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.

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?

CNN and Shark Diver Airs Sunday Oct 30th

Got the following email this week from the fine folks over at CNN.

This fall we were asked to help with a pro-shark conservation piece covering shark fishing and Shark-Free Marinas.

Over the past year we have done four such programs with various media outlets from the US to Brazil in hopes that positive media for sharks helps folks understand the many complex issues sharks are facing.

With our always ready A-List shark crew we headed out to the Bahamas to highlight a place that is doing shark conservation right and shot reef sharks over two days with their show host.

Luke Tipple was gracious enough to carve out some of his busy conservation and filming schedule to guide CNN around sharks and the Shark-Free Marinas. For the past two years Luke has been the Director of the SFMI and the heart and soul of the program. You not going to find a better media spokesman for sharks, delivering sound bytes and hard facts without the hype.

Thanks to Scotty from Blue Iguana, MoonDog, Capt Rob and the rest of the crew for making this important show work under tough local conditions and chum that was peeling the paint off passing cars.

Thanks as well to Old Bahama Bay Resort for once again providing top notch hotel accommodations to wayward film crews from the mainland.

The story airs Sunday, check it out if you get a chance because this is about as good as it gets for mainstream shark conservation footage and analysis.

Also check out Richard Theiss from RTSea Productions who shot footage for the plastics segment.

Hi Pat, 

Hope you're well. 

Our shark story premieres this Sunday at 5; 8pm PST. I'm very happy with the story...only wish I had more than 6 minutes to work with!

All is good here. Rich and I just returned from Belize. We went back to dive the reef off Placencia...large scale development going on and it is starting to trash the reef. 

Best, 
Heather 
CNN

Positive Shark Encounters vs Longline Culls

While Australia races headlong to hunt down and kill a white shark that recently attacked and killed an American diver last week let's take a moment to see how positive shark interactions can change perceptions, starting with the very young.

Note:  If you want to send an email to stop the shark cull here are the folks you need to reach, please be respectful:

Email of Collin Barnett (WA Premier): wa-government@dpc.wa.gov.au 

Email of Norman Moore (WA Fisheries Minister): minister.moore@dpc.wa.gov.au 

Email of William Marmion (WA Minister for the Environment): minister.marmion@dpc.wa.gov.au 

This video from is Compass Key, Bahamas known as the "Shark Diving Capitol of the World," here at least sharks are sources of tourism revenue and when unfortunate encounters with sharks occur, they are not hunted down with indiscriminate baited longlines.

You might say that the Bahamas carries an enlightened approach to sharks understanding that they inhabit the same oceans with us and that selectively removing them when it is politically expedient to do so does nothing to ensure that these rare negative encounters will not happen again.

Tragedies with sharks will always be just that, tragedies.

Our responsibility to the oceans eco system is to work in harmony with sharks. Rottnest Island has a long and storied history of white shark encounters going back to the late 1800's. If there is blame for a tragedy with sharks let's start by asking why dive operations in the area, who know of white sharks at Rottnest, are taking divers into the realm of the white shark.

There's simply no such thing as a "rogue killer shark".

There is, unfortunately, such a thing as poor decision making:

The Value of a Live Shark - Bahamas Productions

Over the years Shark Divers has worked with a number of outstanding film and television productions on shark shows that have ranged from Discovery Channel to Ushia Natural History.

We have also turned down many shark productions like Endemol's "Killer Shark Live" at Isla Guadalupe for reasons that ran the gamut from poor production value to the actual name of the show.

This year we have been busy once again on a series of shark productions in the Bahamas, most notably a Gillette commercial that involved a huge crew and a boatload of dignitaries from the Bahamas Film Commission. Getting to meet the "Queen of Productions," Donna Mackey in person and wrangling sharks together on the back deck was one of the many highlights of this amazing shoot.

When we got the call months ago with a "kernel of a commercial idea," it intrigued me.

How do you produce a main stream commercial that involves live sharks that is scientifically accurate, and commercially valid at the same time, without going over the edge into territory reserved for the moniker Shark Porn?

