Shark Diving Industry Thank You to Tourism Minister Gail Gago!

Tourism Minister Gail Gago's new shark plane, this is how you do it folks!

Mention commercial shark diving and we'll show you years of media turmoil surrounding any particular site on the planet.

Except for Fiji.

Most of the media discontent is based on one simple fact.

Regional politicians and tourism officials are usually too timid to stand behind our industry.

In some places politicians even callously use our industry as a wedge issue, calling in and stoking what amounts to media air strikes on operations that have exhibited nothing but 100% operational excellence. Believe it, it happens.

But thankfully we have Australia this week to show the way. 

Tourism Minister Gail Gago has unveiled a new, rare, and forward thinking partnership with regional shark diving operators and airlines to bring more tourists to where the sharks are in the form of a white shark cage diving airplane:

"Ninety nine percent of tourism is marketing, is selling a message. We know that people fatigue to messages very quickly, so the trick is to try to keep creating novel and clever, and new and innovative ways to get your message across", says Minister Gago.

We could not have said it better, and Kudos to Minister Gail Gago from an entire global industry this week.

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Russell Easton...of all the sleazy shark divers

Russell Easton's stolen shark attack image?

The dive industry is a funny place.

For the most part folks are content to experience the wonders of the undersea realm, rinse, and repeat.

Then there are folks like Russell Easton who are a newer kind of diver, ones who are seeking to "make a name" for themselves.

You almost can't blame small minded shark divers like Russell. For the past decade the shark world has schooled guys like him with a never ending parade of stupid stunts with sharks.

We have all seen the images and sadly the videos too.

These shark stunts get picked up by the mainstream press, usually to the somewhat hollow howls of "we didn't know the press was that bad!" and then broadcast all over the world.

Guys like Russell here are just waiting for their chance to be a media big shot.

And they get it from this gal, Alison Smith-Squire, who is a writer, journalist and media agent selling exclusive real life stories to newspapers, magazines and TV. She owns the Sell My Story website Featureworld.co.uk, which was set up to help ordinary people, like our friend Russell, sell their stories to the press for as much as $9000 USD.

Not bad stuff if you can get it.

Problem with this months mega viral "shark attack story" featuring Mr.Easton is the fact that he allegedly ripped the images of him getting mauled by a Tiger in the Bahamas from another diver who was there on the same dive. The one who took these images of Russell in the first place.

It's a bit of an industry blow out right now.

You have Tiger shark image sets that malign a perfectly good and safe shark diving site, the shark attack subject which makes everyone involved look like rank amateurs, and the fact images were stolen, sold to the highest bidder, and then regurgitated onto the main media stage like the stomach contents of an overheated Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus).

By the way Condors are vultures that feed exclusively on rotted matter so we thought the analogy was spot on.

Is there a solution to this?

Probably, if we can get past the howls of "we didn't know the press was that bad!".

We might suggest that Russell appear on some sort of Banned Forever Shark Diving List, his dreams of going to Cat Island should be crushed, and if he ever finds himself at at DEMA with a name tag that says "HI, I'M RUSSELL EASTON," taken out the back and dumped into the nearst trashbin.

Hopefully one that is packed full with the stomach contents of several overheated Andean Condors (Vultur gryphus).

You get the picture, and sadly for the rest of us, we get to clean up what Russell's picture left behind.

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Frazier Nivens - Helping Out a Good Friend!

Frazier Nivens in the center, celebrating the completion of another commercial production in the Bahamas, 2011.

For those who know him they know he's one of the last, truly, great guys in our industry. He's also extremely talented underwater and we have thoroughly enjoyed the time we have spent working with him in the Bahamas.

Unfortunately Frazier suffered a setback this month in the form of a detached retina and whopping medical bill.

The eye will heal and for an underwater cameraman shooting RED this is great news indeed.

The whopping bill is another issue all together.

If you want to help there's a fund that's been set up to help Frazier out. We're in, and with the help of friends, he'll fully recover this setback as well.


