Do you want to see the big "girls" at Guadalupe in November?

Our 2 science trips for this September have sold out in just a couple of weeks and we have been getting a lot of interest in doing another trip in mid November, when the truly enormous females dominate the waters off Guadalupe Island. 

That interest and the fact that our Great White Shark database is in need of pictures of the big, late season females, we have decided to add a special science expedition from November 11- 16.

We are proud to announce, that  Nicole Nasby-Lucas from the Marine Conservation Science Institute, the scientist that started the Great White Shark photo Id database at Isla Guadalupe, will again be joining us on this special expedition to photograph and identify the large females. She will also be sharing her research with our divers and showing everyone how to identify the sharks. So far the database has over 150 individual sharks identified and some of those individuals have visited Guadalupe Island every year since first being identified in 2001. It is amazing to see how those sharks change in size and behavior.


This expedition is a unique opportunity to participate in growing our database. Should we find a new shark, which is fairly likely during that time of the year, the group will get the opportunity to name the shark. Imagine seeing a shark on a future television documentary, knowing you were there when we first encountered it. All the participants will also get a copy of the photo ID book, containing all the identified sharks at Isla Guadalupe.

The price for this special expedition is $3300 and is limited to 18 divers. We recommend that you book early, since our last two science expeditions sold out in just a couple of weeks.


To book or for more information, call us toll free at 855.987.4275 or 619.887.4275. You can also reach us via email at staff@sharkdiver.com

I hope you can be part of this exciting expedition!

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

Shooting Sharks - New iPhone Housing

This fall I joined our Shark Diver crew and a private yacht for a unique late fall Time of the Titans Expedition to Isla Guadalupe. Late November is when the really big 18+ sized female white sharks prowl the waters of Point Norte looking for unlucky seals.

As luck would have it within two hours we were visited by a simply titanic animal and witnessed something amazing. The underwater footage was being shot by an award winning DP, Kenneth Corben, who was at the island three weeks prior shooting a Ford Commercial with us.

He brought along his latest creation a "bullet proof" underwater housing for iPhone that I got to try out and can tell you it's probably the best underwater housing on the market.

Shark tested at the worlds foremost white shark site, get yours today.

For divers joining us at Isla Guadalupe in 2012 there will be several of these amazing underwater housings for you to try on board. It's as easy as place, snap, and shoot.

Let's go shark diving!

Marlin Magazine Takes on Sharks - Leadership

Marlin is the premier big game sportfish magazine, and many kudos to the editors for taking on sharks and shark sportfishing over the past three years.

The Marlin sport fishing story is one of industry leadership spanning 30 years, with the realization that a once vibrant sport fishing industry and resource (Marlin) was in decline. Members of that community banded together to create, foster, and grow a first class catch and release ethic for the entire generation.

To see members of this community reach out and embrace sportfishing for sharks in a sustainable manner is real leadership and deserves notice.

This month Marlin highlighted Guy Harvey's efforts to bring sportfishing tournaments for sharks into the catch and release mindset.

This growing effort, while featuring the Guy Harvey name, also encompasses a small army of dedicated sportfishing industry leaders and enablers who have been the nuts and bolts of this industry shift.

Exposure by the folks from Marlin magazine is not only helpful, but it takes the conversation about sharks and sportfishing into an industry mindset and about good resource management.

For sharks, and the next 40 years, time will tell if the efforts put forth by many today will in fact slow the tide of loss enough to keep stocks from collapsing entirely.

David Diley and Sharks on Film - Good Stuff

We have been waiting for David Diley's first foray into the world of sharks on film, from the looks of things, a lot of bars are about to be reset.

Here's a sneak peek:

Filmed on location in Mallorca, "Behind Blue Glass" tells the story of Mallorca's history and tradition with the Great White Shark and in which, seven unwitting volunteers come face to face with sharks and in doing so, send out a powerful message in favour of the conservation of these awe inspiring animals.

Coming in Summer 2011.

Dorsal Fin Blog and CBS News?

The Dorsal Fin Blog has arrived.

