Shark Diver : Shark Diving : Swimming With Sharks: bucket list shark diving

Showing posts with label bucket list shark diving. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 10, 2019

15 years of BAD is awesome!

Beqa Adventure Divers, known as BAD, is celebrating it's 15th anniversary. We want to congratulate BAD for being one of the most awesome dive companies in the world. Their moto, "We are a conservation group, masquerading as a dive shop" is more than a mere slogan. What they have accomplished in their 15 year history is simply amazing.


Bull Shark at the Shark Reef Marine Reserve

If you ever heard of what Valerie Taylor called the best shark dive in the world, she was referring to the dive at the Shark Reef Marine Reserve, operated by none other than BAD. And speaking of the Shark Reef Marine Reserve, it was created by BAD in 2004. Initial fish counts at the reef showed about 280 different species of fish, which is very bad for the south pacific. After 10 years of protecting the reef, the number of species increased to 480! As of November, 2014, Shark Reef Marine Reserve has been designated Fiji’s first National Marine Park and BAD was being entrusted with its day-to-day management. To my knowledge, this is the first national park in the world that was created due to the efforts of a single private entitiy.

There are a few sharks to be encountered

But creating a national park is not all that BAD has accomplished. They also partnered with Projects Abroad to create Mangroves for Fiji, a project designed to combat global warming and now their latest, My Fijishark a shark adoption program benefitting protection and conservation of the sharks in Fiji.

myfijishark.com

Congratulations to BAD for being the best conservation shark diving operation! Keep up the good work!

The BAD boys and girls, celebrating!

Shark Diver is proud to be using BAD for our Bull Shark diving expeditions to Fiji. We are heading there in May, and we can book a Bull Shark dive for you anytime of the year.

For more information on our Bull Shark diving adventures, call us at 619.887.4275 or email crew@sharkdiver.com for more information.

Let's go Shark Diving!

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.

Friday, March 28, 2014

Response to "What's going on at Guadalupe?"

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

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Galapagos Islands anyone?

Shark Diver is excited to announce that we have partnered with Tip Top Diving and the “Nortada”, a brand new live-aboard dive vessel, to offer an unforgettable dive and eco tour experience in the Galapagos. The Galapagos islands are one of the premier Eco travel destinations in the world. You will have the opportunity to dive with Sea Lions, visit Darwin and Wolf island for a once in a lifetime chance to swim with Hammerhead – Galapagos- Dusky, Whale- and many other species of sharks,along with big schools of Tuna and tons of other sea life. You will also get to do some exciting land tours at North Seymour as well as Darwin station. This is truly going to be an unforgettable adventure. - See more at: http://www.sharkdiver.com/dive-packages/galapagos-island-adventure/?preview=true&preview_id=10263&preview_nonce=087a9022bc#sthash.76dZGfUl.dpuf

Shark Diver is excited to announce that we have partnered with Tip Top Diving and the "Nortada", a brand new live-aboard dive vessel, to offer an unforgettable dive and Eco tour experience in the Galapagos Islands, one of the premier Eco travel destinations in the world.

You will have the opportunity to dive with Sea Lions, visit Darwin and Wolf island for a once in a lifetime chance to swim with Hammerhead - Galapagos- Dusky, Whale- and many other species of sharks, along with big schools of Tuna and tons of other sea life. You will also get to do some exciting land tours at North Seymour Islands and Darwin station, where you will encounter the native birds and terrestrial animals of the Galapagos Islands.

Our expedition will take place from August 15-22 2014, which is in the middle of high season, when there are thousands of Hammerhead shark and gigantic pregnant Whale sharks swimming around the islands.

We will be diving off the "Nortada" an 85' live aboard dive vessel that offers 4 lower deck, fully air conditioned cabins with two single lower berths each, private heads, lockers and drawers. There are 2 15ft inflatable, zodiak style, tenders that will take us to the individual dive sites. For our safety, all divers will also be provided a waterproof Nautilus Lifeline radio.

Two 15 foot inflatable tenders with 4 stroke 20HP outboard engines takes fully equipped divers to and from the dive sites.
All divers are provided with a Nautilus Lifeline bi-directional VHF/DSC marine radio with GPS, dive alert and DSMB.
- See more at: http://www.sharkdiver.com/dive-packages/galapagos-island-adventure/#sthash.FkieisYV.dpuf

For more information on this exciting expedition, call us toll free at 855.987.4275 or 619.887.4275 or email us at staff@sharkdiver.com

I hope to see you in the Galapagos Islands in August!

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

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

What does a Miami Herald reporter think of our expeditions to Guadalupe?

Susan Cocking, a reporter for the Miami Herald came out with us to visit the Great White Sharks of Isla Guadalupe She has written this excellent article about her experience with our toothy friends at the island.