Online Benefit Donation Page 

Or checks can be mailed to:

First State Bank
101433 Overseas Hwy.
Key Largo, FL 33037

Make checks payable to: Frazier Nivens Benefit Account

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Sharks and the Global Supply of Oxygen?

Dwindling sharks = no oxygen, the quote that will not go away

It started as a throwaway conservation quote a few years ago.

Completely devoid of any facts, empirical data, or even common sense, it has since snowballed into shark conservations most enduring media quote.

Much to the chagrin of serious shark conservation folks who would rather it go away - forever.

We're talking about the great non debate of Sharks and Oxygen, you know the one:

"If we lose the worlds sharks, we will run out of oxygen!"

The phrase was first uttered in it's most simplistic form back in 2008 during the promotion of the film Sharkwater (go to timeline 3.13). It has since taken on a life of it's own among those who trade in rumor, hysteria, and Facebook tribal gatherings where facts, common sense, and the twisted logic of gasbagging conservation statements are rarely considered.

But consider them we must, because the playing field for shark conservation has changed dramatically since the early days of 2008 and now we have an actual movement on hand, one that is being eyed at by big fishing interests and politicians.

It's a conservation nexus where words matter and facts even more so.

I would like to propose that we do away with or retire this poor excuse for a media quote:

"If we lose the worlds sharks, we will run out of oxygen!" 

Perhaps to be replaced with something a bit more tidy?

Sadly, the gulf between those who are relevant in the shark conservation movement, those who get things done vs the loony fringe who cling to outdated media quotes seemingly designed and crafted by the Paul Watson School of Media WTF!? is growing on a daily basis.

Adopting a straight and universal media narrative for sharks is not only important, it is imperative, if the movement is to stay relevant and frisky into 2013 and beyond.

Brother, you got a good shark quote?

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Last Stand for Sharks January 30th , 2012

Film: Last Stand for Sharks

WHEN

Monday, January 30, 2012

6:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

WHERE

Embarcadero Center Cinema, One Embarcadero Center, Promenade Level, San Francisco, CA 94111

Landmark Theatres

San Francisco, California

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

About Sanctuary: The Last Stand for Sharks
This film portrays the underwater world of sharks and paints a global picture of the threats they are facing worldwide. Globally shark populations are declining, but there is growing momentum to protect sharks. Many locations are recognizing that sharks are worth more alive than dead, contributing both to the economy and the stability of crucial marine ecosystems like coral reefs. Some countries have even established shark sanctuaries throughout the entirety of their waters.

A shark sanctuary is a place where sharks can live and reproduce without the threat of fishing. Since many shark species are migratory, the establishment of small protected areas or breeding closures is not enough to protect sharks that may leave the boundary of safety. Shark sanctuaries present an opportunity to protect sharks over a larger scale before it is too late.

About the Pew Environment Group
The Pew Environment Group is the conservation arm of The Pew Charitable Trusts, a nongovernmental organization that works globally to establish pragmatic, science-based policies that protect our oceans, preserve our wildlands, and promote clean energy. For information, visit http://www.pewenvironment.org/.

About the Coral Reef Alliance
The Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) unites communities to save coral reefs. CORAL provides education, tools, and inspiration to help local communities become passionate environmental stewards of the reefs. Together, we develop well-managed marine protected areas and sustainable businesses to benefit coral reefs and people. For more information, visit http://www.coral.org/.

Registration is required for this event. Use the link below to register. Please RSVP by Friday, January 27, 2012.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

The Pew Charitable Trusts makes every effort to comply with federal, state and local government ethics rules when hosting events. Please make sure that your participation is consistent with applicable ethics rules.

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Shark warning website planned - Cool

Co-Direct of Sustainable Tourism Research and Development at Curtin University, Professor Carlsen is working on an interactive site which would post warning and then sent out that information by email.

Currently, around 100 people have signed up to both send and receive information about shark movements.

"I feel that if I had had some knowledge about the presence of the shark I would have exercised more caution before going into the water."

Do people have information, wonders Professor Carlsen, "particularly whether they're are able to tap into local knowledge and any local sightings".