This was the challenge, additionally we wanted this high value production to benefit a local community as well, so we chose the Bahamas as the target site for shooting. In the end this production bought out 3/4 of a local resort to stage from, and involved many levels of the Bahamian government who had never seen a shark production in action and who were also very interested in the value of a live shark. They joined us on our last day of production to see how a production with sharks was done in the Bahamas.

The commercial value of a shark to ongoing conservation has been talked about a lot recently with several first rate studies coming out on the subject. The Bahamas just recently recognized this and declared all of the Bahamas a Shark Sanctuary a stunning development, but when presented with industry figures of a valuation of $80 million a year for live sharks you can see why.

Often left out of this discussion are film and television productions that drop many millions of dollars into local communities, keeping local business alive, and none more than the Bahamas West End on Grand Bahama, which has seen tough times as of late.

The Production

We always work with the same small production group and we tend to tackle projects that are technically challenging and at the same time exciting to work on. The premise for the Gillette commercial is absolutely "tongue in cheek," it's in the same vein as a recent commercials featuring white sharks and Snickers bars, or white sharks and Nicorette gum. The answer to the question of Shark Porn is to produce a commercial that is based in humor. The outrageous notion of two guys shaving in shark cages with one of them cutting themselves, is so far out there you discount it, until you see the actual sharks. That's the hook.

We were gearing up to do a live shoot and as the old saying goes, "never work with children or animals." You have to rely on the animals to be at the right place at the right time with the right conditions to make it happen. Sometimes it does not, and we know this first hand.

You can watch the Behind the Scenes Reel from this shoot and see the dedication and seriousness we all put into this production. It was always "go time" on the back deck while we were out there.

You also have to have the right crew in place, because there's no way a shoot like this involving as many folks mixing it up with large, wild, sharks has any room for "mistakes," and we take shark diving seriously.

After a decade in this game we remain "shark accident" free and it's one of the reasons productions seek us out time and again. I must say our DP was also one of the best in the field. Johnny Friday is based in La Paz, Mexico and shoots RED, and he's simply amazing. With the time we had on site he utilized every second and got every shot, he also one of the nicest commercial guys I have had the pleasure to work with.

We also had Luke Tipple on site as overall production manager and as one of the talent for this shoot. Luke is a marine biologist, and has been the driving force behind the Shark-Free Marinas Initiative, a conservation effort for sharks supported by the Humane Society, the Guy Harvey Institute, Slash from Guns n Roses and a host of fine folks from all over the shark conservation spectrum.

Day one saw as many as nine Tigers on site, and no Lemon sharks. This, as turned out, was too much of a good thing. By pure coincidence another shark boat three miles away was shooting a Spanish speaking documentary, we knew this after Johnny came up with his underwater comm gear and said, " I hear some guy talking about sharks in Spanish." It became evident that we had his Tigers and he had our Lemon sharks and both groups were in a mini shark purgatory.

Frankly, I am o.k with nine well behaved Tiger sharks on a shark production, but for this one, we needed Lemon sharks and lot's of them. As I like to tell folks on shark trips, "tomorrow is another day."

It was.

Day two was everything we had hoped it would be, thanks to Scotty and crew on the M/V Kate who kept our animals interested overnight, we acquired some 20 Lemon sharks the next day and that, with the Tigers, gave us the limited window we needed for the shoot. But time was running out as a boatload of Bahamian dignitaries was going to arrive that afternoon with the Vice President of BBDO, one of the largest advertising agencies on the planet who was paying for this.

We had to get busy and all we needed were sharks interested in cages.

It took time for the animals to "season up" to the two cages we had dropped the previous day, and as far as chumming we ended up using 20% of the total allotment we had on site. The idea was to appear as natural as this impossible scene could, and that meant limited chum. In fact we had submitted a complete shark site protocol written by Luke Tipple to the American Humane Association which they signed off on. No sharks were to be harmed in any way on this shoot, that meant animals getting into cages, caught on rigging, or any manner of production abuse to the wildlife.

