Fiji Study - Fiji Template

We have said in the past and for the sake of saying it again, kudos!

Fiji's Beqa Adventure Divers have once again shown the rest of the commercial shark world how to sustainably manage their sharks with ongoing research.

While other sharks sites worldwide such as Playa del Carmen struggle with commercial shark fishing interests, because they did not take the time to roll out an embedded and highly visible research component with their diving programs, Fiji has created a global template - and they are willing to share it.

That's not to say all's lost elsewhere, but the fact remains that too few sites hedge against commercial disasters and embrace ongoing shark research. It works, and we are bound by more than commercial gain to adopt the time and funding necessary to make it happen at our own shark sites.

This morning Da Shark revealed his teams ongoing Bull shark project:

Seasonal and Long-Term Changes in Relative Abundance of Bull Sharks from a Tourist Shark Feeding Site in Fiji

Juerg M. Brunnschweiler, Harald Baensch

ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland, Department of Biology, University of Nebraska at Kearney, Kearney, Nebraska, United States of America

Shark tourism has become increasingly popular, but remains controversial because of major concerns originating from the need of tour operators to use bait or chum to reliably attract sharks. We used direct underwater sampling to document changes in bull shark Carcharhinus leucas relative abundance at the Shark Reef Marine Reserve, a shark feeding site in Fiji, and the reproductive cycle of the species in Fijian waters. Between 2003 and 2009, the total number of C. leucas counted on each day ranged from 0 to 40. Whereas the number of C. leucas counted at the feeding site increased over the years, shark numbers decreased over the course of a calendar year with fewest animals counted in November. Externally visible reproductive status information indicates that the species' seasonal departure from the feeding site may be related to reproductive activity.

Complete study here.

Jumping the Shark in Hawaii - Seriously? National Security?

Only in Hawaii. As the ongoing saga of two commercial shark diving operations on Oahu continues, with a commercial vessel burnt to the waterline by unknown arsonists and a bizarre dismissal of a GPS chumming court case this week.

It's time to call this done.

What's been happening on Oahu is small town political vendettas under the guise of national security. At least that's the excuse agents involved in the prosecution of three commercial shark diving staff members who allegedly chummed for sharks within the territorial three mile limit off shore are offering this week.

Chumming within three miles happens on a daily basis by local fishermen in the region who are not hauled into court by agents posing as tourists.

The agents apparently used a "Super Secret GPS Tracking Device" to tell if the commercial shark diving operations were in fact within the three mile limit for chumming or not. When called upon by defense attorneys to provide access to the GPS device users manual and training material to defend their clients - the entire case folded last week. Like a house of cards.

Agents said these devices were so super secret that they constituted a national security risk - if the world ever discovered how they worked. We're thinking they have something to do with orbiting satellites, like the Garmin GPS we use, but that's just us.

Does anyone smell the sharp and unmistakable odor of chum that has been left out in the hot, humid, Hawaiian sun for a few days? We do.

So basically this is bull!@!!%$. Grade A stuff and tantamount to using government powers to wear down two very successful, and safe, shark diving operations on Oahu until they go away, or go bankrupt.

Frankly it is disgusting to watch. In a time when Oahu is suffering from a 60% drop in tourism revenues, and is struggling with massive debts due to tax revenue losses. A *few* government officials are spending money on wild super secret GPS cases with agents and lawyers to essentially kill two businesses on the North Shore who have been in business for a decade.

On a side note, the Super Secret GPS Device has been sighted.

North Shore surfers Allison Rand, and Matt Petoski took this image last week. We're pretty sure once folks on Oahu find out how much this GPS device cost local taxpayers (the four who are left on the island) there will be a lot more angst over a never ending and moronic quest to kill two commercial shark diving businesses that are doing nothing more than providing jobs, paying taxes, and adding to the richly diverse flavor of adventure offerings for tourists.

Now going into it's third year.

Shark Operators Plan To Challenge Law - Hawaii

Shark Industry Watch 8.21.2010

Shark tour operators who were cited for allegedly chumming off the North Shore say they will challenge the law.The case will likely cost more than the cost of paying a fine because it will raise some complex issues in court.

"It's basically a ridiculous charge and we are going to fight it all the way even to an appeal," attorney Ken Kuniyuki said.Five employees of two Haleiwa shark tour companies were charged with illegal chumming last week, nearly a year after federal investigators collected evidence.

The charge is a petty misdemeanor with up to a $1,000 fine, but an attorney for one of the men said state game wardens treated the defendants like felons.

The Story.

Shark Walker - The Gateway Commercial Shark Diving Drug

The Shark Walker. The industry could use about 100,000 of these spread across every major city on the planet. Imagine the conservation branding on these nifty gateway shark diving experiences?

Next stop? Isla Guadalupe.

Shark Media Done Right USA Today

Nice to see USA Today running a well balanced commercial shark tourism piece this week. The ongoing development of Isla Mujeres into a world class whale shark destination (one might suggest THE destination) has been a quiet triumph for the entire industry.

As we have long said whale sharks, Rhincodon typus, represent instant tourism wherever they are found in concentrations that allow divers a 90% chance of encounters.

This mornings news from Mexico affirms the best of what the industry has to offer.

Shark Diver

Tonga Shark Free Marinas Initiative

The first of what will undoubtedly be many Shark Free Marinas in Tonga came to fruition this month thanks with the help of "interested parties" in the region. Mike over at BAD in Fiji has the scoop:

Bless Henk and Sandra Gros!