One of the true marks of any blue blogs ascendancy is recognition by the main stream media.

In this case CBS news.

This week CBS covered a non event with a local white shark in Australia, and used an image to set up their news piece with an image shot by George Probst at Isla Guadalupe several years ago.

George is the man behind The Dorsal Fin Blog.

Does this mean someone at CBS is following The Dorsal Fin Blog?

As long time shark bloggers ourselves, we can say with almost 100% certainty, yes, yes they are.

Now if they would only give him the blog credit for the image.

Save Our Seas Deepwater Telemetry Project

Scientist Edd Brooks with the Bahamas Shark Research and Conservation Program is a busy man.

His recent project could not be more timely with the recent push to make the whole of The Bahamas into a shark preserve.

Expedition Report:

The initial success of the deep water pilot project previously reported before has continued. So far 32 individual surveys, resulting in eighty animals from nine different species: Cuban dogfish (Squalus cubensis), Roughskin dogfish (Centroscymnus owstoni), Smoothound (Mustelus canis insularis), Gulper shark (Centrophorus granulousus), Taiwan gulper (Centrophorus niaukang), Silky shark (Carcharhinus falciformes), Bluntnose sixgill (Hexanchus griseus), Bigeye sixgill (Hexanchus nakamurai) and the Sawtail catshark (Galeus springeri).

However, the catches have been dominated by the cuban dogfish and the gulper shark.

Perhaps the most exciting news is the deployment of pop-up satellite archival transmitters (PSATs) on gulper sharks (Centrophorous granulosus) and the Taiwan gulper shark (Centrophorous niaukang), which will provide the first movement and habitat use data for these animals. Seventeen individual gulper sharks, comprising both male and female ranging in size from 52 – 105 cm and four Taiwan gulper sharks ranging in size from 130 – 156 cm have been captured. With one X-Tag deployed on each of the two species of gulper sharks, the team anxiously awaits the pop off periods of 30 days and 5 months.

Until the recent development of the X-Tag by Microwave Telemetry, Inc. there was not a PSAT small enough to deploy on a smaller species like the gulper sharks. The X-Tag weighing only 40g and pressure rated to 2500m is roughly half the size of the original archival pop-up tag which opens new possibilities for research on a variety of deep ocean sharks, many of which are under 1m in total length. Twelve more X-Tags are planned for deployment on the gulper sharks throughout the duration of the pilot project.

Complete Post.

‘Corkscrew killings’ of seals linked to propeller systems - is it proof?

The Corkscrew Killer Mystery seems to have been solved...for the moment.

You will remember our wine challenge to researchers in the U.K?

The Challenge

Underwater Thrills is officially offering a fine bottle (signed) of 2005 Floodplain Proprietor Red from Napa Valley, California to any U.K researcher who can prove without a doubt that the Corkscrew Killer is in fact a man made object or machine.

Latest Update - The Herald

Researchers at the University of St Andrews have dismissed claims that sharks, killer whales, illegal traps, fisheries or even deliberate mutilation could have caused the “corkscrew killings”.

Since August 2009, 33 dead seals have washed up on beaches bearing a single, smooth-edged cut that starts at the head and spirals down the body. The bizarre lacerations were widely attributed to shark attacks.

However, experts at the University’s Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU), in conjunction with the RSPCA and the Scottish Agricultural College, have concluded the injuries were most likely caused by the ducted propeller systems on ships operating in shallow coastal waters.

The research leader, Dr David Thompson, said: “Investigations have revealed a number of features that show the injuries are entirely consistent with the animals being sucked through large, ducted propellers.

“Our methods included scaled simulations using models that show how the spiral injuries can be created, as well as fine-scale observation of the injuries themselves that show the lacerations were made by the seals rotating against a smooth edged blade, while being dragged past the blade by a powerful force.

“Most diagnostic of all has been the imprint on some animals of the serrated ‘rope cutter’ that is present on most of these types of ducted propellers to stop ropes getting entangled in the propellers”.

To date, most of the injuries have been seen in the Tay and Forth estuaries, north Norfolk in England and Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland.