Like most of our divers, Susan had an expectation what it would be like to come face to face with a Great White Shark. She was expecting a "giant, fearsome creature" that she had traveled thousands of miles to see. When a 16.5 ft shark, named Jaques in our photo database, approached the cage, her reaction was different than expected. "Instead of cowering back behind the bars, my three companions and I waved, banged and stomped to attract his attention, and readied our underwater cameras"

Her reaction to encountering a Great White Shark at close range the first time is actually quite common. We are so used to thinking that these sharks are mindless killers with dead black eyes. Instead of trying to bite her, Susan discovered that these magnificent creature "meandered to within about eight feet of us and cruised the length of the cage, seeming to stare at each of us in turn with its blue/black eye"

I'm glad that Susan had a chance to come out with us and experience first hand how our toothy friends really are. Since the sharks get so much bad press, Shark Diver is happy to be able to allow reporters like Susan to find out what they really are like and share their experience with their readers.

Cheers,

Martin Graf
CEO
Shark Diver

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/09/26/3650194/great-white-sharks-even-more-magnificent.html#storylink=cpy

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.

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Isla Guadalupe's Best Shark Week Ever?

Jaques, one of the regulars at Isla Guadalupe

Are you excited about the upcoming Shark Week? ....well, so am I.

The wait is finally over. We leave tonight to Isla Guadalupe for our very own "Shark Week", hopefully the best ever!

I've been going down to Guadalupe for the last 10 years, and I'm super excited to go see my old friends again.

Many of you know about Shredder, Bruce, Bite Face, Jaques, Lucy, Chuggy and the list goes on.

As a matter of fact, we now have 124 individual sharks identified. How many will we add this year? Who's going to be back? I can't wait to find out. It never gets old.

If anything, after 10 years I'm even more excited to hear the familiar "White Shaaaaaaaark!" yell from our crew for the first shark of the day, kind of a boat tradition for us.

I know I'm not the only one that feels that way as I'm looking forward to a few of you coming back, some for the 3rd 4th and 5th time this year.

I will keep you posted with regular trip reports and updates from the Island.

Let's go shark diving!

Cheers,

Martin Graf
Dive Operations Manager
Shark Diver/Horizon
Isla Guadalupe, Mexico

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.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Bucket List Shark Diving - Shredder is a Star

Shredder with his namesake fin, photo by Sarah Fuller

When we arrived back from the Bahamas and ten days of filming sharks we had to "wade through" an email box filled with white shark trip reports and emails like this one from Michelle M.

Michelle joined us this fall all the way from Trinidad and was one of the most enthusiastic shark people I had the pleasure of speaking with last year on the phone.

Congratulations to Michelle our latest Shark Diver and her face time with Shredder, Isla Guadalupe's most famous resident:

Hi Patric,

OK... I know it's taken me a while, but better late than never right? :)

When I booked my trip with Shark Diver last August, I had a whole year to read all the blogs and trip reports and whatever else I could find about the sharks at Guadalupe. I thought I had an idea of what it would be like and what to expect, but having finally made it out there in September, I can honestly say that the experience was so much better than I could have possibly imagined!

Once you've been out there, you know you're going to go back!

The whole trip was amazing, but I think the highlight for me was definitely the second day of diving. Anyone heading out to Guadalupe, would have heard about Shredder. Everybody knows how he got his name. Having him show up on day two was just awesome!

It's almost as though he knows we came out there to see him and he does not disappoint. He takes his time cruising past the cages and I was just mesmerized by him. Here is this massive 16 foot great white just a few feet away from the cage, and he is looking at me, straight in the eye! The first time he makes eye contact it's like wow, really?? But then he does it again and again, and it's unbelievable!

So day two had gotten off to a great start, but it got even better, when a few hours later, we had a juvenile get a little frisky with our cage. Seeing a great white that close to the cage, mouth open, ready to have a go, was priceless! I could not have asked for more! Of course Martin and the rest of the guys are on deck, keeping an eye on the sharks and he had to give it a little nudge away from the cage but what a fantastic experience!

I think we had a total of 8 different sharks over the 3 days, I had some really great people in the cages with me, but the Horizon crew deserve a special mention. They are exceptional at what they do!

Every single crew member went out of their way to make me feel at home and comfortable and they made sure I enjoyed my vacation. They really looked after me for the entire time I was on board! I wouldn't want to go out there with anyone else!

So thanks again for everything, Shark Diver and the Horizon made this my best vacation ever. I may have been the first Trini to make it out to Guadalupe, but I am pretty sure I won't be the last!

Cheers,

Michelle

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever." Mahatma Gandhi