At the moment, the site is in development, he says. The next stage is to prove the concept.
"We're looking for surfers to sign up to sharkwatch.info. I'm pleased to say we've just hit 100."
The site needs to be interactive and to get the message out in the most effective way explains Professor Carlsen. "At this stage, we're looking at email alerts.

"Further down the track, we could be doing all sorts of things like SMS alerts and dedicated web pages and links to popular sites that surfers use such as Coastal Watch and Sea Breeze and so on"
When the site is operation, people will be able to report a shark sighting and to have that sighting confirmed by others. Professor Carlsen is also hoping to provide maps to specify locations.

"Anyone that signed up and has nominated that beach as one of their local beaches will get an email alert about the sighting.

Complete story here.

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Shark Diver in Afghanistan? Oh, Yeah!

Right next to the bomb shelter, nice!

A good buddy at the Bagram airfield in Afghanistan, home to the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing and several thousand of our hard working military decided to plant the Shark Diver flag week.

As you can see, once again, Shark Diver wins the award for appearing at the least likely and most remote places on the planet.


We now have Shark Diver awareness on two research submarines, on road signs all over Iraq, Bagram airfield, Cuba, and even on the back of a Taiwanese shark fishing boat somewhere in the South Pacific.

Just wanted to let those shark fishing bastards know we're watching them.

Thanks again to the Major, hope you liked the t-shirts we sent to you and your crew. Stay safe.

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For Want Of A Shark - Brilliant Blogging!

Every once in a while along comes some great shark blogging and this week it is our high honor to introduce you to some thought provoking stuff from Deep Sea News and rickmac.

For Want Of A Shark

Causal relationships can be fiendishly tricky. Spend an hour watching any of Star Trek Voyager’s time travel episodes and you begin to understand why the show’s writers often resort to lines such as, “It’s better if we don’t talk about this too much.” Consider another example of causality. I’m hammering-out this post at home with a real doozy of a head cold. My sinuses are completely congested. I can feel a chest full of gunk as I breathe. And my body generally feels achy and sore. Retracing my steps, I might place contraction from surface contact or airborne transmission at work where one of my officemates was complaining last week of “a cold.” Or it may have been aboard the overheated, moist Petri dish of my commuter ferry. Or maybe it was from the plates, silverware, water, or food from any of the restaurants I visited last week.

Not having the Center for Disease Control’s Epidemic Intelligence Service activated at every case of the common cold, I will likely never know the ultimate cause of my dreary, mucus-filled weekend. But I can connect enough dots, enough small actions, to construct a few compelling transmission scenarios that might hold water. The more dots I connect, however, the more provisional and potentially implausible my scenarios might become. Causally, they may seem tenable. But at some point, the casual relationships become so tenuously hair-thin that it simply strains credibility.

Red complete post here.

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Bahamas Tiger Shark Tagging Video

Gotta say we like this video and the current work being done with Tigers in the Bahamas by this entire team. Dr. Mahmood Shivji with NOVA Southeastern University and Dr. Brad Wetherbee with the University of Rhode Island are tracking the animals as part of their research for the Guy Harvey Research Institute.

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Shark Finning Bans by Da Shark

Facts, deeper thought, reality, nooooo!

There's a few folks out there who have had some dim words as of late for Da Shark and his firebrand way of "telling it like it is". Covering a wide range of topics from commercial shark diving to conservation initiatives the reason we like Da Shark and his blog is the simple fact he brings thought to the process.

In a world now dominated with hysterical Facebook conservation postings that offer little in the way of hard facts and drill down analysis, his blog brings the deeper understanding and real world practicality to the issues of the day.

Case in point, this weeks post on shark conservation and shark fin bans. This is about as good as it gets and a great read that will undoubtedly get lost on many who would rather add their obligatory "like" to a picture of a dead shark or "click" a petition that is hard on emotional kick but short on hard facts.