They have graciously agreed to act as trailblazers and are now the Kingdom of Tonga's first Shark Free game fishing operators. This is far from being trivial as contrary to many Fijians, Tongans hunt and eat Sharks and will thus regard any attempt at sparing their life as a wasteful and incomprehensible act of utter Palangi foolishness.

Kudos!

In the big scheme of things, this will again turn out to be a wise business decision - like everything the Gros' have done so far.

They are among the original pioneers of tourism in Vava'u and have struck gold on practically every one of their ventures. On the accommodation front, they operate one of the first, and still the only clean and reliable backpacker hostel, Adventure Backpackers and are the developers of Mystic Sands, one of only two beachfront resorts on the main islands. Sandra and Kiwi Magic's Pat also operate the only reliable and highly successful agency for holiday homes in Vava'u, Vava'u Holiday Homes and provide access to reliable and trustworthy local help through their Vava'u Property Services.

Yes, I did indeed stress the term reliable, and for good reason! Whatever your provenience and intentions: nowhere does caveat emptor (and I'm not only talking in terms of legal transactions!) apply more than in the Friendly Kingdom- and I'll leave it at that!

Henk himself is the quintessential factotum and provided that he likes the project, you can avail yourself of his expertise for anything from building your next home (he did build mine) or installing a smoker for the most delicious home-smoked Wahoo, all the way to constructing and then successfully deploying a FAD in 1,000-odd fathoms of azure pelagic waters.

But his true love is game fishing and his Target One Sportfishing Charters is one of the most successful (and reliable!) such ventures in the whole of the Kingdom.

Vava'u prides itself on some of the most pristine fishing grounds in the whole of the South Pacific and anglers flock there from all over the globe to try their skills against good sized Sails, feisty (but generally, rather small) Blues, Wahoo, Mahi Mahi and in season, great numbers of migratory Yellowfin. This is also the place where one can still experience important numbers of pelagic Sharks, be it Silkies, Bronzies and even elusive Oceanic Whitetips.

Until very recently and much to the joy of the locals and the chagrin of the environmentalists, all fish caught in Vava'u were being landed and consumed, this largely regardless of species, season and size.

But progress being inevitable, more and more enlightened customers have been asking that the Billfishes be tagged and released and even the most backward operators had to grudgingly abide, to the point where the last national tournament was held under that formula - and won by none other than Henk and his Target One!

This is hopefully yet another step in the right direction.

After Palau's epic declaration and Fiji's simply mind-blowing performance, Tonga is hopefully on its way to becoming yet another Pacific island nation that fully embraces the concept that Shark conservation is not only essential for the health of the marine ecosystem but constitutes great tourism marketing on top of that!

Fingers crossed that after Target One, many more game fishermen in Vava'u will see the light and embrace the Shark Free Marinas Initiative!

Bravo Henk and Sandra - and Malo 'aupito!

One Vessel To The Power of 10,000

This mornings conservation image is of a single vessels shark take in Japan.

The image comes from the Blue Voice Blog, normally focused on whale and dolphin issues, this one time take of blue sharks is, none the less, a heart wrenching scene.

Kudos.

BlueVoice.org

Hardy Jones is a former journalist with CBS News and UPI. He has been making television documentaries about the oceans and marine mammals in particular for more than 20 years. "The experience of forcing Japanese fishermen to release hundreds of dolphins simply by pointing a camera at them led to the original concept of BlueVoice.org," says Jones. "The advent of the internet has given us a tool of unprecedented power to end some of the brutalities committed against marine mammals and the oceans."

Our film "If Dolphins Could Talk," hosted by actor Michael Douglas, complimented the work of many environmental organizations when we broadcast video footage of dolphins dying in tuna nets. Soon afterwards Heinz announced it would no longer accept tuna caught by surrounding dolphins with nets.

BlueVoice.org draws on the hundreds of hours of film produced by Hardy Jones/Julia Whitty Productions, a leading production company specializing in films on the marine environment.

Salmon Sharks National Geographic

Back in 2005 I was fortunate enough to fly to Cordova, Alaska and spend a week cage diving with Salmon Sharks, distaff relatives of the Great white. Shark Diver was the first commercial shark diving company to ever drop a cage in these waters and the first to ever work with them on a commercial level.

We were not disappointed.

Fast forward to 2009 and a simply stunning look at these animals in HD by National Geographic:

Guadalupe Island PSA - RTSea Productions

The commercial shark diving industry knows that exposing the public to sharks leads to conservation. It is a fact, and to those that would dispute this fact, to those few who only see sharks through the myopic lens of fear, we present to following PSA by RTSea Productions.

Now seen on Google Oceans:

Sharks - Market Demand

Back in 2001 the state of Florida banned chumming for sharks and ended a nascent statewide commercial shark diving industry. Tourists and shark divers then flooded the Bahamas which enjoys a robust commercial shark diving footprint and enhanced revenue stream for local hotels and restaurants.

Back in Florida demand for safe shark encounters did not go away. Enter land based shark tourism, the future of shark encounters worldwide, as more aquariums and theme parks open their enclosures to the public:

Albino Whale Shark-You Bet!

Nature has a way or surprising us and none more so then this unlikely critter a 30 foot albino Whale Shark:

It is one of the rarest sights of the ocean. A 30ft albino whale shark glides through the water with majestic grace.

It was captured by diver and naturalist Antonio Moreano off the coast of Darwin, the northern-most island of the Galapagos.

And this female is thought to be one of a kind.