Shark conservation at Guadalupe?

How many times do we have to put up with those idiots, diving outside the cages at Guadalupe. It seems like every week there is another article, glorifying that illegal activity. The latest installment of "look at me, I'm so cool" comes from "Fins Attached", a non profit out of Colorado, that is supposedly into shark conservation.

In a piece on channel 13 in Colorado Springs, their founder, Dr. Alex Antoniou is quoted as saying
"An ambush predator by nature, researchers have found simple eye contact keeps the massive predators at bay. “As long as you stand your ground and maintain eye contact you’ll see it coming toward us and it’ll just veer off,” Dr. Alex Antoniou, founder of Fins Attached, said."

I guess the good Dr. is still new enough to think he's got the great white sharks figured out. What could go wrong?! But let's assume for a second that the guy is right. Can you tell me, how the guy in the video below is maintaining that eye contact?
 



This is just another idiotic attempt at self promotion. These guys don't care that their actions endanger every other shark diving operator and in turn the sharks themselves. When someone is finally going to get hurt or worse, everyone might get shut down. If that happens, I doubt that the poachers will stay away for long and who's going to look out for the sharks and make sure, their fins do stay attached.

If you want to contact "Fins attached" and let them know, how you feel, you can contact them here.

At Shark Diver we believe that only "safe and sane" diving with sharks can help conservation. These illegal activities are simply publicity stunts and do more harm than good.

Why can't we accept these awesome White Sharks for what they are? They are predators, not harmless pets.

Viewing them from a cage is legal, safe and you get plenty close to the sharks.

Close enough? They swim right by the cages and look you in the eye. No need to go outside the cage and endanger everyone.

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.

Shark sentenced to death?

Strange things are happening in Australia. According to a report on sharkyear magazine and the international business times a shark has been sentenced to death, because of a suspected attack on a diver. "A catch and kill order was issued and staff have been sent to the dive area about 180km east of Esperance to deploy capture gear."

While reading the article I realized, that victim was diving in an area that is known for various species of large sharks "A spokesman for Surf Life Saving said the coast off Esperance was dangerous for divers, as many big sharks are seen in the area on a regular basis. The species of shark is unknown, but both tiger sharks and great white sharks are known to the area."

So how are they going to determine which shark
to kill, if they don't even know the species that was responsible for the attack? Now I can understand the urge to do something to make the ocean safer for divers after an attack, but to just go out and indiscriminately catch and kill a shark doesn't accomplish anything.

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

Chris Fisher and South African Government at its best?

I've been diving with Great White Sharks at Isla Guadalupe for 11 years now. During that time I've gotten to know a lot of people in the field, from dive operators to researchers and government officials.

A lot has changed since we first started our shark diving operation. We've gotten to know individual sharks and learned that they show distinctly different behaviors and personalities. We learned that we didn't need to throw half a cow into the water to attract the sharks. Researchers learned where the sharks migrate to, what kind of tags work and don't work, we all made mistakes and learned from them.  During that time there were a lot of documentaries produced that showed what we learned and tried to educate the public and government officials.

It pains me to see, that after all we learned there is still a "Jaws" perception in the public opinion and governments are ignoring scientific discoveries, and are using drum lines and nets along with targeted shark killings to "protect" the beaches.

Fin mutilated by one of Chris Fishers tags

It's not just the public and governments that don't seem to learn. There are "scientists" that are still living in the past, using antiquated methods to tag and track sharks and seem more concerned with promoting themselves on TV than with doing some real research and protecting the sharks.

Sometimes those misguided government actions target the same shark as do those questionable research methods. A recent drum line catch in South Africa not only killed a beautiful animal, but it also exposed some brutal research methods. The shark that was caught had a dorsal fin that was badly mutilated by an attached transmitter. Chris Fisher, a self proclaimed shark expert with a "research" vessel is responsible for that transmitter. Come on Chris! This is the 21 century, there are better methods to catch and tag a shark. Stop mutilating and killing sharks to promote yourself and your show.

Cheers,

Martin Graf
Managing Director

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.

Really Australia? Again?

Australia is at it again. This time they destroyed a 15+ ft pregnant female Tiger Shark in Queensland!

Here's the article by Peter Hall, The Courier-Mail.

Now keep in mind that this animal has not attacked anyone. Stands to reason that at 15 plus feet long, she's been around for many years. Now if she really was a great danger to surfers, don't you think she would have attacked a few times by now?

They destroyed a magnificent creature, just because she was big and happened to be a Tiger Shark. Sad!

If you look like this, they'll kill you in Queensland

Cheers,

Martin Graf
Managing Director
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.

Has Paul Watson Been Done In?

So, Paul Watson is stepping down as the leader of "Sea Sheperd Conservation Society".

A step that many, myself included, thought would never happen.

Has he finally seen the light?

One could only hope.

He said that he's stepping aside to honor an injunction by a US court, banning him from coming within 500 yards of  and interfering with any Japanese Whaling Ship. On Sea Shepherd's website it states that: "Paul Watson will remain aboard to document the campaign." 

I'm sure that he'll only be documenting and not doing anything else. I mean he's Paul Watson, self appointed enforcer of international law! He wouldn't violate those international laws himself.

Nope, not Paul Watson!

Take his current status for example. He's not really a fugitive from the law, with a warrant out for his arrest by Interpol. He didn't endanger a fishing vessel in Costa Rican waters, when he tried to force them into port, to face the Costa Rican justice system, the same justice system that he's now not really running from.

So why did he really step aside from Sea Shepherd? I suspect is has more to do with a story that got less media attention. The fact that he's being sued by Ady Gil, the owner of the famous ship that was supposedly hit and sunk by a Japanese whaling ship. Ady Gil alleges that Paul Watson ordered the sinking of the ship, rather than bringing it back for repairs, for publicity reasons.

 A video on youtube clearly shows the "Ady Gil" just drifting in the water, alongside the Japanese ship. Then, at around the 19 second mark, the video shows whitewater behind the props, a clear sign that the "Ady Gil" engaged the props and propelled itself into the path of the whaling ship. So it was actually the "Ady Gil" that rammed the whaling ship, not the other way round no matter how many press releases from Sea Shepherd say otherwise.

His stepping aside is most likely an attempt to prevent Ady Gil's suit from potentially getting a lien against Sea Shepherds other ships.

So why do I think that the story about this lawsuit is really important? This is the first time that a big time supporter has come out against him. Someone who's given him a 5 million dollar vessel is now disenchanted by his actions to the point that he's suing him.

Maybe this will be a catalyst for other Sea Shepherd supporters to also take a closer look at how they operate. Hopefully this will signal a start to more support for mainstream conservation efforts. Efforts that can affect real change, instead of just media hype and self promotion. Efforts that have not only lacked financial support, because of money that's going to Sea Shepherd, but efforts that have also been undermined by the extreme and often fruitless actions taken by Sea Shepehrd.

Again, one can only hope, but when it comes to Sea Shepherd's Paul Watson, hope is something that's running in short supply these days.

Cheers,

Martin Graf
Managing Director
Shark Diver
Sharkdiver.com

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.