa Channel on the southern coast of Viti Levu, Fiji.

Individual C. leucas showed varying degrees of site fidelity. 

Determined from acoustic tagging, the majority of C. leucas had site fidelity indexes greater than 0.5 for the marine reserve (including the feeding site) and neighbouring reefs. However, during the time of the day (09:00–12:00) when feeding takes place, sharks mainly had site fidelity indexes smaller than 0.5 for the feeding site, regardless of feeding or non-feeding days. 

Site fidelity indexes determined by direct diver observation of sharks at the feeding site were lower compared to such values determined by acoustic tagging.

The overall pattern for C. leucas is that, if present in the area, they are attracted to the feeding site regardless of whether feeding or non-feeding days, but they remain for longer periods of time (consecutive hours) on feeding days. The overall diel patterns in movement are for C. leucas to use the area around the feeding site in the morning before spreading out over Shark Reef throughout the day and dispersing over the entire array at night. Both focal observation and acoustic monitoring show that C. leucas intermittently leave the area for a few consecutive days throughout the year, and for longer time periods (weeks to months) at the end of the calendar year before returning to the feeding site.

About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.

Behind Blue Glass - Got $5.99 For Some Quality Shark Time?

Of course you do. In fact you will spend on average of $80 on non essential items today that have nothing to do with sharks, or shark conservation, or filing you head with amazing shark video.

That all changes now. 

David Diley (one of the good ones) has released his latest film and yes, you have to pay for it as nothing is free, but it promises to be filled with sharks...and that got our full attention:

"For years some of the largest Great White sharks ever landed, were caught off the coast of Mallorca, sometimes less than one hundred metres from popular tourist beaches. These captures abruptly stopped after the second largest White Shark ever caught was brought back to the dock by fisherman, Xisco Perez. The year was 1976, the year Steven Spielberg's JAWS was released in Spain.

The story has remained largely untold outside of Mallorca until now, David Diley explores why, along the way taking seven unwitting volunteers into the deep, to show how important sharks really are, how shark encounters are actually a positive thing and show the world what is truly at risk.

This was the first film I ever made and features content never before seen on TV, including eyewitness accounts from the people who were there. Behind Blue Glass premiered to a packed room in Portals, Mallorca, in May 2011, after its DVD release earlier that year."

Extra bonus footage provided by Richard Theiss and Lawrence Groth.

Buy it here now before the VIMEO servers crash when the rest of the world comes rushing in.

About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.

CITES Well Done - Sharks Get a Break

Five species of sharks and two species of manta rays will now be subject to international trade regulation under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES, a move that could save these threatened species from total collapse.

The required two-thirds of the 177 CITES member governments voted to protect these animals—the oceanic whitetip and porbeagle sharks, three species of hammerhead sharks, and the two species of manta rays—marking an increase in the number of sharks protected by CITES from three to eight species.

"This is a major win for some of the world's most threatened shark species, with action now required to control the international trade in their fins," said Susan Lieberman, director of international environment policy at The Pew Charitable Trusts.

"This victory indicates that the global community will collaborate to address the plight of some of the most highly vulnerable sharks and manta ray species. Today was the most significant day for the ocean in the 40-year history of CITES."

Lieberman added that the gridlock created by those who oppose such controls has been broken. Sharks are primarily traded to Asia for use in shark fin soup. Manta rays are caught and killed for their gill rakers—the part used to filter their food from the water—to make a purported Asian health tonic.

"The tide is now turning for shark conservation—with governments listening to the science and acting in the interest of species conservation and sustainability," said Elizabeth Wilson, manager of Pew's global shark conservation campaign. "With these new protections, oceanic whitetip, porbeagle, and hammerhead sharks will have the chance to recover and once again fulfill their role as top predators in the marine ecosystem."

Pew added that this commitment by the global community to shark conservation needs to be fully implemented and enforced, and should be coupled with national and regional efforts to ensure a sustainable future for these and other top ocean predators, all of which are critical for the health of the wider marine ecosystem.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, 143 shark species are threatened with extinction, but few management measures exist to protect them.

Votes from Committee I on Monday 11^th March:

OCEANIC WHITETIP The vote was 92 For (68.6%), 42 Against, 8 Abstentions (and was taken by secret ballot).

HAMMERHEADS The vote was 91 For (70%), 39 Against, 8 Abstentions (and was taken by secret ballot).

PORBEAGLE SHARKS The vote was 93 For (70.45%), 39 Against, 8 Abstentions (and was taken by secret ballot).

MANTA RAYS The vote was 96 For (80.7%), 23 Against, 7 Abstentions (and was taken by secret ballot).

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/03/13/5261350/pew-applauds-unprecedented-conservation.html#storylink=cpy

About Shark Diver. As a global leader in commercial shark diving and conservation initiatives Shark Diver has spent the past decade engaged for sharks around the world. Our blog highlights all aspects of both of these dynamic and shifting worlds. You can reach us directly at sharkcrew@gmail.com.