We stand by that at Shark Diver, we're here for the animals first and foremost and it has always been the case.

It was the afternoon when the pure magic happened. For whatever reason, the current, the animals, our team pulled off the extraordinary and we got into a amazing rhythm of animals approaching myself on the back deck and then peeling off to investigate the crew on the seafloor with the cages. This fantastic production scene went on for two hours delivering everything we needed, just in time for Donna Mackey's arrival and her boatload of Bahamians who watched with some fascination at the scene unfolding in front of them.

I have wanted to spend some quality time with Donna on a professional level for several years, ever since we met her briefly in 2006 on a shoot. Donna is Bahamas Film, if you need anything to make your shoot work she is your go-to gal, and the reason why the Bahamas works so well for film productions involving sharks.

She and I ended up wrangling a few sharks on the back deck while we chatted about productions with sharks in the Bahamas and how, one day, the Bahamas might in fact become a Shark Sanctuary, that day has come, and it is thanks in part to the value of live sharks to the Bahamian community.

The final shark commercial is now on national television and we like it. It's a fine line that you tread when you get involved in shark productions. But over the years we have managed to tread that line well, and often, and this commercial is one in a series of shark productions you'll be seeing from us as time moves forward.

As for the crew, I have to say once again guys, from Scotty and the M/V Kate with Blue Iguana Charters, to Luke, Moondog, Johhny, and the L.A based production staff who were top notch, it's been an amazing few years doing magic with you, let's do it all again.

Shark Diving - Tourisms New Dolphin Encounter?

PARIS (AFP) – A single reef shark can be worth nearly two million dollars in tourism revenue over its lifetime, according to a study released Monday by researchers in Australia.

The analysis from the Pacific island nation of Palau shows that sharks -- hunted worldwide for their fins, a Chinese delicacy -- are worth many times more to some local economies alive than dead.

"Sharks can literally be a 'million-dollar' species and a significant economic driver," said lead author Mark Meekan, a scientist at the Australian Institute of Marine Science.

"Our study shows that these animals can contribute far more as a tourism resource than as a catch target," he said in a statement.

Sharks have reigned at the top of the ocean food chain for hundreds of millions of years.

But because they mature slowly and produce few offspring, the consummate marine predators have proven vulnerable to industrial-scale fishing.

Tens of millions of the coastal and open-water sharks are harvested every year to supply a burgeoning appetite for meat and especially shark-fin soup.

The researchers found that the annual value to the Palau tourism industry of an individual reef shark at one of the country's major scuba-diving sites is 179,000 dollars (121,000 euros) a year, or about 1.9 million dollars (1.3 million euros) over the animal's lifetime.

Shark diving accounts for about eight percent of the tiny country's GDP and 14 percent of its business tax base. It also generates more than a million dollars annually in salaries.

In 2009, Palau became the first country in the world to declare all of its territorial waters to be a shark sanctuary, followed last year by Honduras and The Maldives.

The US state of Hawaii, the territories of Guam and the Northern Marianas, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands have all banned the possession, sale or distribution of shark fins.

"Shark tourism can be a viable economic engine," said Matt Rand, a shark expert at the Washington-based Pew Environment Group, which commissioned the research.

"This study provides a compelling case that can convince more countries to embrace these animals for their benefit to the ocean and their value to a country's financial well-being."

About a third of open-water sharks face extinction, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Regional studies have shown that when shark populations crash the impact cascades down through the food chain, often in unpredictable and deleterious ways.

Dermal Denticles, Cristina Zenato, and Anti-Bac?

This week CBS news (not known for pro-shark coverage) was in the Bahamas with the First Lady of Shark Diving, Cristina Zenato, to discuss sharks, dermal denticles and researchers use of simulated sharks skin for new anti-bacterial efforts in the lab and beyond.

It's nice to see pro-shark media coming from the Bahamas especially when a critical push to make the Bahamas a full fledged Shark Sanctuary is in the works by many of the regional stakeholders including for the first time shark diving operations.

Image by Christy Fisher.

Complete article here.

