Evaluating Online "Teasers"

Earlier this year this blog and a few others within the industry commented as a seemingly anti-industry "professional hit piece" aired on You Tube.

Called "Shark Divers" the piece had all the elements of ugly shark media at a time where two of the industries top shark encounters sites Isla Guadalupe and Hawaii are under siege by government agencies and a pervasive anti-shark diving lobby. This was not what the industry needed or asked for.

This week over at the Paxton Brothers blog an in depth second look at this piece. As it turns out what aired this spring was an "online teaser." The full film now called "Shark Business" is 50 minutes of pretty good story telling. The risks vs rewards are a fine balancing act this piece manages to convey - all wrapped up in a tense assortment of clips and scripting that unfortunately are what sell to networks.

You can read the Paxton's take on it here.

You can watch "Shark Business" here.

Island of The Great White Shark Documentary

ISLAND OF THE GREAT WHITE SHARK – UPCOMING SCREENINGS

“Island of the Great White Shark" - RTSea Production's recently completed documentary chronicling the great white sharks of Isla Guadalupe, Baja and the ongoing shark research taking place there, can be seen in upcoming screenings, with filmmaker Richard Theiss in attendance at the following aquariums:

March 30th - Aquarium of the Pacific "Divers Day", Long Beach, CA

May 5th - New England Aquarium, Boston, MA

June 18th - National Aquarium, Baltimore, MD

Stay tuned, more aquarium screenings are being scheduled and the film will be available on DVD shortly.

"A primal scene of unearthly beauty. Excitement and information pepper this film." - David McGuire, Sea Stewards

“Beautiful videography, good graphics and information.” - Dr. Bob Hueter, Mote Marine Center for Shark Research

"Richard Theiss has a unique ability to communicate science, conservation and entertainment." - Ania Budziak, PADI Project Aware Foundation

“We absolutely loved the film.” - Liz and Kevin Sullivan, Pacific Explorers Dive Club

Shark Cages: Worldwide Distribution

There's an old saying in the shark world "You only get one chance".

With that in mind Shark Diver has just shipped another complete set of shark cages...destined this time for the Caribbean.

Here's three reasons why we build and ship more shark cages than anyone else in the industry:

1. Quality. When it comes to commercial grade shark cages and divers well being we take care of business. "Safety" is not just a commercial tag line on our websites. In fact-our fabrication teams must also dive in the very cages they build for us. It's unique way to ensure quality control

2. Flotation. Floating cages need to be stable. That's why we engineered a flotation system that has been adopted by 99% of the entire Isla Guadalupe white shark fleet. Gone are the days of Home Depot PVC pipes that degrade in a marine environment. If you're going to trust your life to PVC you are working with the wrong crew. Our flotation systems come from a marine environment and are designed to last.

3. Shark Crews. All Shark Diver cages also come with seasoned shark crews to help you get the most out of your shark cage systems. We have traveled from Alaska to Mexico, the Caribbean and beyond with our private shark cages. Our cages are even currently in use in Tahiti.

Safety, Integrity, and Adventure. That's Shark Diver cage systems.

Jaws Star Dead at 75

Who didn't like Roy Scheider, the geeky tough guy town sheriff from Jaws?

In a movie that had more eco-blow back for sharks than any single movie on the planet, his was a legacy that no one could have imagined.

From the LA Times:
He probably will be best remembered for his role as Martin Brody, the water-shy police chief in "Jaws" (1975) who uttered the immortal line: "You're gonna need a bigger boat," after seeing the size of the shark. He once lamented that the role "will be on my tombstone.

To his tribute, and as a reminder of how far we have come in the understanding of Great Whites here is that fateful scene from 1975 that sent us and 25 million others out of their pools, lakes, ponds and oceans for an entire summer:

Great White Shark-South Africa

We can file this latest video under WTF!?

According to Ze German News, a 500 kilo (small) great white shark jumped into a tourist boat in South Africa (where else) and the whole thing was caught on tape. Three things come to mind when you watch this video:

1. German newscasters are hot
2. These tourists all look like they are ready to come home
3. Where's the crew?

If this had been our crew they would have grabbed the shark, tossed it back in, and then jumped in with the shark...hey, it's a living:

Hard Science: Ano Nuevo

Nicole Teutschel is with the TOPP's team at Ano Nuevo Island just a few short miles down the coast from the Bay Area in Northern California.

The site of an abundant Elephant Seal colony, she and her team have been tagging these simply huge pinnipeds with long range sat tags in the hopes of learning more about these amazing critters.

Oh, and Ano Nuevo is also home to more Great White sharks per square inch than almost any other site on the planet as well.

If you have some time to rip through some cool tracking data today have a look at the latest in Hard Science.

We're pretty sure these 2000lb seals just don't roll over to get sat tags placed on them:

Great White Predation Video-Close Encounters

Shot in part by Mexican white shark researcher Mauricio Hoyos at famed white shark dive site Isla Guadalupe in 2007.

This amazing shark video remains one of the highest quality to date, documenting a successful predation on a Northern Elephant Seal.

The entire attack and 700lb seal ingestion took approximately 9 minutes:

Great White Shark Mystery-U.K?

All of England is in an uproar today as photographic evidence, perhaps the first of it's kind, has surfaced of a possible Great White shark (a huge animal) taking a bite out of a seal.

The Sun-A JAWS hunt was on last night after experts confirmed a mutilated seal was killed by a bite from a giant shark.

Scientists say razor-sharp tooth marks show the adult grey seal — a favourite food of great whites — had been mauled in a frenzied feeding session. Experts confirmed the seal was killed by a giant shark after studying close-up photos of the wound.

“It is a very clean cut, and from the size of the chunk, and the serrated tooth marks, it must be something with a very large bite radius like a great white. “The position of the bite mark is also crucial. The seal was bitten from underneath, which is exactly what you would expect because of how a shark takes its prey.”

This is a video from Isla Guadalupe shot in 2007 of a Great White feeding on a 700lb Elephant Seal. From this video it is possible that the seal attacked in the U.K was in fact a Great White, then again, it might be an Orca, or just a fake. Only time will tell: