I got this response from the person who says he took the photos that I posted in this blog.
Here is what he said: "Hello Martin,
I am the owner of those images and I was very surprised to see them on
the blog article you posted. I would like to ask you to immediatly
remove them from the web as well as the comments that concerns them-
which dont correspond to the reality in that specific situation. The
person who is facing the shark had to push the shark away as it was a
very intrusive personality and he touched it as little as he could and
the dive was aborted immediatly.
I don't want the images to be used in a provocative way when they don't
reflect the reality of what happened. And I especially don't condone or
encourage physical contacts with sharks, but in this specific instance,
it could not be avoided by the diver- as I said, he got out of the water
right away after the occurence.
I am looking forward to hearing from you soon,
Thank you,
Jean-Marie Ghislain"
I removed the pictures from the blog at his request. When posting the pictures, I linked the source, which is a blog, discussing what's going on at Isla Guadalupe, which I believed to be covered under the fair use of a picture. I'm sorry for the mix up.
As to how Jean Marie Ghislain describes the incident, it confirms my statements, that diving outside of the cages is a bad idea. It's not the shark that was intrusive, I mean, it is in his own space. It's the divers that were intruding into the sharks home! Aside from it being a bad idea to go outside the cages, it is also illegal!
Cheers,
Martin Graf
CEO
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 staff@sharkdiver.com
The shark diving industry blog covering sharks, shark cage diving, shark conservation and things we find "amusing" since 2008 www.sharkdiver.com, www.sharkdivers.com, www.divingwithsharks.com
Friday, March 28, 2014
What is going on at Guadalupe?
The secret is "out of the cage" now! The news has traveled all the way to Fiji! "da shark", just wrote this blog on diving outside the cage and manhandling great white sharks at Isla Guadalupe.
It has gotten worse and worse over the last few years. What started out as going outside of the cage, has gone all the way to touching, riding and even trying to flip a great white shark. It seems like some unscrupulous operators are trying to "out-crazy" (if that is even a word) themselves, always looking to top what they did the last time.
Pictures like this and this (I removed the actual pictures by request of the photographer)
are not what we want to see coming out of Guadalupe! They are nothing but self promoting, "Look at me!" kind of stunts, that do nothing to help shark conservation, but everything to hurt it. What's next? Do a dental exam with a cleaning?
Mike got it right when he says "Somebody commented on another post somewhere else,
We at Shark Diver completely agree with Mike. We are diving with great white sharks at Isla Guadalupe and would never allow any of our divers to leave the cage, leave alone touch or handle the sharks.
We also dive with bull sharks in Fiji. We don't use cages there, but do absolutely not allow any of our divers to touch or handle the sharks.
In the Bahamas, we dive with tiger sharks. Again, we don't use cages, but would never allow any of our divers to touch, flip or harass those sharks.
Some people are skeptical of us in the shark diving industry and make wholesale accusations, that we are doing anything for money. Let me assure you. Shark Diver has turned down many individuals, as well as film companies, who wanted to do some of the stupid things we are talking about here.
If you are curious about sharks and want to experience what it is like to come face to face with them, if you want to learn more about the sharks and want to dive with a researcher, if you respect those sharks for the predators they are and don't feel the need to touch, ride, flip or harass them, then we are the company for you. If you want to do the things we are talking about here, go somewhere else! Actually, I take that back, I would prefer you'd stay out of the ocean!
Cheers,
Martin Graf
CEO
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 staff@sharkdiver.com.
It has gotten worse and worse over the last few years. What started out as going outside of the cage, has gone all the way to touching, riding and even trying to flip a great white shark. It seems like some unscrupulous operators are trying to "out-crazy" (if that is even a word) themselves, always looking to top what they did the last time.
Pictures like this and this (I removed the actual pictures by request of the photographer)
are not what we want to see coming out of Guadalupe! They are nothing but self promoting, "Look at me!" kind of stunts, that do nothing to help shark conservation, but everything to hurt it. What's next? Do a dental exam with a cleaning?
Mike got it right when he says "Somebody commented on another post somewhere else,
Could not agree more.
Like a high stakes game of musical chairs, (that person) is at the end of a long record that has been playing for almost a decade. When the music runs out someone will find themselves and the sharks in a completely untenable situation. There will be plenty of blame to go around.
We at Shark Diver completely agree with Mike. We are diving with great white sharks at Isla Guadalupe and would never allow any of our divers to leave the cage, leave alone touch or handle the sharks.
We also dive with bull sharks in Fiji. We don't use cages there, but do absolutely not allow any of our divers to touch or handle the sharks.
In the Bahamas, we dive with tiger sharks. Again, we don't use cages, but would never allow any of our divers to touch, flip or harass those sharks.
Some people are skeptical of us in the shark diving industry and make wholesale accusations, that we are doing anything for money. Let me assure you. Shark Diver has turned down many individuals, as well as film companies, who wanted to do some of the stupid things we are talking about here.
If you are curious about sharks and want to experience what it is like to come face to face with them, if you want to learn more about the sharks and want to dive with a researcher, if you respect those sharks for the predators they are and don't feel the need to touch, ride, flip or harass them, then we are the company for you. If you want to do the things we are talking about here, go somewhere else! Actually, I take that back, I would prefer you'd stay out of the ocean!
Cheers,
Martin Graf
CEO
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 staff@sharkdiver.com.
The killers just off our shores!
Here is another stellar piece of journalism! The "Mail Online" has an article with the headline "The killers just off our shores"
Now what creature do you think they are talking about? Shark diving, swimming with sharks,
.... yep, a blue shark. In the article they state two things.
1 "The recent heatwave is thought to have brought killer blue sharks closer to the coast of Cornwall than ever before"
and
2 "Swimmers aren’t in danger from these sharks. They are highly unlikely to bite humans."
Hmmm, say what? Killer blue sharks that are not a danger to swimmers!? Now I know about sensationalistic headlines, but contradicting your headline in your article seems to be something any self respecting journalist should avoid!
The article also has plenty of pictures of those "killers", calmly swimming amongst humans.
The article also incorrectly states that 4 people have been killed by blue sharks in the last 5 years. According to the international shark attack files, there have been 5 fatal bites since 1910! So aside from contradicting his own headline, the author shows a complete lack of interest in getting his stats correct.
Cheers,
Martin Graf
CEO
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 staff@sharkdiver.com.
Now what creature do you think they are talking about? Shark diving, swimming with sharks, .... yep, a blue shark. In the article they state two things.
1 "The recent heatwave is thought to have brought killer blue sharks closer to the coast of Cornwall than ever before"
and
2 "Swimmers aren’t in danger from these sharks. They are highly unlikely to bite humans."
Hmmm, say what? Killer blue sharks that are not a danger to swimmers!? Now I know about sensationalistic headlines, but contradicting your headline in your article seems to be something any self respecting journalist should avoid!
The article also has plenty of pictures of those "killers", calmly swimming amongst humans.
The article also incorrectly states that 4 people have been killed by blue sharks in the last 5 years. According to the international shark attack files, there have been 5 fatal bites since 1910! So aside from contradicting his own headline, the author shows a complete lack of interest in getting his stats correct.
Cheers,
Martin Graf
CEO
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 staff@sharkdiver.com.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)