The Trash Talking Blog-Dogs

Last week we posted Carcharhinus longimanus - Bahamas New Shark Rush, an in depth look at how new shark site development and ongoing conservation efforts *might* go at Cat Island, Bahamas.

The Op-Ed was directed at industry members vying for this site and these unique and increasingly rare sharks, 99.3% are estimated to have been fished out of the Gulf of Mexico alone.

At least three websites are now inviting divers to come and dive with Oceanic whitetips in the Bahamas, and at least one operator has responded to last weeks post.

The ideas brought up are certainly worthy of further discussion and even action, if you can get past the label, "Trash Talking Blog-Dogs";)

More trash talking here, Hic Rhodus hic salta indeed!

SDM BLOG FOR...

There has been a lot of blogging going on from the trash talking blog-dogs out there lately. Mostly on how to interact with sharks and how to conduct an eco-business. Here is the deal when it comes to Eco-tourism from my perspective - shark diving tourism, and catch and release shark fishing are the sharks only hope. I am not going to go into catch and release fishing in this blog, but regardless of my opinion, or your opinion, it is a necessary evil. Not everyone is going to dive with sharks, and sport fishing is the largest spenders of trickle down economics in the marine world. So more on them later.

Here is the deal - As I said, Eco-tourism is the sharks only salvation. The reality is, whether you like it or not - Governments do NOT care about sharks, or saving sharks - or the environment - THEY NEVER HAVE, AND THE NEVER WILL! What they care about are two things...money and votes. So if you have a lot of money you can convince the government to protect sharks, by throwing them large sums - then sharks will get some protection. But, if you do not have a shit load of money, then you better have the votes behind you to keep their butts in office. Other than that, they don't care about the cause, they care about their own agendas, and keeping and sustaining their power.

For a government official to care about creating marine protected parks, or shark sanctuaries, they need to have a good reason, and that reason is money - and money now. A goverenment officials term is short so they need to make and steal as much as they can before their term is up, or they get booted out. A shark diving tax is a great incentive that puts money into a government officials pocket today and is a great way to ensure that sharks get protected in the long term. Right now the fishermen are the ones putting this kind of money into the officials pockets, so who do you think they are going to support when it is time to vote?

Anyone who believes that a government official is going to do the right thing is gravely mistaken and by the time they admit it or figure it out, it is going to be the death of the species. So the thing that is going to lead the charge for protecting sharks is creating shark parks, or shark sanctuaries, or marine reserves, or whatever you want to call it. Then bringing in eco-tourism to create a trickle down economy that will benefit and stimulate the local economy, as well as tacking on a shark tax that could go into the appropriate hands to ensure that sharks will remain protected indefinitely.

I think that continuing to protect individual species of sharks globally is a noble effort, but is it enough? Truthfully - I believe that protecting individual species is a bandaid to a much bigger problem. Honestly - Do you really think that an Indian fisherman, or an Asian fishermen in a little panga in a third world country is gonna throw back a full grown oceanic whitetip, or a scalloped hammerhead because CITES has ruled that these species are uncatchable and must be thrown back. Hell no! If they can't sell it, (which they always will be able to, regardless of any CITES ruling), they will just eat it. They are just surviving, trying to feed their families, making money anyway they can. So govenrment meetings and agendas, and conservationists hopes mean shit to them.

I wrote about this back in April but its worthy of a reminder...

-A true conservationists job and efforts needs to go into creating marine reserves, or shark parks, or shark santuaries. Of course these sanctuaries will fly better with officials if there is already eco-toruism in place. (they will see money much faster that way.)

-Another devision of the conservation/eco-operators (joint effort is a must) job is to help create a policing effort to protect the parks. Funding must be created and raised for this very important job. Parks are pointless without protection.

-MORE Eco-operators need to be invited in to help stimulate the economy and creat trickle down economics. This is always the hard part, as shark operators are often greedy and hate to see competion come in. Trust me on this one, I am very well versed in this subject.

-At this point science could be invited in to find out where these sharks are going to breed? Or where these sharks are migrating to when they leave the area. That information could then be used to help create more shark sanctuaries, and the cycle begins again.