We need more of Da Shark and we are getting it in the form of blogs like Office to Ocean but sadly these are now just "pets tourbillonnant dans les grands vents de la bêtise" in the wider non-discourse out there.

Like it or not, thought matters, as do blogs that spend the time on the issues. You may not like the delivery but for the record, we'll continue to "like" Da Shark and his blog.

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Carl Safina, Dropping the Hammer

What's all the fuss about this fish?

Read Carl Safina's regular blogs on Huffington Post because if you are not a fan yet you soon will be.

For readers of this blog and others on our blogroll you'll note a tendency for irreverent blog posts skewering many of the Titans of Media and the gasbagging program decisions that make up our wildlife programming media landscape these days.

Carl is on board and this week we found him harpooning, with the finesse and grace of Japanese Research Whalers, recent programming choices by National Geographic Wild.

In Carl's cross hairs this week a decision to highlight the take of endangered Bluefin Tuna in a new show called Wicked Tuna. Naturally this show has raised the ire of many in the conservation world, and not the simpleton Green Gotcha ire we recently witnessed with the pseudo anti-lesbian Rosie O'Donnell shark hysteria either.

This is good old fashioned main stream ire that only comes from poor programming choices by Nat Geo and a brand that has devolved in the form of Nat Geo Wild the ugly step child of the wildlife media stage.

Frankly it is refreshing to see this kind of smart, targeted, media push back and kudos to Carl for this post and others. Let's hope 2012 sees more of this from Mr.Safina because every street protest needs a leader out front defining the issues and Carl has a nice way with words.

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Why shoot productions with sharks at Tiger Beach, Bahamas?

Mythbusters 2009 Discovery Networks

Film and television productions have come to realize that Tiger Beach, Bahamas is perhaps one of the best sites to film shark productions on the planet, and for good reason.

Shark Diver has been involved with top rated productions for the past seven years at this unique dive site and we have listed just a few reasons to consider your next shark productions here.

1. Ease of Production

Tiger Beach sits just off the shores of Grand Bahama Island. With top rated hotels for talent and crews like the Old Bahama Bay Resort and Marina as your base of operations and medium sized dive vessels for productions, from concept to shoot day this site has everything you will need. Additionally the Bahamas Film Commission is perhaps one of the most production friendly government agencies in the Bahamas and has gone to great lengths for every production they service to make things happen.

2. Multi-Species Encounters

Few dive sites on the planet can offer guaranteed big animal encounters with Tigers, and even fewer offer multi-species encounters all within a short distance of each other. From Reef sharks to Tigers and even clouds of Lemon sharks, Tiger Beach and the surrounding reefs offer shark filled productions in short order.

3. Dive Site Magic

At a maximum depth of 20 feet Tiger Beach offers an encounter space tailored for novice to serious talent. Visibility at Tiger Beach is 80% blue water, additionally the vast majority of Tiger Beach is white sand bottom allowing for additional objects and production development for larger commercials and product placement. Consider Tiger Beach a blank canvass for commercial productions that seek live sharks in the environmentally friendly environment they develop.

4. Cost Benefit

Most shark productions originate out of the USA. From commercials to documentaries flights, accommodations, and time are of the essence once you decide to do a shark production. With ease of travel to Freeport, Grand Bahama from multiple major airports in Florida the Bahamas makes the most production sense. We like to call this site a one-stop-shop for unique productions.

In 2010 Shark Diver was the driving force behind an award winning Gillette commercial at Tiger Beach, developing the site, building cage systems, talent choices and dive safety crews. In tandem with a top Los Angeles based commercial agency the following Gillette commercial set the bar for live action shark filmmaking and won a prestigious award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Where are you going to shoot your next shark production?

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White Sharks vs Snappers - Great Video!

We have always said the easiest way to find a white shark is to follow the fishermen. It was how Isla Guadalupe was "discovered" many years ago and if you happen to be in Arno Bay, Australia this time of year, finding a white shark is as easy as snapper going fishing.

"A 4 metre great white shark circles the boat waiting for an easy feed as we have a double hook up of big snapper at Arno Bay"

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