The injuries involve a severe, sudden and deadly trauma. Both grey and harbour seals have been involved, but the carcasses recovered were mainly harbour seals.

Complete Story.

Dorsal Fin Scoop - Sharks in the Bay Area

The Dorsal Fin Blog got the scoop on a new media piece (NBC) on whites in the Bay Area. Tis' that time of year once again when "The Man in the Grey Suit" prowls the coastlines here:

Shark Diving Trip Report - Guadalupe Island 2010 "White Shark City"

When we got the phone call from Jan Millhauser this year, we knew we had a special mom on the phone.

She was interested in taking her 19 year old daughter shark diving.

What a mom!

Even rough seas could not keep this NY mother daughter pair down for too long when it came to meeting the "Man in the Grey Suit."

This is Jan's 2010 Shark Trip Report:

Ariel wanted to go dive with great white sharks for her graduation from high school. We researched for many of hours till we found “Shark Diver” and they were rated 5 out of five. I have to say the rating was accurate.

We flew on Jet Blue from JFK on an 8:30 am flight that got us to San Diego around 11:30am, after wrestling with local hotels and a mean front desk clerk and a quick trip to the Gaslamp district we got our ride to the dock where we were greeted by a friendly and kind “Horizon Charters” crew who were totally in control and knowledgeable. My fear of claustrophobia and not being able to get to the head (bathroom) in time in case the sea sick patches were not sea worthy was on my mind.

As we were walking to the “MV Horizon” (boat’s name) the crew Mark and Kyle were joking with Ariel and I making me feel like all was going to be just fine. I took my valium on top of the anxiety pill (which did not seem to be working) to get calm, did I mention I was a bit nervous?

This was the first time either of us had been diving, let alone 210 miles off the coast with white sharks!

The 80 foot Horizon had two very large cages on the deck. Upon boarding we met some of the other crew and passengers. Everyone was friendly and supportive. There were a few others with the same fears as I had.

There was Alec (whom I kept calling Eric, he took it in stride) and Lisa his wife from England, Marcus from Ireland, Mark from Canada, Jeff from Tennessee, Steve from Maryland, William from San Diego (who was originally from Panama until he moved to CA at 16; army brat), John from NY with his father Bob from Chicago and Ka-Hay from Hong Kong (best line “I was like what the f@!% is this shit?) That broke the ice for all.

Customs came on the boat went through all the official stuff and then took off for the 16 hour journey to the Guadalupe Islands. Mark and Beth the kitchen crew made us delicious pancakes for breakfast. On the way there we saw whales sprouting but we couldn’t find them so we continued on after a few minute detour whale watching. Spinner dolphins joined us for a while playing in the wake of the Horizon. Two more meals, diving lecture, getting fitted for our wet suits, a few laughs with the rest of our dive partners and of to bed.

We woke up with cages being put into the water and Mark and Beth were taking breakfast orders we had arrived after months of preparation to Isla Guadalupe.

All of a sudden we hear “White Shaaaark”(Ariel was the first person to spot the shark) everyone darted out onto the deck to watch a beautiful great white shark swimming around the boat. It took all the energy of the boat crew to keep all 12 of us from jumping in the water to swim with the shark. His movement in the water was so graceful it was like watching a ballerina dance at Lincoln center. We ate breakfast, lectured on safety rules of appropriate cage entry, exit, picture taking and NO hanging out of the cage for pictures which I must say only a few of the divers actually followed that rule (not Steve, Ariel or myself; we were a naughty shark cage team.)

Martin the Dive Master made a scheduled one hour in the cages one hour out with a half hour for lunch so we got in the cage several times on the first day.

We saw 14 different great white sharks over the 3 days of cage diving.

On my second dive a large great white was coming head in to me and I was just about to do the most “not allowed move” by kissing his snout when my regulator hose broke off my mouth piece and I had to get out of the cage till it was fixed. After I got out Kyle and I were on the side of the boat talking when two sharks had a fight and both breached right in front of us. Of course neither of us had a camera to get it on digital but it will be in our minds eye forever.