____________________________________________________________

The problem right now within the shark diving world, is there are too much politics. No one is communicating with each other, lots of back stabbing, and crying, and I'm right-they are wrong, BS. None of it works. We all don't have to like each other, we don't all have to get along, but if there really is any love for these animals, then we all need to set aside our egos, agree to disagree, and get the fucking job done.

Bahamas Shark Expedition - Good Idea

With the stunning news last month that shark finning was being "looked into" by a seafood export company based in the Bahamas, a counter series of conservation media hits by Wolfgang Leander and others have been highlighting Bahamas sharks as a sustainable resource trying to fend off further shark fin discussions in the region.

Now an expedition with Dr. Guy Harvey and Jim Abernathy is providing a much needed media lift to this discussion by documenting Bahamas sharks.

Good news indeed.

Another Tiger taken in Bahamas - Media Field Day

The sad news of another Tiger shark sport caught in Bahamian waters has turned up a grim discovery and mystery as human remains are found inside:

Coral Harbour Base, 04 September 2010 (RBDF) :

Crew members of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force Enduring Friendship vessel EF-28 boarded and searched a 30 foot Bahamian registered fishing vessel shortly after 11:00 a.m. this morning, some 35 miles south of New Providence.

The search revealed the badly decomposed parts of what is believed to be human remains. The 3 Bahamian fishermen aboard reported that the 12 foot tiger shark they had captured had regurgitated the parts.

The fishing vessel accompanied the EF 28 back to Coral Harbour Base where the predator was dissected and other body parts were discovered. Police were on hand to conduct interviews and collect samples for further processing.

Editors Note: Nothing good for Tigers in the region can come of this grim discovery.

The Shark Con - Industry Backlash and Opportunity?

The Shark Con.

As predicted it has aroused quite a L'orage du merde among members of the shark diving and shark conservation community.

If the litmus test for industry anger and backlash could be measured in email terabytes, then this "documentary" would win all manner of awards.

Having not seen the film but watched the evolution of it within the industry I am struck at how fast some of those involved with the film are running for the hills. Disavowing their on screen presence and soft pedaling their way out the back door.

You either support a film or you do not. As far as media is concerned you are defined by it.

This is a statement we made about this production team and their circle of friends in 2009, and it still stands to this day.

Far too many within our industry try and have it both ways, acting as conservationists and then wholeheartedly endorsing, supporting, and enabling shark productions that, in a time of a well defined shark crises, do nothing for sharks and everything for those that buy and sell shark productions for profit.

There are persistent rumors that some featured in this film had its intent misrepresented on the front end, thereby were sandbagged for their on screen quotes.

Regardless of the films doco circut run and laurels for "being selected," the current news (?) that has many in a righteous fury is that this film is now going to see a prime time run on a major network.

Opportunity?

The opportunity exists for those involved with this film to step back and reconsider.

It is one thing to produce a well researched, well balanced documentary with serious voices who can speak to the often byzantine and complicated issues of commercial shark diving, shark conservation, and shark media. It is another to Michael Moore your way though a tantamount wildlife issue in the time of crises with "colorful onscreen characters."

The Shark Cons responsibility to a wider uninformed audience is to present real and lasting facts.

As the industry knows, the general public, as far as shark facts are concerned will believe almost anything regurgitating factoids about sharks around office water coolers for years to come. It is conservations greatest challenge surmounting these man made hyper perceptions we often see on Shark Week, making The Shark Con an uncertain commodity in a time of wildlife and oceans crises.

Read Public Knowledge, Attitude, Behaviour Towards Sharks and Shark Conservation.

One year ago this same team enabled this production on the Today Show, leaving many to wonder if they possess the media wisdom to truly pull off - The Shark Con:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Shark Week 2010 - Yes I Actually Liked This

Shark Week - You know it is refreshing, after two years of ranting, to actually like a show on Shark Week and this is one of this years stand outs. Is it possible to do mainstream shark productions without the hype?