I had a few more really close encounters with a few white sharks but none close enough to actually kiss. Most of the sharks came within 1 – 2 inches from the cages.

We were allowed to get in the shark cages before our rotation if we got up early enough. There were a few seagulls swimming in front of our boat when a great white shark came up from underneath it and lifted the bird and its nose right out of the water that someone got video of!

Very cool.

We saw a few sharks 10 – 20 feet below our cages swimming around. We spent one dive where all we saw were mackerel while we prayed for a shark but none came. Steve our dive mate fixed our hoses when they got tangled; we took pictures of each other and played hand games while we waited in the cold water -down time after a hot shark first day. We ate dinner exchanged memory cards to see each other’s video and pictures. The camaraderie was at an all time high and no one refused to share their amazing shark pics.

I got up early to get into the into the cages early and got a wonderful show. A sea lion came up under the boat and to visit our cages. Then he got a visit from a young great white about 9 feet and the seal and shark where playing tag with the seal doing most of the chasing it was amazing. After my allotted time and the first rotation came in a second great white shark came to join the game and we saw a little bit of the play looking down into the water from the boat deck. On our rotations first dive we saw a few great whites not close up but not far either. The second dive we saw nothing and the third dive Ariel and I decided to shower and just watch from the deck, read and relax. It was a very smart move because some rough current was coming in and the cages plus boat started to rock.

Before we left Captain Spencer said we were going to be heading into rough waters. A few of us loaded up on the bonnine and other sea sick pills plus vied for position on the rear deck for a view of the horizon. When we left Captain Spencer drove by the shore so we could see the sea lions and elephant seals then headed back to Ensenada Mexico to go through customs.

As soon as the boat left the cove where we were anchored we ran into huge swells and the boat was getting tossed around. I did not know that a boat could move in so many directions at one time and stay erect. The preventative motion sick patch did not help so we added a 5 mg valium that helped for a little bit but we could not get off the back deck being afraid of losing my cookies.

Ariel suggested we go to our bunk and try to sleep, after being in our bunks for about 10 minutes Ariel grabbed the garbage pail off my bed and put it to good use. Ariel lost it 3 times over a few hours and wound up doing the most puking for the trip. I got sick in between Ariel’s illness and Alec stood by me offering verbal support while his wife Lisa was loosing it down below. However 9 of the 11 of us got seasick and one of the crew did too.

It took us 17+ hours in rough-ocean to make it back to Ensenada, Mexico and boy were we all grateful. Only one person stayed ill the entire trip back but for the most part the ride from Ensenada to San Diego the waves were mild but then again so was our entire food intake for fear of a repeat performance.

Overall we had an indescribable experience that words cannot do justice to. Great white shark diving is an experience that must be done first hand to understand the feeling of euphoria.

Jan and Ariel 2010 Official Shark Divers!

Caught on Tape - Thresher Sharks Hunting

On a scale of cool shark videos this one ranks up there. Purported to have been shot off Pescador Island, it features a Thresher shark hunting with its tail, a unique adaptation and one rarely seen by divers.

Explains why fishermen on the west coast of the U.S, especially off La Jolla shores, often report tail hooking these animals:

Divers, others can do their part to save sharks

Ty Sawyer and Budd Riker get some fantastic conservation quotes this week in an online article about the Maldives and sharks. Kudos to both, great media.

SHARKS. When most people think of being in the water with them, they react with fear. But, if you talk to scuba divers who make a point of seeking them out, they'll react with such words as "graceful, compelling" and even "beautiful."

Ty Sawyer, long time diver and editorial director for Sport Diver Magazine, encountered his first shark at 15. In the 32 years since, his passion for diving with sharks has not waned.

"Given any opportunity, I will jump in the water with sharks," says Sawyer.

"It is absolutely thrilling to see this well-honed ancient predator in the water doing its thing. When you see them in action the water becomes electrified and it is hard to take your eyes off of them."

As with many terrestrial apex predators like tigers and lions, sharks have an inaccurate, bad reputation. The more we learn about sharks, the more we learn it's not we who should fear them, but they who should fear us.

What sharks need is our understanding, not our fear. This goes beyond understanding their behavior, but also their value. There is no better way to gain that understanding than by seeing them in their own habitat. You can only do that by diving. Many who dive with sharks, like veteran diver and underwater photographer Budd Riker, discover that they are graceful and powerful animals, more curious than ferocious.

Image by Christy Fisher

Read more here.

Guy Harvey Ultimate Shark Challenge - NBC News

Changing conservation paradigms are never easy. It takes out of the box thinking and those that are willing to lead - putting reputations, careers and personal relationships together to effect lasting conservation change.

The diverse group of thinkers and industry folks behind the Guy Harvey Ultimate Shark Challenge are members of a unique cadre of conservation game changers. The GHUSC went off without a hitch this weekend to acclaim both within the conservation world and with tournament fishermen up and down the East coast of the USA and beyond.

The goal? Change the way the sport fishing world considers sharks.

One of the reasons why the Shark Free Marinas have been full supporters of this new conservation paradigm along with partners at the Humane Society USA.

Tonight NBC News had full coverage of this event with reporter Kerry Sanders:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Rep Jon Riki Karamatsu - Conservationist!

NOT!

What a difference a few days can make. As it turns out Hawaii's historic vote on a complete ban on shark fins was unanimous and the critical vote of Rep.Jon Riki Karamatsu went for the bill instead of against it...

...and then in a stunning display of flip-floppery Riki Karamatsu turned against the bill he just voted for and tried to kill it.


For one brief moment we had thought that Riki Karamatsu had demonstrated real conservation leadership in Hawaii. We dreamed that Riki might be the kind of leader who would listen to all sides of an issue but when it comes to issues about the environment, animal cruelty, and unsustainable practices Mr.Karamatsu understands and acts.

Sadly he's just a hack politico who will waver and waffle when important bills are in play pandering to whoever he can to get a vote or two.


DO NOT VOTE for this man and is race for the Lieutenant Governors seat in Hawaii.When the chips are down, Karamatsu is a poor choice for the oceans, the environment and Hawaii.

Complete story here.

Oceans Documentary - Filming Whites Guadalupe

Oceans Documentary - Stunning Images

To fully grasp the power of this image you need to click on it to get it to full size.

Now breathe.

Captured from Disney's latest documentary and the follow up to "Earth."

Oceans will be the "must see" documentary event of the summer featuring absolutely unparalleled footage of the undersea world.

Oceans opens April 22nd in the USA and just in time for the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.

Website here.

Happy Holidays from SharkDiver.com!

It's kind of a tradition here at Shark Diver posting this image.

It features a shark we named in 2004, "Shredder," with the image shot by Christy Fisher.

This image serves as a reminder of all the shark diving folks, research folks, and media folks we have come to call friends over the years.

Good people who have made the business of shark diving and shark conservation a very exciting place for us.

We are honored to know these unique and special people and look forward to the new decade of shark diving adventures, discovery, and conservation with you all.

Farewell 2009 and very Happy Holidays!

Shark Survivability 0% To 80%

A very large percentage of "shark fishermen" are in fact "accidental fishermen" - like these fine examples from New Jersey.

After watching this video shark conservation folks can do two things:

1. Get angry and rail at all shark fishermen.

2. Produce the tools for shark survivability.

A series of well placed informational videos highlighting catch and release techniques with real sharks would "educate fishermen" how to save sharks. The fishermen in this video unknowing killed this animal. They just lacked any clear idea how to deal with a shark, from gaffing, to hook removal.

With an industry leader like, Guy Harvey, and the backing of the IGFA, these videos would do more for sport caught shark survivability then most efforts currently being promoted.

Education is the golden key to sport caught sharks.

As shark conservation folks why don't we lead this issue instead of reacting to it? Any takers?

L.A Times - Tiger Shark

"Can you keep a secret?"