Yes, yes it is.

This is smart shark television, well done Discovery, well done Stuarts Cove, well done sharks.

By the way anyone who says that commercial shark diving is not good for sharks should watch this piece, this is pro shark, pro industry messaging of the highest order.

Understanding Tigers like Guy Harvey Does

Thanks to the Guy Harvey Foundation and tagging work being done in Bermuda through the invitation of veterinarian Dr. Neil Burnie, who has independently running a tiger shark research effort, the once elusive world of Bahamas tiger sharks is opening up.

Or are they Bermudas tigers?

Recent tagging data is showing a migration pattern that is interesting to say the least.

For the past decade the question of where these animals vanished to periodically was on commercial shark diving operators minds in the region.

Last year Guy Harvey's Dr. Mahmood Shivji, and company decided to find out. They reported back with an in depth discussion on conservation, marine protected areas, and current tagging with Dr. Neil.

Last month a tiger was sport caught in Bermuda setting off a storm of controversy, tigers are also sport caught with relative impunity in Bahamian waters as well.

With this latest data interesting questions about protection for these animals comes up. As commercial shark diving operators ourselves we have long advocated and enabled in depth shark research at the primary dive sites we operate in. Understanding the animals we work with is the key to working with the resource beyond just the commercial which leads to greater protections backed by in depth site data.

Local efforts to shepherd and steward sharks is the hallmark of commercial shark diving in many places worldwide. Kudos to the work being done by Dr.Neil, Guy Harvey, Dr. Mahmood, and others who are in a race to uncover the once secretive world of tigers.

Only good things can come of this latest discovery.

Deadly pursuit: The moment diver comes face to face with killer shark

Only the Daily Mail could come up with a 1970's shark headline like this.

It might even sell a few more papers.

Kudos to underwater photographer Brian Skerry (we're huge fans) for getting in the shark conservation messaging he did and great quotes by Doc G talking about shark declines in the region.

Also continuing fantastic Oceanic White Tip images coming out of Cat Island (just a wild guess) in the Bahamas.

In all a balanced piece with a major media outlet seemingly biased towards selling shark horror and not the actual shark. While the article tries to paint sharks badly the images and direct quotes tell a different story.

Maui Bans Shark Tourism - Million Dollar Mistake

The number one rule for regional tourism is "never take tourism options off the table." This rule looks into the future of tourism destinations and changing public demand. What is not popular today may well be tomorrows latest fashion.

Case in point Florida's disastrous decision to ban commercial shark diving in 2001. At the time anti-shark opponents hailed the decision as a "win."

The number one rule came into play shortly after that fateful decision.

As short sighted Florida politicians, quasi eco groups and media folks congratulated themselves, a smaller celebration in the Bahamas quickly turned into a $70 million dollar ongoing tourism boon for the islands.

Bahamas commercial shark tourism.

Today the Bahamas has the distinction of being the "Shark capitol of the planet," enjoying thousands of shark tourists who flock to these islands to interact with sharks safely, and sustainably. As a side benefit, since 2001, over 300 shark centric film and television productions have been shot here highlighting the Bahamas to millions of additional tourism seekers.

This week the island of Maui banned shark tours in their waters. No great loss it seems as Maui has never explored shark tours in their region, making this decision little more than political grandstanding of the worst kind.

If there's anything to be learned from the Maui decision this week, savvy regional politicians should take heed. Tourists like destination options, and when presented with bans on any tourism option they will flock to the place where they can find that option. These are basic tourism facts, stripped away from rabid anti-shark diving groups who equate sharks with fear, first and foremost.

Florida is one $70 million dollar lost example of that basic tourism principal and now Oahu, with it's thriving commercial shark operations is poised to enjoy the flood of tourism seekers that Maui is turning away.

Is anyone paying attention to the tourism numbers in Maui? Clearly not. On Oahu hopefully politicians can see the opportunity that one short sighted island has presented to them.

Florida politicians showed us in 2001, by lack of vision and poor planning, how ignoring "the number one rule," can hurt the broader economy at large.