That was the question Steve Blair asked me several months ago. Steve is a good friend and Assistant Curator at the Long Beach Aquarium.

When not fly fishing some of California's finest blue ribbon streams Steve is putting together the unique shark programs at the aquarium.

The "big secret" was a new Tiger shark that was in seclusion for a summer debut, the only Tiger in the continental USA on display.

As you can tell I kept the secret - hard to do with a blog that enjoys 25k reader a month. This month the little female Tiger was introduced to the public and she's a great little shark.

L.A Times

Tiger shark. A voracious predator known for traveling the world's oceans and consuming everything in its way: smaller sharks, boat cushions, license plates, copper wire, shipwrecked sailors.

But on a recent Tuesday, the new 5-foot-long tiger shark at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach refused to even acknowledge a chunk of restaurant-grade ahi tuna dangled in front of its broad snout.

Complete Story

Shark Science - Run Over by Media

Last week we posted the Suns media hit on shark feeding behavior. The article likened all sharks on a general level to London's infamous "Jack the Ripper".

Typical shark media for the mainstream folks who often go to great lengths to instill a fear of sharks with the public.

What was not mentioned in our blog post was the origin of this media hit, a research paper by University of Miami's Neil Hammerschlag.

Here was the email we got today from Neil explaining how his research paper became the "shark topic de jour" this week:

Hi All,

This study is getting a lot of attention; however it is as misunderstood as sharks. Some media are sensationalizing/twisting the results of the study to sell papers. I hope readers will be more critical and seek out the real scientific paper.

In this study, a technique called geographic profiling (originally developed as a criminal investigation tool) was applied to analyze patterns of white shark predation on seals at Seal Island, in False Bay, South Africa.

Sharks hunt to eat. They are predators and seals are their prey. Serial killers have mental disorders and such disorders cannot be applied to animals. The study does not characterize sharks as serial killers in anyway, just that white sharks are more complex than we originally thought.

Sharks are constantly swimming, and unlike other animals they do not have the equivalent of a den, nest, or burrow. Therefore, establishing the existence (including location, size, and shape) of a search base or “centre of gravity” for a search pattern could provide important insight into their hunting behavior.

By applying geographic profiling, the study found that sharks are not mindless killers, but are in fact using sophisticated hunting strategies. The study found that sharks appeared to be hunting in an optimal manner geospatially. Sharks processed a well-defined anchor point or search base, but not where the chances of prey interception were greatest. This location may therefore represent a balance of prey detection, capture rates, and inter-shark competition.

The study also found that smaller sharks had more dispersed prey search patterns and lower kill success rates than larger sharks. This could mean that white sharks refine their search patterns with experience and learn to concentrate hunting efforts in locations with the highest probability of successful prey capture. It might also be that larger sharks competitively exclude smaller sharks from the best hunting areas.

The most important thing is conservation of these magnificent animals.

If you read the study published online today in the Journal of Zoology, I am sure you will find it very interesting.

For a better news story please visit:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8110000/8110246.stm

--

Neil Hammerschlag
University of Miami
Ph.D. Candidate, Marine Biology & Fisheries
Co-Director, South Florida Student Shark Program (SFSSP)
Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science (RSMAS)
4600 Rickenbacker Cswy, Miami, Florida, 33149

E-mail: nhammerschlag@rsmas.miami.edu
O: 305.421.4356 F: 305.421.4600 C: 954.815.0920

Sharks Just Like Sea-rial Killers(?)

Leave it to the U.K's SUN to over hype the shark.

Next to eye catching headlines like "Grandma Explodes on Loo" and "UFO Crop Circles Invade Wembly" you really do not get any good shark reporting from this Fox NewsCorp media train wreck.

Case in point and ripped from today's headlines:

Researchers used methods copied from criminology to show that great whites pick their targets in a highly focused fashion.

Prolific killers such as the infamous 19th century beast who stalked London's East End and Peter Sutcliffe, the "Yorkshire Ripper", behave in much the same way.

Editors Note: Anyone wonder why close to 100 million sharks are finned each year and no one seems to care?